Ranga Model 4C - review

[Recursion]

Ranga, Model 4C ebonite in green/black ripple

 

I heard from this penmaker via FPN and YouTube videos. As I tend to be drawn to ebonite I was immediately interested in this brand. After I found out that they are hand made in India it only enforced the initial appeal. I lived in Nepal for a while, and I really learned to appreciate the craftsmanship and the idea of supporting a small family business.

For me it was a no-brainer to order a pen (actually 4) from Ranga. 

 

So, the facts:

Manufacturer:           Ranga & Co

Model:                        4C
Material:                     Ebonite (green ripple)

Nib:                             Jowo #6 steel (EF) - unit

Filling system:           3 in 1 (eye dropped)

Capped:                     154 mm

Uncapped:                 137 mm

Posted:                       189 mm

Section:                      9,6 – 11,1 mm (11-12,5 advertised)

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Appearance & Design (8) – Classic design

The design of the pen is simple and classic, yet the material looks stunning. This combination makes it an appealing pen. It is a slightly larger pen but not oversized. The design and material is understated and this makes it also great in a business environment.

 

 

Construction & Quality (7) – Lovely with little flaws

The threading on the pen is great and unintrusive. The threading on the section is extremely long and that enhances the feeling of being able to securely eye dropper this pen. The pen uncaps with just under 1 turn! That is great for quick notetaking. The material is lightweight, and the feel of the ebonite is lovely. There are 3 little flaws:

• Cap and barrel don’t align totally (small seam noticeable);
• The backside of the clip is corroding;
• The pen burps quite often when eye dropper filled.

There are just minor flaws that do not bother me. After all it is handmade and this ads to the character of the pen

 

 

 

Weight & Dimensions (7,5) – Good length and lightweight

The length of the pen really fits my hands and writing style. Posted it is way to long for my taste. I don’t have a scale, but the pen feels super lightweight (even fully inked up). The section could be a bit girthier for my tase. Close to the nib it’s only 9,6 mm and that makes it feel a bit finicky to me. 

 

Nib & Performance (8) – It’s a Jowo #6

The #6 Jowo nib performs as expected (out of the box) It’s quite dry and a little misaligned. But after some tuning it is smooth and gives a nice EF line with a good wet flow. This extra fine nib is now wet enough to really show the character of the ink (in this case Akkerman Shocking Blue #5) The feed seems to be filled quite quickly and this sometimes results in burping (eye dropper filled) if you keep the pen nib-up for a few minutes this is gone again.

 

Filling System & Maintenance (8) – Your choice

With the 3 in 1 filling system, you can do whatever you want. There is a converter included with the pen. I chose to eye dropper it as I dislike refilling pens and like a big ink capacity. But I might have to start using the converter due to the burping problem and I can’t have this during a meeting. I really like that you can use cartridges, a convertor or eye dropper for filling the pen. Always good to have options.

 

Cost & Value (10) – Can’t complain here

For just a little over € 68,- this is a great value for your money pen. Especially if you consider it’s handmade, made of ebonite, huge number nib options and send within 2 weeks (order, produced and shipped!!). The packaging is great and reminds me of my time in Nepal. 

 

Conclusion (Final score [48,5/6]: 8 ) – Thumbs up for Ranga

All in all, I’m very satisfied with the pen and it is one of my daily writers at this moment. Mr. Kandan (who does the customer service, amongst other things) is great and really understands what customer service should be like. In two words: polite and helpful!
I can certainly recommend Ranga pens

P.S. 

I now own 4: The Majestic, 4C, 8B and Giant 9B and all of them write lovely.

[K Singh]

Nice detailed review 👍

 

The burping shouldn't occur unless the pen is running out of ink. Ranga should be able to offer some solution for this.

[Jamerelbe]

Congratulations on your collection of Rangas - over the past several years I've managed to accumulate 10! Being a hand-turned pen, there will always be little flaws in the workmanship.

 

A suggestion re the burping: this is caused by air in the barrel expanding as the heat from your hand is transferred to the barrel.  This can be minimised by wearing heat insulating gloves (!), by keeping the barrel fairly full of ink, and/or by pre-heating the pen before you start writing (i.e. to hold the pen, nib upright, in your hand for a little while).  

 

I tend to use cartridge converters in my Ranga pens, as I tend to have a lot of pens inked at once, so emptying an eyedropper filled pen takes a veeeery long time!

[Recursion]

@K Singh & @Jamerelbe I topped off the ink and indeed the burping is gone. Thanx for the tip. Not that this was a huge problem, just a minor one that does not distract off the quality off the pen 

[Harish N V]

Hey very nice review. I carry a 4c in black ebonite for work. It's quite nice and a really nice writer. A no nonsense pen to conclude. 

 

Glad to know that the burping issue is resolved.