The Fpr Indus : A Short Review

February 8, 2015

I won a Facebook contest organized by Kevin over at Fountain Pen Revolution. The participants had to "like" FPR’s new pen and suggest its name to enter the contest.
The name chosen by a majority of participants is the Indus and a few of us were lucky enough to receive the pen, which at this time is not yet for sale.
As I got the pen for free in a contest, it seemed like I had to post a review.

Overview
The pen is made of plastic and it will be available in four colors. I got the black one. This is an all-plastic piston filler. For those of you familiar with their collection, it is about in the same range as their Dilli pen. It is very light and the plastic is not the highest grade; I don’t think it would survive a fall on a concrete floor. But this is a budget pen and I would not expect it to find its way into the hands of my great grandchildren. Perhaps it will take the place of the Dilli in Fpr’s lineup. Time will tell. It seems like a better pen than the Dilli – this is obviously subjective, the Indus just sits better in my hand. It also seems like a better design. I doesn’t look as cheap as the Dilli does.
The only real downside is the clip. You will rip your shirt pocket if you use the clip. It is TIGHT. I don’t use the clips on my pens. Not a problem for me.
The pen is very light light. It measures 13.2 cm and 12.4 cm unposted. The cap screws on. It can be posted, but the threads inside the cap seem to rub onto the piston knob and it makes a strange noise when you secure the cap to the end of the pen. It you’ve tried their Dilli model, it’s the same sound. It’s not a big deal. The pen measures 15 cm when posted.

Filling mechanism
This is a piston filler. The knob at the end of the pen is the actual twisting knob, not a blind cap. I haven’t yet tried to disassemble the pen, so I don’t know it the piston can be completely removed or not. The pen sports an ink window, which is not visible in the photos as the pen is currently filled with Diamine Eclipse. It contains a good amount of ink, as expected. It works well.

The nib
Our Indian friends here on fpn will notice the pen sports the same looks as the Oliver Tulip and the Click Tulip. It appears to be the same model.

The difference is the nib. This Indus sports an FPR nib. Mine is a medium. I think the pen will be available in fine, medium, broad and stub nibs. Maybe with their flex nibs as well, I’m not sure. The feed is plastic and the nib lays down a western medium line, as expected. The nib is rigid and has little line variation, unless you really bear down on it. I do not mind this as I don’t expect springiness in every pen I try or own. I’ve experienced some startup issues, but it should be noted I filled the pen without cleaning it, as one normally should. I do not expect this to be a problem in the long run.

In conclusion, this is a no-frills, nice looking, piston-filled fountain pen with a steel nib. It works well and it does what it's supposed to do. Works for me.

Edited February 8, 2015 by dan in montreal

February 23, 2015

Just thought I'd come back and report, as I've been using this pen for two weeks with different inks and it's been rather a fun pen to use. No startup issues once I really cleaned the pen.

To answer two questions you might have: the nib and feed are friction fit and easily removeable. The piston is clutchless (I'm not sure if this is the right term - I'm using it to signify that if you keep truning the piston knob, it will disengage from the actual piston, freeing it up so it can be removed from the barrel) which makes it easy to clean, like some of the piston-fill Serwex pens. It is definitely easier to clean than the Dilli.

February 24, 2015

I've been thinking about picking up this pen,Thanks for the review!

February 24, 2015

I won a Facebook contest organized by Kevin over at Fountain Pen Revolution. The participants had to "like" FPR’s new pen and suggest its name to enter the contest.
The name chosen by a majority of participants is the Indus and a few of us were lucky enough to receive the pen, which at this time is not yet for sale.
As I got the pen for free in a contest, it seemed like I had to post a review.
indus 1.jpg
Overview
The pen is made of plastic and it will be available in four colors. I got the black one. This is an all-plastic piston filler. For those of you familiar with their collection, it is about in the same range as their Dilli pen. It is very light and the plastic is not the highest grade; I don’t think it would survive a fall on a concrete floor. But this is a budget pen and I would not expect it to find its way into the hands of my great grandchildren. Perhaps it will take the place of the Dilli in Fpr’s lineup. Time will tell. It seems like a better pen than the Dilli – this is obviously subjective, the Indus just sits better in my hand. It also seems like a better design. I doesn’t look as cheap as the Dilli does.
The only real downside is the clip. You will rip your shirt pocket if you use the clip. It is TIGHT. I don’t use the clips on my pens. Not a problem for me.
The pen is very light light. It measures 13.2 cm and 12.4 cm unposted. The cap screws on. It can be posted, but the threads inside the cap seem to rub onto the piston knob and it makes a strange noise when you secure the cap to the end of the pen. It you’ve tried their Dilli model, it’s the same sound. It’s not a big deal. The pen measures 15 cm when posted.

Filling mechanism
This is a piston filler. The knob at the end of the pen is the actual twisting knob, not a blind cap. I haven’t yet tried to disassemble the pen, so I don’t know it the piston can be completely removed or not. The pen sports an ink window, which is not visible in the photos as the pen is currently filled with Diamine Eclipse. It contains a good amount of ink, as expected. It works well.
indus 2.jpg
The nib
Our Indian friends here on fpn will notice the pen sports the same looks as the Oliver Tulip and the Click Tulip. It appears to be the same model.
indus 3.jpg
The difference is the nib. This Indus sports an FPR nib. Mine is a medium. I think the pen will be available in fine, medium, broad and stub nibs. Maybe with their flex nibs as well, I’m not sure. The feed is plastic and the nib lays down a western medium line, as expected. The nib is rigid and has little line variation, unless you really bear down on it. I do not mind this as I don’t expect springiness in every pen I try or own. I’ve experienced some startup issues, but it should be noted I filled the pen without cleaning it, as one normally should. I do not expect this to be a problem in the long run.

In conclusion, this is a no-frills, nice looking, piston-filled fountain pen with a steel nib. It works well and it does what it's supposed to do. Works for me.