vintage indian ebonite Madurai Black Giant

[hari317]

Madurai Black Giant

 

Documenting this pen that I got from Madurai in TN, India. Nothing much is known about who made it. There are no markings.The  pen is around 70-80 years old as per the seller. The pen is notable for some distinctive features. It has 4 start cap threads. Cap comes off in 1-1/2turns. The ebonite feed is humongous at 9.5mm diameter. The crisp and deep knurling on the clip screw is a nice touch. The material has the blow holes and inclusions typical of Indian ebonite so the pen is of Indian origin. 

The pen 

Uncapped

 

 

Disassembled

 

 

Clip screw knurling. 

 

Nib 

Feeder

 

Cap grooves, usually filled with paint or rings are swaged in. 

Dimensions: 

Capped length: 151mm

Uncapped: 120+25mm(nib)

Posted: 205mm ( yes the cap can be posted!!) 

Cap Dia: 21mm

Barrel Dia: 18mm

Section Dia: 15mm

Ink capacity: 4.85ml

 

Size comparison

 

L-R: Guider Zimbo, Madurai, Kim, Woodex 63

 

Cheers 

Hari 

 

[Harish N V]

Oh. Thanks for sharing this. A real giant. Madurai is really not a likely place to get a handmade beauty. It really looks nice. 4 start threads and an interesting feeder . 

[Harish N V]

When did you get this pen?

[hari317]

14 minutes ago, Harish N V said:

Madurai is really not a likely place to get a handmade beauty.

One never knows where one finds stuff. 

[hari317]

14 minutes ago, Harish N V said:

When did you get this pen?

Recently only. 

[Harish N V]

1 hour ago, hari317 said:

Recently only. 

Quite surprising 

[hari317]

10 minutes ago, Harish N V said:

Quite surprising 

Even I was. 🙏🏼

[bugsydog55]

Not seen any knurling on a cap finial since that would seem to be rather difficult to accomplish with such detail by hand.  Not taking anything away from the craftsman that create these pens, just an observation.  Not seen anything quite like this rather unique pen.  Do you think the Bock nib was added at some time in the past or is it old enough to be original with the pen?  That folded nib is something to see.

[hari317]

1 minute ago, bugsydog55 said:

Not seen any knurling on a cap finial since that would seem to be rather difficult to accomplish with such detail by hand.  Not taking anything away from the craftsman that create these pens, just an observation.  Not seen anything quite like this rather unique pen.  Do you think the Bock nib was added at some time in the past or is it old enough to be original with the pen?  That folded nib is something to see.

thanks. 
 

One can knurl using a rolling knurling attachment to the lathe. Quite common for hand tools. 
 

I did enquire regarding the original nib. The seller found this small lot without nibs. But he told me the pens used to be sold with warranted gold nibs of humongous sizes. Somewhat similar to vintage no 18 and 20 waterman nibs, Wahl signature no 6 nibs etc. 

 

the pen was outfitted with a modern Jinhao no 8 nib. 
 

I replaced the nib at my end with a bock no 8. It’s a properly tipped BB nib. Not a folded nib. 

[bugsydog55]

Thanks for the info.  Learn something everyday.  I was not aware about doing that slanted knurling on a lathe but now that you mentioned it, I can picture the set-up.  That nib does look great with that pen, like it was made for it.  When I looked at the photos, it appeared to my barely awake eyeballs (early morning here and I had not done my two cups of coffee yet) that the nib was folded.  My oversight.  Stii, that does make for a classic looking combination.  The pen has a look that was obviously ahead of it's time, or rather, timeless.  You seem to come across these treasures on a regular basis.  Thank you for sharing.

[hari317]

16 minutes ago, bugsydog55 said:

Thanks for the info.  Learn something everyday.  I was not aware about doing that slanted knurling on a lathe but now that you mentioned it, I can picture the set-up.  That nib does look great with that pen, like it was made for it.  When I looked at the photos, it appeared to my barely awake eyeballs (early morning here and I had not done my two cups of coffee yet) that the nib was folded.  My oversight.  Stii, that does make for a classic looking combination.  The pen has a look that was obviously ahead of it's time, or rather, timeless.  You seem to come across these treasures on a regular basis.  Thank you for sharing.

Thanks. The thing that drew me to the pen was the knurling and I immediately thought it’s some old German pen languishing there. But the pure ED and the ebonite and the unfilled cap grooves pointed  otherwise. 
 

I just don’t let go of any interesting pen that I find. And I try to document them. The finds are actually few and far between. 🙏🏼
 

 

[arun.upb]

The large nib, the cap, the clip, the flat top, what is not to like. Congratulations on this find! It is truly a rare gem.

[cjabbott]

Excellent find!  Congratulations, Hari!

[hari317]

6 hours ago, arun.upb said:

The large nib, the cap, the clip, the flat top, what is not to like. Congratulations on this find! It is truly a rare gem.

Thank you Arun. 

4 hours ago, cjabbott said:

Excellent find!  Congratulations, Hari!

Thanks Cory. 

[Abhik]

Lovely pen! Nice find Hari. Loved shape and cap finial. Enjoy!!

[hari317]

58 minutes ago, Abhik said:

Lovely pen! Nice find Hari. Loved shape and cap finial. Enjoy!!

Thanks Abhik. 

[Triplesss]

Never knew these pens even existed. its so beautiful and well made. 

[hari317]

12 hours ago, Triplesss said:

Never knew these pens even existed. its so beautiful and well made. 

This is a good pen with very questionable origins and backstory as I note in my OP. The finishing is actually quite poor being let down by the material. I would recommend the Woodex 63 anyday over this. This pen is nice to have as a vestige of the past. Nothing more, nothing less.