Fountain Pen Revolution In India

[a_m]

Like other fountain pen manufacturers Gama selected German made nibs and feeds to evolve their traditional eyedropper pens. Did this revolution or evolution discard the ebonite feeds? I like the ebonite feed in my traditional Gama Supreme eyedropper since it can be easily cleaned and custom fitted to a particular nib by heat setting the ebonite feed. Have I changed to OEM nib? No, but I am considering it. The nib Gama installed in my Supreme writes well, but it is a German #6 nib which is about 35 mm long. A longer nib would probably be more ergonomic for me, since the pen feels more comfortable for me with its nib inverted.

These are threaded nibs & not friction fit nibs. The outcome is more an initiative of ASApens. The threaded nib are an integrated unit of nib and feed.

 

As to longer nibs you can always ask ASApens. You can even ask for a gold nib #9 size !!

 

And i understand you can also get the same jowo gold nib in friction fit set up from ASApens. The nibs are same nibs whether you buy from meisternibs or goulet or asapens

Edited July 19, 2014 by a_m

[Barry Gabay]

Hello a_m, Wonderful piece, interesting and informative! Thank you for the excellent information. I have a genuine interest in Indian fountain pens. Thus far I have very few. Because I enjoy using larger fountain pens, I will certain buy some of the Gama models in the near future. Thanks again for the review, background information, and link. Best wishes, Barry

[a_m]

Hello a_m, Wonderful piece, interesting and informative! Thank you for the excellent information. I have a genuine interest in Indian fountain pens. Thus far I have very few. Because I enjoy using larger fountain pens, I will certain buy some of the Gama models in the near future. Thanks again for the review, background information, and link. Best wishes, Barry

 

Thank you :-)

[Wolverine1]

I grew up in India, and in my experience, Indian manufacturers generally end up making shoddy products. While these pens may be interesting and all that, they dont compare to the most inexpensive of German or Japanese pens. A Lamy Safari or a inexpensive Pilot pen is going to be a superior and quality product that any Indian manufactured pen. So, Anup, thank you for your write-up, but, I am not interested in buying any Indian made pens. Sorry if it offends you.

Jai Hind!!!!!

[a_m]

I grew up in India, and in my experience, Indian manufacturers generally end up making shoddy products. While these pens may be interesting and all that, they dont compare to the most inexpensive of German or Japanese pens. A Lamy Safari or a inexpensive Pilot pen is going to be a superior and quality product that any Indian manufactured pen. So, Anup, thank you for your write-up, but, I am not interested in buying any Indian made pens. Sorry if it offends you.

Jai Hind!!!!!

Life is about choices and everyone is free to exercise their freedom of choice. But i do hope that even if you dont like Indian products you will bring cheer and positivity to people around you. Its so sad that you are still stuck in times and experiences of your childhood.

 

As to me, i do have many German, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, American writing instruments. And i sincerely appreciate each good one among them

[Wolverine1]

Yeah Anup, I grew up in Assam and Meghalaya, all we had was cheap, plastic pens that we bought when we visited Kolkata during our vacation. I graduated school in 1991. Those pens available then were really of poor quality, and I mean they were really bad. Hopefully, the pen you reviewed are a lot better, but, given my experience, I am loathe to try another one out.

Anyways, Anup-Moshai, Bhalo thakun, pore dekha hobe!!!!

[a_m]

Yeah Anup, I grew up in Assam and Meghalaya, ...

80s and 90s in that area - i can understand your feelings...Dont worry about pens - they are only small joys of life - life is much bigger. Be happy & best wishes. bhalo thakun :-)

[WaskiSquirrel]

I grew up during the tail end of that period when Japanese origin was shorthand for "shoddy product" and the beginning of the period when people were worried that Japan would overtake the US.

 

Manufacture evolves over time, and, quite often, a handful of shoddy manufacturers or even mistakes are actually what give a bad name to the entire nation's industry.

 

I'm actually quite interested in the Indian pens.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Waski_the_Squirrel

[majorworks]

Yeah Anup, I grew up in Assam and Meghalaya, all we had was cheap, plastic pens that we bought when we visited Kolkata during our vacation. I graduated school in 1991. Those pens available then were really of poor quality, and I mean they were really bad. Hopefully, the pen you reviewed are a lot better, but, given my experience, I am loathe to try another one out.

Anyways, Anup-Moshai, Bhalo thakun, pore dekha hobe!!!!

 

Like Anup says, life's too short to sweat something like a pen. Having said that, today's products from the makers that are most popular on this site (Gama, Ratnamson, Deccan, etc.) are, I'm sure, very different from the ones that leaked or whatever when you were younger. My experience with these ebonite (not plastic) pens has been very positive, with Gama being a particularly bright spot of late. Quality seems to be a very high priority at Gama as many have noted in their pen reviews. I have only a Gama Supreme but it's truly a great pen. I even like the stock nib.

 

Nothing wrong with German or Japanese products either, so whatever you do, just keep writing! ;-)

[mhguda]

I discovered Gama last year and am very happy with all pens I bought from them, from various suppliers. The pens, mostly, are beautifully designed, well made, and a joy to write with. And the aftersales service, from all the suppliers, has been top-notch. Better than from some USA-based suppliers, I might add.

Yes sometimes you have to tweak your pen a little. Big deal. I've had to dip my MB Mozart and my MB Boheme to get them to start up, and even squeeze the stupid cartridge which is the only filling mechanism those two allow. At least the Indian pens allow us the freedom of ink experimentation.

And, get this. The eyedropper-filled pen is optimized for use in the Indian market. The climate is different from what most FPN users are used to (based on where they are located, by their own indication). In this tropical country, the technology works exactly as advertised. So maybe you may need to make a small adjustment if you're not in a tropical climate. The adjustment is simple, widely explained, and not much of a hassle, IM(NSH)O. To base the blanket dismissal many people pronounce on this forum on this small inconvenience seems to me, at the very least, disingenuous.

 

I think on the whole, the world of Indian founain pens is a wonderful addition to mine, and I'm glad I found it. Some of my favorite pens belong in this category, and they were affordable and did not cost an arm and a leg. Beautiful pens that write wonderfully no matter what paper I put them on, no matter what ink (within limits of course...) I put in them.

[Wolverine1]

Majorworks- your point is well taken.

However, I heard about Deccan pens, and all the nice Indian pens only after I had spent years living in the USA. I or no one in my part of India, in the remote North-eastern part of India ( in the states of Assam and Meghalaya) had ever heard of nice quality, ebonite pens, of the kind, our fellow FPN members enjoy. We were stuck with really poorly manufactured plastic, eye-dropper pens manufactured in and around Kolkata, and they were of extremely poor quality. And we had access to some Chinese Hero pens, which were not much better.

[bk123]

Majorworks- your point is well taken.

However, I heard about Deccan pens, and all the nice Indian pens only after I had spent years living in the USA. I or no one in my part of India, in the remote North-eastern part of India ( in the states of Assam and Meghalaya) had ever heard of nice quality, ebonite pens, of the kind, our fellow FPN members enjoy. We were stuck with really poorly manufactured plastic, eye-dropper pens manufactured in and around Kolkata, and they were of extremely poor quality. And we had access to some Chinese Hero pens, which were not much better.

Ghar aaja Pardesi tera desh bulaye re!!

Try one of these Indian pens now, all of your complaints will vanish...

[Wolverine1]

bk123- I have a couple of Ranga pens on order, they should arrive by Saturday!!!!! Plus, my friend is back visiting parents in Bangalore, and he is planning on a trip to Hyderabad to check out Deccan pens etc. Hopefully, he will bring back a few nice ones, and I will be able to forget those horrible pens I was forced to write with as a child.

[majorworks]

Majorworks- your point is well taken.

However, I heard about Deccan pens, and all the nice Indian pens only after I had spent years living in the USA. I or no one in my part of India, in the remote North-eastern part of India ( in the states of Assam and Meghalaya) had ever heard of nice quality, ebonite pens, of the kind, our fellow FPN members enjoy. We were stuck with really poorly manufactured plastic, eye-dropper pens manufactured in and around Kolkata, and they were of extremely poor quality. And we had access to some Chinese Hero pens, which were not much better.

 

Sorry to hear that you had to endure lousy pens as a kid! By the time I came along and was learning to write (early 60s), schoolchildren were no longer using fountain pens (although I do remember school desks with these weird holes in them; it took many years until I realized what they were for). I used lots of leaky ballpoints and pencils.

 

I hope you enjoy the Ranga pens you have coming. I have two pens made under the old Varuna name and they're both favorites. Between those and the Deccans your friend will bring from Hyderabad, you'll be in good shape.

[a_m]

By the time I came along and was learning to write (early 60s), schoolchildren were no longer using fountain pens (although I do remember school desks with these weird holes in them; it took many years until I realized what they were for). I used lots of leaky ballpoints and pencils.

 

By middle school i had started using ball point. And it took some time to realize that those square holes in desks were meant for inkpots!

 

Infact after primary school i had nearly left the use of fountain pens - and used them very sparingly. Though there was a small collection of those nice looking chinese and Flair FPs- many of which were left to disuse with ink drying inside them and were over period all discarded - and i didn't know then that fountain pen needed maintenance !

 

FPs have never been an object of obsession - but only an utilitarian object.

 

And by 1990s i must say India was invaded and conquered by those Reynold ball points 040 and 045 which nearly pushed out FPs from usage.

[mrmohitmishra]

This is the masterpiece of a review. Classy, proportionate, just, analytical and descriptive. Writing samples are cool. Wonderful write up Anoop ji. Will you recommend Bramhaputra with a fine nib or Revolution with fine nib and why

[a_m]

The fine nib of JoWo did not perform upto expectation and was not smooth when I used it for longer writing - and it had line width seemingly broader than the JoWo Medium. Infact it gave much trouble - so I finally ground it to my satisfaction of smoothness(!) - so that the normal side wrote broad and back side wrote fine. Currently I dont have it inked.

 

Also, the Medium Jowo nib is a very good writer and its line width is much narrower than Schmidt Medium nib that is found in F27. Example of line width comparison.

 

I would also add that JoWo nibs are made of sturdy steel - that makes it very difficult for tine adjustments. In fine nib that problem becomes more because of limited tipping space and need for precise alignment. In contrast the Medium nib is very well made and line width narrower than Lamy Medium.

 

As the JoWo nibs are sturdy they dont go flat with use. I have been using the Medium nib Brahmaputra for many weeks without any issues.

 

Currently I have only these pens inked.

 

 

Writing Samples With Different Nibs

 

 

This is the masterpiece of a review. Classy, proportionate, just, analytical and descriptive. Writing samples are cool. Wonderful write up Anoop ji. Will you recommend Bramhaputra with a fine nib or Revolution with fine nib and why

Edited November 18, 2014 by a_m

[mrmohitmishra]

The fine nib of JoWo did not perform upto expectation and was not smooth when I used it for longer writing - and it had line width seemingly broader than the JoWo Medium. Infact it gave much trouble - so I finally ground it to my satisfaction of smoothness(!) - so that the normal side wrote broad and back side wrote fine. Currently I dont have it inked.

 

Also, the Medium Jowo nib is a very good writer and its line width is much narrower than Schmidt Medium nib that is found in F27. Example of line width comparison.

 

Currently I have only these pens inked.

 

 

Writing Samples With Different Nibs

 

 

Thank you sir. I think that the experience is not consistent. There are some people who say that the nib is on the broader side of medium. In the writing sample you just uploaded it is clear that Bramhaputra writes a nice Jinhao medium.

Thank you for this. It was a great help

[mrmohitmishra]

I discovered Gama last year and am very happy with all pens I bought from them, from various suppliers. The pens, mostly, are beautifully designed, well made, and a joy to write with. And the aftersales service, from all the suppliers, has been top-notch. Better than from some USA-based suppliers, I might add.

Yes sometimes you have to tweak your pen a little. Big deal. I've had to dip my MB Mozart and my MB Boheme to get them to start up, and even squeeze the stupid cartridge which is the only filling mechanism those two allow. At least the Indian pens allow us the freedom of ink experimentation.

And, get this. The eyedropper-filled pen is optimized for use in the Indian market. The climate is different from what most FPN users are used to (based on where they are located, by their own indication). In this tropical country, the technology works exactly as advertised. So maybe you may need to make a small adjustment if you're not in a tropical climate. The adjustment is simple, widely explained, and not much of a hassle, IM(NSH)O. To base the blanket dismissal many people pronounce on this forum on this small inconvenience seems to me, at the very least, disingenuous.

 

I think on the whole, the world of Indian founain pens is a wonderful addition to mine, and I'm glad I found it. Some of my favorite pens belong in this category, and they were affordable and did not cost an arm and a leg. Beautiful pens that write wonderfully no matter what paper I put them on, no matter what ink (within limits of course...) I put in them.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :happy:

[a_m]

I think if users of these pens and nibs would share their experience, then it would be a good thing. Not many people who use these pens and nibs are sharing their experience.