Jump to content

Gama Forever Reviewed


kitojmanny

Recommended Posts

The Gama Forever is an ebonite, eye-dropper filled, Indian fountain pen. It features a flat ended shape, a girthy profile, a ball-pointed clip, and twin rings around the bottom of the cap: design cues that overtly gesture to the Parker Duofold and Sheaffer Flat Top and to their aesthetic offspring from the Pilot Lucina to the Newton Orville. This one came to me from Asa Pens and cost about $25. I should mention I found Asa’s service and delivery time quite reasonable. Included at no extra cost was a small red gift bag for the pen and an eye-dropper.

 

The styling of the pen is simple all around, not elevating over its basic design language in materials or ornamentation. The ebonite is plain black (though ripple patterns are available), the cap and body are devoid of any text or logos, and the metal furniture (while gold in tone) lack luster. The nib is large and writes with a line I’d call Western medium-fine — mileage varying by ink, paper, and nib/feed fit. On my pen, I’ve brought the nib and feed further out of the section by about 4mm to better match (to my eye) the proportions of the pen. The engraving on the nib is fairly shallow and sparse. It features two diagonal layers of light scrawling, arching over a circle and the inscription “iridium point.” The nib won’t win any beauty contests, but the whole pen was pretty inexpensive. The clip is a bit disproportionate to the pen, I feel. I’d prefer it to be 3-4mm longer, but that only ever occurs to me when I’ve been looking at it for a long time with a critical attitude. In day to day life it never crosses my mind. Despite all the luke-warm things I’ve said here, I’m happy with the styling of the pen, largely on account of its throwback design and its minimal decoration (which feels right for the pen).

post-119506-0-06250600-1451441917.png

Fit is commendable, and finish acceptable. The pen feels quite solid and all its functional bits are fitted with great precision. The cap unscrews smoothly with several turns (4.5, by my count). The section unscrews rather stiffly (I’d say, securely) from the body with many turns (the pen is very full right now and I’m not risking the count) and came pre-greased from Asa. I’ve had no burping or leaks since I received the pen about two weeks ago. The nib and feed need to be knocked out to be removed, as they are quite firmly set within the section. Two quibbles with the finish deserve mention. First, the metal furniture on the cap is off center — very slightly in the case of the double rings, and a bit more noticeably in the case of the setting for the clip. Second, the small space beneath the final threat on the pen body doesn’t appear to have been polished, so it’s grayish and rough compared to the rest of the pen. The pen works perfectly, and most of the time, as I noted about the clip length, these things never cross my mind.

post-119506-0-95677400-1451441795_thumb.png

While Asa lists this pen as regular sized, I don’t believe that’s the case outside of the Indian fountain pen world. This pen is Safari-like in length and thick enough that the section diameter comes in around 14mm. Let’s call it oversized. That’s what I wanted when I bought the pen, and I’m happy with it. Having finally used a pen this size I’ve found my preference to be south of the 14mm (more likely about 11mm). When I write with the pen for extended periods it begins to feel cumbersome, but for short letters or notes it’s great. Others have found the pen to be their perfect size, and I don’t doubt that I’ll better adapt to it myself over time.

The nib is listed on Asa as a number 10. At times the nib feels a bit toothy, though through a 10x loop I can’t clearly see the reason for that. I plan on trying to smooth it a bit soon, but I believe that a good amount of the feedback is a result of the nib’s design and materials. Two western fines, Nemosine and Goulet (JoWo), from my collection, smoothed in the same manner with the same materials, have never produced even approximately the same feel. While they are both smooth, the Nemosine has always transmitted more of the texture of the paper. The Gama seems further along that continuum. The nib provides no notable line variation. It lays down a nice wet line of ink that’s beautiful to watch settle onto the paper.

post-119506-0-25248900-1451441766_thumb.png

In my overarching opinion the Gama Forever is a decent fountain pen, but not a daily driver, nothing to lust after, but something worth owning if you’re curious about oversized pens or enjoy the aesthetic. When I pick up this pen, I do so because I want to pay a special kind of attention to what I’m doing. I want to feel the paper and watch the ink pool. It’s the kind of pen I plan on leaving on the desk to sign cards and address letters and hardly ever need a refill. I’ll grab it for the fun of using the big pen. It's a novelty: fun, palate cleansing and, because it’s relatively cheap, guilt free.

Edited by kitojmanny
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 17
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • kitojmanny

    4

  • Kublai Khan

    4

  • Prithwijit

    3

  • Scribblesoften

    2

Hi EoC,

 

Congratulations on acquiring a lovely pen. I have the same pen in brushed finish with a Conklin stamped Bock nib and love the resulting pen. I also cant help but notice that you are trying out Indian made pens. Hope these simple unpretentious and basic but reliable writing instruments win you over.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

Click here to check out my reviews

 

Fosfor Rajendran | ASA Santulan | Ranga Sugarcane | ASA Sniper | Fosfor Heather | ASA I-Will | Hero Glorious | ASA Azaadi | Fosfor Islander | ASA Halwa | ASA Macaw | ASA Namenlos | ASA Bheeshma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent review. Personally I don't like this design.

 

Hi Visvamitra,

 

This is a very old pen design and is being made for decades. As you can easily realise, it was a copy/homage to the original Duofolds and are probably of the same vintage.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

Click here to check out my reviews

 

Fosfor Rajendran | ASA Santulan | Ranga Sugarcane | ASA Sniper | Fosfor Heather | ASA I-Will | Hero Glorious | ASA Azaadi | Fosfor Islander | ASA Halwa | ASA Macaw | ASA Namenlos | ASA Bheeshma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the same pen in brushed finish with a Conklin stamped Bock nib and love the resulting pen.

 

I'm curious about trying out different nibs in the pen. I've got a few lying around I might just try out one of these days. What size was the Bock you put on it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent review. Personally I don't like this design.

 

Thanks. It's definitely not for everyone, but just the other day I noticed that nearly all my pens have some derivative of the flat top shape to them. It must be my thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to see an old omg as well!

 

It's a great little camera. If film weren't so much more expensive to play with than digital I'd probably carry it everywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I'm curious about trying out different nibs in the pen. I've got a few lying around I might just try out one of these days. What size was the Bock you put on it?

 

Hi,

 

In my case it was s standard #6 bock bare nib (stamped Conklin) which was paired with the simple Raja/Forever ebonite feed in eyedropper mode. The combination was made to my wish by ASAPens who are also a reseller of Gama pens.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

Click here to check out my reviews

 

Fosfor Rajendran | ASA Santulan | Ranga Sugarcane | ASA Sniper | Fosfor Heather | ASA I-Will | Hero Glorious | ASA Azaadi | Fosfor Islander | ASA Halwa | ASA Macaw | ASA Namenlos | ASA Bheeshma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Hi! Am curious to know if ANY #35 (#6) nib will work as a replacement for the stock nib on the Gama Forever. Do all nibs of the same numbering have the same shape, size and thickness? I have an eye on nibs from Goulet but am reluctant to order one. I think FPR also sells replacement nibs for this pen, with the same #35 (#6) size designation, but my eye is still on the new Goulet nibs. Thanks in advance for the input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found that the Jowo (Goulet, Edison) fit well. I have also found that the Noodler's #6 size nibs, both flex and standard, are a bit flatter at the non-writing end and, for me, don't fit. I believe that ASA Pens is the distributor for Jowo nibs in India. If you order a pen in the future you can also order a German nib. The nib in the OP's pen looks to be an "Ambitious." They are my favorite India produced nib.

Edited by Scribblesoften
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Scribblesoften! Appreciate the input. Will post an update if I do succumb to a new nib. My Gama Forever stock nib has been a loyal performer to date with regular flushing (this has been important, perhaps due to the simple ink I use (Bril Black, India made, at under 30 cents for a 60 ml bottle, I'm not kidding). Am mildly reluctant to upgrade this 500 rupee (US $7.50) pen (that's what I paid for it in Chennai, India) with a nib twice the pen's price. But reluctance and good sense can be overcome by gazing again at those swell pictures of shiny new nibs posted on the Goulet website; I'll be heading there in a moment. Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Scribblesoften, thanks again for the input. I was able to put in a Knox #6 gold-tone Medium, and it works very nicely. No tip-smoothing or any other nib adjustments required, although I did heat set it. The Knox has the exact same dimensions as the stock nib and therefore, together with the feed, gives the same tight friction fit in the nib unit. Just a note to everyone: that feed and nib combo sits very tightly in the unit and you'll need to be careful pulling it out and setting it in, lest you break something. My thanks to whoever suggested (earlier in this thread perhaps elsewhere) putting the whole nib unit -with nib and feed- into the freezer for a bit, before attempting to get the nib and feed out. I did that and maybe it helped, but let me tell you, it's still as bad as pulling teeth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am glad to hear that it went together well and now is writing nicely. With some nibs that are tight in the section, it can be better to push them out rather than pull them. Sometimes this can take some ingenuity but it reduces the chance of damaging the feed. I hope you enjoy this pen for many years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scribblesoften: That's a good suggestion. Will bear that in mind in case I am faced with a tight nib and feed again. Regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review, thanks a lot. I was thinking about getting this pen but went with the ASA I-Can instead. After reading your review I think I'll get one also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...