Which Indian pen wouldn't you buy again or recommend to anybody?

[mpkandan]

On 8/3/2021 at 10:29 AM, Addertooth said:

A couple days after my posting here, he sent me an E-Mail that he would refund the money I spent for some of his Hard Rubber Rods he was selling on eBay.  He followed through and refunded the money I had paid in October of 2020.  

 

I really did like the way his hard rubber rods looked (truly beautiful stock), I had intended to use some of it for pen repairs (I own a lathe and a milling machine).  I was even dabbling with the idea of making an entire pen from scratch.  Ultimately, he told me he had no way to ship it.  I ordered hard Rubber rods from an American seller instead.  I only note he advertises hard rubber rods through Amazon listings which can be seen today.  I provide the link below.  I would wonder why he is still advertising them on Amazon, if he cannot ship them. There appears to be no "exclusion for American purchasers" on that listing.

 

Amazon.com : EBONITE RODS-HARD RUBBER- RIPPLE DESIGN RARE 16mm-4 COLORS(BROWN, GREEN, OLIVE, BLACK) 10 RODS LOT : Other Products : Everything Else

 

Dear Sir,

 

   We are not able to ship the rods in retail now as shipping cost is 4-5 times of the rods. India post is not reliable nowadays in this Covid time

   We do bulk shipping through Courier. We collect shipping charges for Bulk shipping. We have specific colours only in stock,

   In your case,, I was not able to find a way to ship through DHL . I'm not active in Ebay nowadays. I will resume my Ebay in couple of months. So i have not seen your messages. I have seen your message here , then given refund. 

  There is no other intention. I admit it is long wait. Apologies

 

REgards,

Kandan.M.P

Ranga Pen Company

   

   

[MidSouthern-Dad]

The only Indian made pen which has consistently disappointed me have been the Noodler's Nib Creaper.  The feed and nibs are often loose, and the cap rings have a habit of falling off easily.  The cap fits loosely, and it has a air hole in it, which lets the nib dry out.  Even plugging the hole with some epoxy doesn't seem to stop the drying out.

The Konrad seems better built, and they don't dry out as readily.

 

I have the hand turned ebonite (some acrylic) pens from ASA, Dvadaria, Gama, Guider, Ranga, Ratnamson,  They have all been fine.  The Ranga seems to have the highest level of finish / polish.  The Guider Zimbo in ebonite that I have seems to have some inclusions in the ebonite surface.  Ratnamson seems to like a semi-gloss, minimally polished look.  They have all been good pens, but I don't bother with the Indian steel nibs.  I change them to the FPR (Indian) 14K gold nibs, and high flow ebonite feeds to if I install a flex nib.  You have to expect some setup time with these Indian pens to get them to flow just the way you want them.  But once they are set, they are a dream to write with.

 

Out of this batch, I probably wouldn't buy the Ranga Abhimanyu again.  It's a nicely made pen, but too small for my hand.  I find having to post the cap too fussy.

I use my Indian pens daily at work.