Are there any fountain-pen or ink manufacturers in Ukraine?

[mke]

I guess Benu will have a longer outtime if they really move. After that they might need some financial help to get back on track.

 

Regarding the question about Ukrainian penturners, there are other places where you could ask too, Reddit, IG, ...

All have different audience who might know different stuff.

 

[amberleadavis]

Posts which contained political commentary were hidden. No points were issued and no additional reports were made to the moderators. If your post was hidden, please do not repost.

[A Smug Dill]

19 hours ago, DvdRiet said:

… I don't have any Benu pens nor current plans to buy any (although I have looked at them before and may still do so in the future).

 

Same. Interesting looking pens, but the overwhelming sense I get is that the brand's schtick and designs are gimmicky, to the extent of taking away from being good or even competent writing instruments. I almost committed to buying one a while back, when several designs was offered at significant discounts on clearance by you-know-who, but in the end I just didn't have the confidence in the product, and there are so many more trusted pen brands/models in that price range as Benu's competition. I cannot imagine myself feeling differently about the brand now, irrespective of the company's moving where it is domiciled, or what political stance it expresses in social media.

 

[AmandaW]

A couple of years ago I saw a very pretty pink one with little flowers trailing around the barrel (Might have been more abstract than that, but the effect was flowers). I really liked it, but by the time I came back to purchase they were all gone. Clearly I wasn't the only one thinking it pretty!

[jptitus]

I've tried to imagine what pen brands would have been used historically in Ukraine.  Pelikan probably had a share of the market during WWII.  The nearest manufacturer to Ukraine that I can think of is Centropen, made in the former Czechoslovakia.  I don't currently have a working Centropen, but would enjoy carrying one as an expression of my empathy for, and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

 

This search for self expression led me to a plain but solid Edacoto 87 in my collection.  It was introduced during WWII in Occupied France, 1943.  It is simple in it's form and as far as I know only came in black with a steel (in this case flex) nib.  I thought about how significant it was that Edacoto insisted on producing high quality pens in defiance of Axis occupation.  This pen was passed off in "Pens of the World", Andreas Lambrou, Page 290 as inferior in quality to earlier Edacoto wartime models.  I don't have any other wartime models to compare with the 87.  I don't wish to dispute Lambrou, but as times change our world view, it seems to me that human efforts such as those that made the 87 possible in its time, make it much more important as an historical marker.

 

Surprised by the inferior quality label placed on the 87, I must say that mine, a button filler, is solid, comfortable, and one of my best performers.  It's flex steel nib is one of the best performing nibs I have had the privilege of owning.  It was remarkable that such quality was possible by those heroes of freedom at Edacoto.  Freedom fighters from all times and places have much in common.  I have associated my empathy for and recognition of that French defiance to that of the citizens of Ukraine.  It is now my main carry pen, pocketed over my heart, representing my conviction.

 

Their are many other examples of pen manufacturing going on in defiance of military aggression.  Think of the bombing of London during WWII.  Consider pen makers in Denmark, Holland and Belgium during that period.  The pen community needs to carry on its spirit of inclusion.  Even the employees of Benu would most likely choose freedom and democracy over a tyrant.  Maybe we should consider proudly carrying our existing Benus in solidarity with the Russian pen community.

 

jptitus

[gutsforgarters]

Yes, Kaminskiy Studio. Most of their pens are sold via other Ukrainian shops, thats why not all of their assortment you may see on their website. They carry out customs (create your own pen ), but i guess only if you ask directly Yarslov Kaminskiy. Also, here we have cheap ua-made FPs made by ZIBI for childs and schools (about 1$ per pen), and some unique and extraordinary or even strange FPs in a single copies. Maybe something else...

Links:

 https://kaminskiy.studio/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaroslavkaminskiy?originalSubdomain=ua

Edited May 16, 2022 by gutsforgarters