A Visit To Ranga Pens ( Ranga & Co. ) Tiruvallur, Chennai.

[gautamk]

 

and like HARI SAID ..."More Power to you"

 

I REST IT HERE

 

Great, yes, more power to me, after all it is customers like me who have the decision making ability to choose what to buy and at what price... thanks

[sarahfar]

Yep just got one. The pen offers great fit and finish that one would expect on pen 4 or 5times more expensive. The coloration and swirl on mine is incredible for an ebonite pen. Great great value and quality.....

[terim]

The pens are good but the cost is prohibitive especially for the converter type and Schmidt nibs. For the same budget one can purchase a good Sheaffer.

 

That said, i understand there is hard work and time put into manufacturing these, how i wish they were less expensive.

If you want anything other than a fine or medium nib, the modern Chinese made Sheaffer is going to disappoint .... You can get 6 different JoWo nib sizes for the Ranga models configured for them, plus lots of other nib options.

[plumista]

The pens are good but the cost is prohibitive especially for the converter type and Schmidt nibs. For the same budget one can purchase a good Sheaffer.

 

 

I am afraid I cannot understand that. For the price of a Ranga... a good Sheaffer?

 

Please be so kind and share your sources for that statement.

 

BTW, all my Rangas have so far proven PERFECT pens, both aesthetically and functionally, so for the cost of one Ranga... perhaps a similar ASA (fully handmade and fully reliable) or Fosfor (ah, those wood pens, and those in-house made resins), but almost nothing else.

 

plumista

[Ayami_109]

Dear Hari,

 

Thankyou for sharing your trip to Ranga with us and making such an eyeopening video. I am new to Indian made pens and your video put me over the line. To witness such skill from Mr Pandurangan is awe inspiring, especially the part where the threads were hand chaised. A few days ago I ordered my first Ranga via the recent Model 8 group buy. To say i am excited is an understatement.

[ak2k5]

Amazing video..I have noticed a gradual change in my daily writing pens these days..most of them are handmade ..they provide a special comfort..

And great insight into the work that goes into the making of them

[Bamapendude]

I think it was sometime in mid-late 2007 that I and M.P. Kandan of Ranga came into contact with each other. We have interacted a lot over the last eight years.

 

Ranga are based in a town called Thiruvallur, a suburb some 60 kms away from Chennai. I am an annual visitor (sometimes more frequently) to Chennai, but we never got a chance to meet. This October I was again visiting Chennai and this time we decided that we must surely meet. Kandan invited me over to his place, so that I could also meet his family and specially his father, the master pen maker Thiru M.S Pandurangan who has been hand crafting pens for more than the last 45years.

 

I hired a cab from Chennai and rented it out to take me to Thiruvallur for around 5 hours. However as it happens when pen people meet, time simply flew and I ended up spending more than 7 hours at Ranga. I received a very warm welcome and was treated like a family member and I even had wonderful homemade lunch prepared by Kandan's mother. I am really grateful and touched.

 

I was able to see all the models and materials that they had made and I also got a chance to closely observe the making of a fountain pen from scratch.

 

I was humbled to see the amount of craftsmanship and manual work that Kandan's father puts into making each pen. It was wonderful and at the same time humbling to realise that perhaps Ranga is the only pen maker in India still keeping alive and employing the traditional long forgotten, skill intensive art of hand chasing the threads on the pen. No taps/dies/thread cutting lathes are used. The pens are shaped free hand. The Ranga technique of hand chasing is different from the Japanese technique. Ranga's technique involves moving/advancing the hand chaser by hand in tandem and in rhythm with the thread pitch since the pen is rotated in the turning centre. From the videos available of the Japanese technique, their chasing tool is held stationary while the pen moves back and forth in tandem with the thread pitch.

 

Ranga (Thiru. M.S Pandurangan) also make their own tools for pen making and this is the reason they can cut threads on their pens for almost any nib unit/section.

 

I was able to make a small video using my hand held camera, I hope the readers will find the video interesting and informative.

 

 

Some pics that I took during the visit:

Foot operated pen making treadle:

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Ranga/DSC_7115_812x540.jpg

 

Special handmade tools:

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Ranga/DSC_7118_812x540.jpg

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Ranga/DSC_7120_812x540.jpg

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Ranga/DSC_7113_812x540.jpg

 

Thiru. M.S. Pandurangan buffing the pen, with his son M.P. Kandan facing the camera.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my visit to Ranga.

 

Cheers!

Hari

 

 

Love the videos I cannot wait to get in my Ranga Model 8

[mehandiratta]

OLIVER F-27 (Ver. 1)

Ranga Pens have the few last stock of this beautiful pen. The production of these pens have stopped. They have Ver. 2 that have is with Ambitious Nib

[Bamapendude]

Wow very nice how much is that pen and what is the filling system for the inc CC or ed

[mehandiratta]

Wow very nice how much is that pen and what is the filling system for the inc CC or ed

CC filling

[Bamapendude]

Any idea of the cost of the pen

[mehandiratta]

Any idea of the cost of the pen

Please check his ebay page

[ian1964]

Great Video..thank you

[tinyaberration]

Seeing the video helped me with my decision to buy a Ranga pen! I have a trip to Chennai next January and I would love to see how the pens are made if given the chance.

[matteob]

What you get with a Ranga that you do not get with a Chinese Shaeffer is something handmade. My Ambitious nibbed Ranga 3 is one of my favourite pens: nice heft to it and a surprizingly smooth nib. The quality of the ebonite turning is terrific on both that and the 3C I have too. Not had a chance to properly use the 3C yet as it unfortunately came with a faulty JoWo nib which they are replacing without fuss. A good company to deal with and recommended.

[clickred]

Stumbled upon this video while researching for Ranga. There is something intrinsically special to watch any artist labouring away. I wish this father-son duo all the luck and hopefully they are passing this knowledge to future generations in their family or others. This way the this practice continues to thrive and Ranga brand flourishes.

 

Can't wait to receive my own pen from them. After watching the video, the pen will have a different meaning.

 

M.

[mpkandan]

Stumbled upon this video while researching for Ranga. There is something intrinsically special to watch any artist labouring away. I wish this father-son duo all the luck and hopefully they are passing this knowledge to future generations in their family or others. This way the this practice continues to thrive and Ranga brand flourishes.

 

Can't wait to receive my own pen from them. After watching the video, the pen will have a different meaning.

 

M.

Thanks a lot Mr.Mihir Sir for your nice words. We know this art with lot of experience.

This will be our never ending craft.

 

Regards,

Kandan.M.P

Ranga Pen Company

[KellyMcJ]

So cool. I love being able to put a smiling face to the maker of my new favorite pen!!!

[mpkandan]

So cool. I love being able to put a smiling face to the maker of my new favorite pen!!!

Thank a lot. The reason for smile is due to our customers

 

Regards,

Kandan.M.P

[bh_horology]

Love the Ranga pen I purchased from Peyton!

 

IMG_6606 by , on Flickr

Edited November 27, 2017 by bh_horology