Review of ranga splendour

[sansenri]

thank you, are you talking of the pen in converter version?

[K Singh]

9 hours ago, sansenri said:

thank you, are you talking of the pen in converter version?

Yes, though you can use them like eyedroppers too just like Ranga pens. I wanted to stress the benefit of well-finned feeder for their push-cap model. That's why recommended the Schmidt one over the regular ebonite ones.

[Harish N V]

Hi ksingh, 

I finally placed an order for a large zimbo. But i opted for a guider nib. Mr Lakshman rao suggested a Schmidt but since this is my first guider, I opted for an Indian nib and also I checked hari's feed and so informative. 

 

My woodex 39 arrived but unfortunately I broke my nib while trying to heat set it. I had a question regarding inserting the feed and 40mm nib onto the section. I found it hard to push the nib and feed back into the section. As a result, the nib juts out quite a bit from the feeder. As a result, there is poorer saturation. Any suggestions on this front. 

[sansenri]

12 hours ago, K Singh said:

Yes, though you can use them like eyedroppers too just like Ranga pens. I wanted to stress the benefit of well-finned feeder for their push-cap model. That's why recommended the Schmidt one over the regular ebonite ones.

 

I honestly prefer eyedroppers with ebonite feeder, I like the generous flow more, using a Jowo/Bock/Schmidt nib unit in eyedropper gives much less burping but takes away the thrill of great unrestrained flow, I love it when the pen writes as soon as the nib touches the paper.

[Karmachanic]

54 minutes ago, sansenri said:

the thrill of great unrestrained flow

 

A true dyed in the wool FP wacko!   From one who is fond of juicy wet nibs.

 

Didn't know I need a Woodex 39 with a 40mm nib

[mhguda]

Absolutely. For me eyedropper-filled pens have become a favorite in and of themselves - if I can have an eyedropper version or a CC version, I will always take the eyedropper version. I love it that the simplest technology really works best for me.

[sansenri]

40 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

A true dyed in the wool FP wacko!   From one who is fond of juicy wet nibs.

 

Didn't know I need a Woodex 39 with a 40mm nib

 

I'm glad you understand Karmachanic! I know a number of reputed pen aficionados that believe eyedropper is a surpassed and unreliable system, that is kept alive only as a whim, a sort of obsession for old fashioned stuff...

[Karmachanic]

4 minutes ago, sansenri said:

a surpassed and unreliable system,

 

Describes me perfectly.

[sansenri]

16 minutes ago, mhguda said:

Absolutely. For me eyedropper-filled pens have become a favorite in and of themselves - if I can have an eyedropper version or a CC version, I will always take the eyedropper version. I love it that the simplest technology really works best for me.

 

I'm not so much emphasizing the simplicity of the eyedropper system here, it is true that in some occasions (and often when not perfectly implemented) it has some drawbacks, but the fact is I feel the difference.

And I hate those pens (converter most of the times...) that there is no way to get them to flow properly

[sansenri]

2 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Describes me perfectly.

[sansenri]

56 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Didn't know I need a Woodex 39 with a 40mm nib

 

I didn't know either yet, but it looks like a good place at last where to fit an Ambitious 40

[Karmachanic]

Gama Masterpeice looks exactly like Woodex 39. 

Woodex 39 looks exactly like Gama Masterpiece.  

Hmmm.

[K Singh]

17 hours ago, Harish N V said:

Hi ksingh, 

I finally placed an order for a large zimbo. But i opted for a guider nib. Mr Lakshman rao suggested a Schmidt but since this is my first guider, I opted for an Indian nib and also I checked hari's feed and so informative. 

 

My woodex 39 arrived but unfortunately I broke my nib while trying to heat set it. I had a question regarding inserting the feed and 40mm nib onto the section. I found it hard to push the nib and feed back into the section. As a result, the nib juts out quite a bit from the feeder. As a result, there is poorer saturation. Any suggestions on this front. 

Look forward to your views on guider pens. Their stock nibs can be a hit or a miss though. But it's not a big deal as you can easily replace them if needed. Most of my guiders are eyedroppers and I like them all.

 

The nib-feed are very well-fit on all my Woodex pens. And I don't see any need to fiddle with them. Was there some issue with yours.  There was a post on FPN where someone(I think hari317) had shared a video on how to fix such issues using some tool. I searched for it but couldn't find it. Hope you are able to find a solution 👍

 

13 hours ago, sansenri said:

I honestly prefer eyedroppers with ebonite feeder

Same here. It's even better when it's a well-finned feeder. The kanwrite ebonite feed is quite good, though I like the Kim feed(Sheaffer type feed) more. Unfortunately you can't find them these days and I am lucky to have one such feed in one of my Kim pens

 

12 hours ago, mhguda said:

I love it that the simplest technology really works best for me.

 

I fully agree. I find eyedroppers to be the simplest filling system to use, though I used to prefer converters earlier.

 

10 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Gama Masterpeice looks exactly like Woodex 39. 

Woodex 39 looks exactly like Gama Masterpiece.  

 

Yes they are very similar, but you can notice some differences. Woodex pens have better finishing compared to Gama pens in my experience. The feed is also better on the Woodex one.

 

Do check out this post on comparison between Deccan and Gama Masterpiece pen. Mr.Prabhakar - the man behind Woodex pens- used to make pens for Deccan earlier, so today's Woodex 39 is very similar to the earlier Deccan Masterpiece.

 

 

[Harish N V]

Hi ksingh, 

.the issue was on ny side. I got impatient to increase the flow and fiddled with the feed and nib. The pen came well fitted. Thanks for your effort to search for posts. 

[Karmachanic]

2 hours ago, K Singh said:

Yes they are very similar, but you can notice some differences. Woodex pens have better finishing compared to Gama pens in my experience. The feed is also better on the Woodex one.

 

Thank you. How's the cap seal?  Is it safe to leave to leave unused for a week or so?

[K Singh]

27 minutes ago, Harish N V said:

Hi ksingh, 

.the issue was on ny side. I got impatient to increase the flow and fiddled with the feed and nib. The pen came well fitted. Thanks for your effort to search for posts. 

👍. Do share an update on it later. I hope you are able to fix it. Else you can always send it to Woodex for a repair.

 

23 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Thank you. How's the cap seal?  Is it safe to leave to leave unused for a week or so?

Yes, my Woodex39 always writes even if I pick it after a week. I have a Woodex model 4 too, but that one dries out in a few days of non-use. The model 4 also starts to burp when ink level reaches 50% or so, whereas my Woodex39 has never burped on me even though I have refilled it 3-4 times till now.

[Karmachanic]

@K Singh

[Harish N V]

Finally the Zimbo arrived and i quite enjoy the girth of this pen. The really girthy section coupled with a somewhat smaller stock nib provides a unique combination for me. I enjoy this size and beyond this would be hard for me I guess. The pen has some little starting up trouble in the sense it writes in a very unsaturated manner for five words and then picks up after that. But i did not try to set this right as i ended up breaking my feed and nib of the woodex 39. 

 

And Mr Lakshman Rao was such a sweet person and explained everything so patiently and in detail. 

 

The zimbo is on the left with the Raanga splendour to compare sizes. Lovely finish on the zimbo

 

[sansenri]

it does look very nicely polished, is it ebonite? can you show a picture of the uncapped pen?

[K Singh]

4 hours ago, sansenri said:

it does look very nicely polished, is it ebonite? can you show a picture of the uncapped pen?

Yes, it's ebonite. Harish has shared a full review here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/366394-guider-zimbo-in-bluish-ebonite/