bobje Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 One of the great qualities of fountain pens is that they combine utility with beauty, in a tool we use daily. The material is a key factor in this formula, and a recent discussion on Fountain Pen Network gave people the chance to name the most beautiful materials they had ever seen. Italian celluloids topped the charts: Tibaldi Impero, Omas Arco, and Omas Burkina, for example. This month I began writing with a Ranga Model 8b pen made from a blue, red, and pale yellow ebonite recently created for the company, based in Thiruvallur in southern India. Its a gorgeous ebonite, layered in rich combinations of colors revealed only as the material is turned. The pens appearance is not so much polished as excavated, like an Italian building with a foundation built in Roman times, modified over multiple centuries, and then peeled back to reveal bits and pieces from ancient and gothic and baroque periods that combine in an elegant and irregular way. As a material, for me, this ebonite ranks in the Top 10. We can make a list: scarlet tanager from Parker and carmine from Sheaffer, in the United States; the three Italian celluloids above; ebonites from SEM in Hamburg and Nikko in Tokyo; just about anything from Mazzucchelli in Italy; and diffusion bonded acrylics from Carville in England. Thats pretty high cotton, as they said in the antebellum South. I do not know what company makes this ebonite for Ranga, but I suspect someone on FPN will tell us. Fountain pen people live for arcane details. [EDITORS NOTE: the Kandan family who operates Ranga Pens also makes its own ebonite, through the Loyal Ebonites company.) Beyond the material, the craftsmanship, finish, and threads on the pen are immaculate, and the proportions have been scaled up slightly from the Model 8. Its a form of sculpture for the hand, elegant and unpretentious, at prices more accessible than pens made from other Top 10 materials. This clipless model is filled with a cartridge-converter and contains a Jowo no. 6 nib, in an 1.1 mm italic. Ranga Pens offer a handmade quality that lends itself to roll-stoppers made from wrap rings. Snakes work well, and lotus flowers, turtles, dolphins, peacocks, and lizards. I inked the pen for the first time with Sailor Jentle Souten, a blue that shades nicely for a K-pop lyric by Lee Ji-eun. Pens write stories, and a pen from Ranga, created on a specific morning by people we can actually have conversations with, people with families and colds and shoes and favorite flavors of ice cream, offers its own human story. And in the meantime, between the work we are supposed to do and the letters we should have written, the snakes and peacocks and dolphins can keep us company. Capped, the Ranga Model 8b is 155 mm long; uncapped, 141mm; the section diameter is about 11 mm; barrel diameter is 14 mm; and cap diameter is 16 mm. I dont know how much it weighs, but its ebonite, so its light. Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIAHua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga EmperorITALY AND THE UKFILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's PrescriptorUSA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTSBexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashutoshthakur Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 That is such a beauty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aditkamath26 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Out of the many premium ebonite that Ranga offers, this one is my absolute favorite. I really want to pull the trigger on a Ranga Model 4 with this ebonite. But after I saw many other photos online, the variation in this ebonite is putting me off. The opening photo of the recent group buy, that Model 5 in this ebonite looks so amazing. That's how I like it with the pale yellow dominating. Enough about me now. I loved this review as usual. I think you really love stubs and cursive italics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gampupen Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Hello, Pardon me for my ignorance, but does the roll-stopper scratch the ebonite when it is fixed firmly on the cap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpkandan Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Ranga Model 8b hero.jpeg One of the great qualities of fountain pens is that they combine utility with beauty, in a tool we use daily. The material is a key factor in this formula, and a recent discussion on Fountain Pen Network gave people the chance to name the most beautiful materials they had ever seen. Italian celluloids topped the charts: Tibaldi Impero, Omas Arco, and Omas Burkina, for example. This month I began writing with a Ranga Model 8b pen made from a blue, red, and pale yellow ebonite recently created for the company, based in Thiruvallur in southern India. Its a gorgeous ebonite, layered in rich combinations of colors revealed only as the material is turned. The pens appearance is not so much polished as excavated, like an Italian building with a foundation built in Roman times, modified over multiple centuries, and then peeled back to reveal bits and pieces from ancient and gothic and baroque periods that combine in an elegant and irregular way. As a material, for me, this ebonite ranks in the Top 10. We can make a list: scarlet tanager from Parker and carmine from Sheaffer, in the United States; the three Italian celluloids above; ebonites from SEM in Hamburg and Nikko in Tokyo; just about anything from Mazzucchelli in Italy; and diffusion bonded acrylics from Carville in England. Thats pretty high cotton, as they said in the antebellum South. I do not know what company makes this ebonite for Ranga, but I suspect someone on FPN will tell us. Fountain pen people live for arcane details. Beyond the material, the craftsmanship, finish, and threads on the pen are immaculate, and the proportions have been scaled up slightly from the Model 8. Its a form of sculpture for the hand, elegant and unpretentious, at prices more accessible than pens made from other Top 10 materials. This clipless model is filled with a cartridge-converter and contains a Jowo no. 6 nib, in an 1.1 mm italic. Ranga Pens offer a handmade quality that lends itself to roll-stoppers made from wrap rings. Snakes work well, and lotus flowers, turtles, dolphins, peacocks, and lizards. I inked the pen for the first time with Sailor Jentle Souten, a blue that shades nicely for a K-pop lyric by Lee Ji-eun, also known as IU. Pens write stories, and a pen from Ranga, created on a specific morning by people we can actually have conversations with, people with families and colds and shoes and favorite flavors of ice cream, offers its own human story. And in the meantime, between the work were supposed to do and the letters we should have written, the snakes and peacocks and dolphins can keep us company. Ranga Model 8b cap and nib.jpeg Ranga Model 8b writing sample and cap.jpeg Ranga Model 8b hero-writing.jpeg Capped, the Ranga Model 8b is 155 mm long; uncapped, 141mm; the section diameter is about 11 mm; barrel diameter is 14 mm; and cap diameter is 16 mm. I dont know how much it weighs, but its ebonite, so its light.Dear Mr. Bob Sir, Thanks a lot for your great review as always. We are thankful to your admiration of Ranga Pens Regards,Kandan.M.PRanga Pen Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinuraj Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Nice review and awesome pictures. This is my favourite model from Ranga pens. How much bigger is this pen compared to regular model 8 ? thanks,Dinuraj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobje Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Dinuraj,my rough measurements on the regular Model 8:capped 150mmuncapped 131mmsection diameter 10mmbarrel diameter 13mmcap diameter 14.5mm Gampupen,rings made from bronze or silver are a little soft and flexible, and especially if they're an adjustable wrap ring, they spring enough to contour around the diameter of the cap without scratching. I wouldn't try it with plain copper or steel, which are kind of stiff. Adit,you might ask if it's possible to specify ebonite that falls more into the pale yellow end of the spectrum. Ashu and MP,thank you! Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIAHua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga EmperorITALY AND THE UKFILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's PrescriptorUSA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTSBexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sansenri Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 thank you for a very passionate review of a lovely model from Ranga in a fantastic ebonite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gampupen Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Thanks for the reply. Enjoy the wonderful pen in good health Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberleadavis Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 I like the little snake ring too. Thank you for the review. Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas). Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison Don't know where to start? Look at the Inky Topics O'day. Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBDostoevsky Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 I do not know what company makes this ebonite for Ranga, but I suspect someone on FPN will tell us. Fountain pen people live for arcane details. [EDITORS NOTE: the Kandan family who operates Ranga Pens also makes its own ebonite, through the Loyal Ebonites company.) Thank you for the information... looks like that Ranga is vertically integrated with their own ebonite manufacturing... Interestingly, browsing on the internet i found the following Ebonite rods which are similar (not necessarily the same) to some of the special / premium ebonites used by Ranga Pens... This does not imply that Ranga buys from them... it is just that some colors are very much similar to what Ranga Offers... https://www.exoticblanks.com/Longer-Length-Ebonite-Blanks/ (No Affiliation)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpaw Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Wonderful review, pen, and company. I have an 8B in blue-black ripple that's a delight! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8, NKJV) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobje Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 Thank you MBD, Amberlea, and Southpaw. I enjoy the red eyes on the snake, and the premium and regular ebonites. Do you have a favorite among the premiums, MBD? Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIAHua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga EmperorITALY AND THE UKFILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's PrescriptorUSA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTSBexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBDostoevsky Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Do you have a favorite among the premiums, MBD? Blue Green Orange... a bit tricky to find the right variant that has an equal proportion of the three hues... but is very pleasing to the eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayami_109 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Blue Green Orange... a bit tricky to find the right variant that has an equal proportion of the three hues... but is very pleasing to the eyes My model 5 pen in this ebonite ended up being just orange and blue. What bit of green there was ended up being covered when capped. I was dissapointed. There was zero green in the cap and body. Still a nicely made pen, but not what i expected. Edited May 9, 2018 by Ayami_109 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberleadavis Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 We would love to see the photos. Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas). Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison Don't know where to start? Look at the Inky Topics O'day. Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aditkamath26 Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 AFAIK, Ranga only manufactures their regular ebonites. The premium ones are all exported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prashant.tikekar Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 (edited) AFAIK, Ranga only manufactures their regular ebonites. The premium ones are all exported.Have a look at this thread.https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/334600-ebonite-companies-in-india/?do=findComment&comment=4029656I have heard that all the ebonites (including premium) used by Ranga pens are manufactured by their family only. It is possible that they are exporting those ebonites too. Edited May 21, 2018 by prashant.tikekar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberleadavis Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Have a look at this thread.https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/334600-ebonite-companies-in-india/?do=findComment&comment=4029656I have heard that all the ebonites (including premium) used by Ranga pens are manufactured by their family only. It is possible that they are exporting those ebonites too. I had a conversation with Ranga, they are selling their ebonites and all of their ebonites are made in house. Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas). Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison Don't know where to start? Look at the Inky Topics O'day. Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mehandiratta Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Ranga Model 8b hero.jpeg One of the great qualities of fountain pens is that they combine utility with beauty, in a tool we use daily. The material is a key factor in this formula, and a recent discussion on Fountain Pen Network gave people the chance to name the most beautiful materials they had ever seen. Italian celluloids topped the charts: Tibaldi Impero, Omas Arco, and Omas Burkina, for example. This month I began writing with a Ranga Model 8b pen made from a blue, red, and pale yellow ebonite recently created for the company, based in Thiruvallur in southern India. Its a gorgeous ebonite, layered in rich combinations of colors revealed only as the material is turned. The pens appearance is not so much polished as excavated, like an Italian building with a foundation built in Roman times, modified over multiple centuries, and then peeled back to reveal bits and pieces from ancient and gothic and baroque periods that combine in an elegant and irregular way. As a material, for me, this ebonite ranks in the Top 10. We can make a list: scarlet tanager from Parker and carmine from Sheaffer, in the United States; the three Italian celluloids above; ebonites from SEM in Hamburg and Nikko in Tokyo; just about anything from Mazzucchelli in Italy; and diffusion bonded acrylics from Carville in England. Thats pretty high cotton, as they said in the antebellum South. I do not know what company makes this ebonite for Ranga, but I suspect someone on FPN will tell us. Fountain pen people live for arcane details. [EDITORS NOTE: the Kandan family who operates Ranga Pens also makes its own ebonite, through the Loyal Ebonites company.) Beyond the material, the craftsmanship, finish, and threads on the pen are immaculate, and the proportions have been scaled up slightly from the Model 8. Its a form of sculpture for the hand, elegant and unpretentious, at prices more accessible than pens made from other Top 10 materials. This clipless model is filled with a cartridge-converter and contains a Jowo no. 6 nib, in an 1.1 mm italic. Ranga Pens offer a handmade quality that lends itself to roll-stoppers made from wrap rings. Snakes work well, and lotus flowers, turtles, dolphins, peacocks, and lizards. I inked the pen for the first time with Sailor Jentle Souten, a blue that shades nicely for a K-pop lyric by Lee Ji-eun. Pens write stories, and a pen from Ranga, created on a specific morning by people we can actually have conversations with, people with families and colds and shoes and favorite flavors of ice cream, offers its own human story. And in the meantime, between the work we are supposed to do and the letters we should have written, the snakes and peacocks and dolphins can keep us company. Ranga Model 8b cap and nib.jpeg Ranga Model 8b writing sample and cap.jpeg Ranga Model 8b hero-writing.jpeg Capped, the Ranga Model 8b is 155 mm long; uncapped, 141mm; the section diameter is about 11 mm; barrel diameter is 14 mm; and cap diameter is 16 mm. I dont know how much it weighs, but its ebonite, so its light. Your reviews make for a worthy reading...Immaculate review... and yeah I agree with you this is the best ebonite that I have also in my stock... vaibhav mehandiratta architect & fountain pen connoisseur blog | instagram | twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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