Any Indian fountain pen recommendations?

[NotebookHarvest]

Looking for some Indian fountain pens here. Need a reliable writer for long writing sessions and an ef nib. What do you guys recommend? Would prefer them if they're not too huge.

[sgphoto]

Looking for some Indian fountain pens here. Need a reliable writer for long writing sessions and an ef nib. What do you guys recommend? Would prefer them if they're not too huge.
Try Ranga https://rangapens.com/about-us

Beautiful craftsmanship, very fair prices, excellent communications, will do custom work, variety of nibs, nice ebonite colors particularly the premium ebonites, and very good people.

I have three pens waiting to be shipped as soon as the Indian lockdown lets up about May 1st. Worth waiting for.

[countrydirt]

Most Ranga pens are large. But, I love mine.

[Dreck]

Looking for some Indian fountain pens here. Need a reliable writer for long writing sessions and an ef nib. What do you guys recommend? Would prefer them if they're not too huge.

Without numerical dimensions, it's hard to know what you consider "too huge." Countrydirt is correct that most Ranga pens are on the large-ish size, but that's part of the nature of things when you're getting a hand-crafted pen. I heartily add my endorsement for Ranga as well. I've bought several and given many of them away as gifts. The ebonite 3C I have is one of my favorite, most comfortable writers. As an eyedropper, it holds ~4ml; plenty of ink for a long writing session. Ranga frequently does group buys over at FPN (http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/), so if you can afford to be patient you'll get an even better deal. They are definitely worth waiting for.
I would also recommend ASA Pens (https://asapens.in/eshop/). Their "Genius" model is a great pen, and I've read several positive reviews for their "I Can." They do not offer the nib selections that Ranga does, however.
Best of luck.

[calamus]

Teri at Peyton Street Pens has a nice selection of Rangas, and she makes a selection of nibs available for them, including inlaid Sheaffer nibs from the '60s and '70s, which are great nibs but look a little weird on an ebonite Ranga, I think. Totally subjective, of course, and I'm sure they'd be amazing writers. Worth checking out, anyway. I don't have a Ranga, but I've thought about getting one more than once. Right now, though, I have plenty of pens and ink and stuff, and with the future so uncertain and foreboding, I'm pinching my pennies.

[calamus]

For anybody interested in fountain pens from India, here is a wonderful video. Someone else on FPG posted it a while back, but I can't remember where, so I hunted it down:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xkOETcaVSk

[aquafox]

FPR has an interesting selection of pens which tend to be normal sized. Noodler's pens are made in India. Legends are that ASA pens take custom orders regarding the size of their pens.

[sgphoto]

Fountain Pen Revolution https://fprevolutionusa.com/is having a 20% sale sitewide now through Monday, April 13th at midnight.

I've ordered an ebonite Himalaya V1 some time back and found it to be a good pen. I replaced the nib with a 1.1 Jowo stub and use it with ESSRI. It's a good pen and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

However, yesterday I found a Guider Ebonite Fountain Pen with Schmidt Upgrade for $51.00. I've never tried a Guider and this is a good price with a good nib. Plus free shipping.

FPR also has a few Ranga pens that may be of interest.

I've found FPR to offer very good service and Kevin the owner is glad to have you for a customer and appreciates your business. Kevin also has several videos on Youtube that you can learn more about FPR.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Sg

[Deb]

I have an FPR Darjeeling on order - orange with black ends. It has the steel EF ultraflex nib. I am prepared to be disappointed - not in the pen, I hasten to add - but modern flex nibs never quite make it, in my experience. Given how little it costs it won't be a big disappointment and if it really does flex well and snaps back nicely, it will be a cause for celebration! I'll be sure to let you know.

I've had several Indian pens over the years, Rangas and others. They've all been good pens and the Indian-made nibs are good.

[fountainpagan]

I would recommend all of the above, and add Krishna pens:

- Normal ebonites, and also lacquered ones;

- Nib tunning: Dr Sreekumar was a well reputed nib meister, prior to start doing pens;

- The nib tunning is great - he can make the most horrible indian nib (such as oliver), into a wonderful smoothy one;

- His ED never burp.

No connection, or interest - I have been a regular costumer for many years, now.

[sgphoto]

Those Krisna pens are beautiful. Thanks for the heads-up.

[fountainpagan]

You are welcome, sgphoto.

[Lady Onogaro]

I want to also recommend Ranga. Also, if you find a model you like, and you find it to be too large, all you have to do is contact them directly and ask them to scale it down for you. I did with a Model 5. I liked the shape but it was too large for me, and they worked with me and didn't charge me anything extra to do so. I think it was about $55.00 all told. Maybe $60. I also have a slim Bamboo I bought from Teri at Peyton Street Pens. It is quite a nice writer and a good size for me.

[Adit]

The Indian pen market is vast. My recommendation is to first decide what exactly you're looking for. For example, do you prioritize finishing over price, preference between ebonite or plastic, ED vs CC etc. Think about this and PM me with specifics.

Now since you said you need a reliable pen, I'm assuming you mean one that doesn't burp. This could be done either by getting a nib unit instead of a friction fit nib or heat set your friction fit nib to its ebonite feed. I've never had a heat set nib and feed leak on me except if the ink level was exceptionally low. Indian pens have one main kryptonite and that is their trims. Most of their fittings look and feel a bit flimsy and poorly finished IMO. Also many brands do not finish their pens exceptionally well (there are some exceptions to this).

Indian pens come in the ED only configuration, or a CC configuration that takes both cartridges and converters and can also be EDed. A ED only pen will be the least expensive and will come with an Indian made nib (I recommend you to get the Kanwrite brand). Also, an Indian fine is as fine as a European extra fine in my experience. The CC version can be threaded for JoWo, Schmidt, Bock or even Kanwrite nib units. I also believe that Kanwrite now makes nib units that fit the JoWo or Bock threading.

I have quite some experience with owning and modding enough Indian pens that I feel I can paint a broad stroke across most of the brands I've tried:

Kanwrite: They make their own nibs. They have widths from EEF to BB with all the usual grinds available. You can get their own pens which are acceptable for the price and offer good value. Or if their pens are not your thing, you could ask other pen makers to thread sections for Kanwrite's nibs and units.

Guider: A bit challenging to communicate with, since he usually understands you but fails to reply as clearly. But once you figure that part out, there's no kidding with his pens. I find Guider pens to be really well made with good finishing. He offers both ED only (Guider's stock nibs are really bad) and CC filling that take a Schmidt unit. You could get a nib unit of your choice to him and he should gladly thread your section for that. His pens are well priced too.

Gama: Available through ASA pens. A wide range of sizes for you to choose from, Gama pens are usually made of ebonite and are ED configured. They are acceptable in terms of finishing and are priced a bit more than Guider but still fall in the inexpensive category.

ASA pens: He is a custom pen maker, so you could specify what exactly you want and he would try his best to accommodate your requests. The finishing ranges from acceptable to good. The prices are good for what you get.

Ranga Pens: One of the pricier options, but you've got a whole rainbow of materials to choose from and a wide range of models too. They too customize as per your needs so feel free to ask them what you want. The pens are good in terms of finishing.

Krishna Pens: Really well made pens with well tuned nibs. Dr Sreekumar's finishing is excellent and prices are fair too. But I would take the non burping ED claim with a grain of salt as I've received two pens brought from him to be heat set because they leaked. The one caveat with him is the LONG waitlist. He is also a doctor and turns pens more out of hobby and passion so he has a huge backlog.

Lotus Pens: This is one of the premiere pen makers in India. Mr Arun Singhi makes exceptionally well made pens with great finishing and in a plethora of materials. He can also do a totally custom pen or even turn a pen with an existing design from another maker if you can provide him the dimensions. Priced higher than a lot of Indian brands, his pens do fall tend towards the expensive side but they are worth the price.

Fosfor Pens: Again, one of the premiere pen makers in India. Mr Manoj Deshmukh turns amazing fountain pens and offer a LOT more value than what they cost. But he too has a huge waitlist.

Edit 1:

Deccan pens: I forgot about them. I have two Advocates and they are really well made. They are also well balanced. Their production is a bit stagnant since their main and AFAIK only pen maker was sick. I really do want more of these because everything about them is just right.

[sgphoto]

Nice review of Indian pen makers. Thanks.

[amk]

I have a couple of Deccan and really love them, but I am told they are difficult to get hold of unless you actually go to Hyderabad to see what's in stock.

Ranga are great, and you can ask for some customisation; ASA I like a lot, and they're very responsive if you want/don't want a clip, want a different colour nib, whatever; and Fosfor I've ordered a custom pen from and really enjoyed the process, including pictures of how things were progressing. I've also bought Guider via Fountain Pen Revolution - the Zimbo is a stunning pen though I'm not sure if they have the yellow or transparent red ones any more.

Two pens I particularly love - Ranga bamboo and ASA Nauka (I've ordered my third!). The smaller bamboo is large enough for me, the big one is big enough to use as a truncheon!

[fountainpagan]

Well, it is a lotery. I have never had a problem with any Krishna EDs.

Fosfor - My only pen had the section made, because it broke after only one refill. The second section does not fit the pen; I have used my pen during one filling, tht is all. But the majority of people had no problems at all with their Fosfor pens. Like I said, it is a lotery, sometimes.

Guiders are great, indeed but difficult to get, unless someone in India eases the comunication with them.

Kanwrite have indeed great nibs - their flex one is super - but poor pen material.

Oh, yes, amk is right - Deccans are superbe pens.

[Spideysgirl]

Looking for some Indian fountain pens here. Need a reliable writer for long writing sessions and an ef nib. What do you guys recommend? Would prefer them if they're not too huge.
Try Ranga https://rangapens.com/about-us

Beautiful craftsmanship, very fair prices, excellent communications, will do custom work, variety of nibs, nice ebonite colors particularly the premium ebonites, and very good people.

I have three pens waiting to be shipped as soon as the Indian lockdown lets up about May 1st. Worth waiting for.Peyton Street Pens has Ranga pens. I bought one from them a couple of years back. The model name escapes me right now. It's a nice pen.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[gnat9]

Doesn't Camlin make good stuff anymore? Surprising that no one is recommending them. They were the standard pens in use during my school days.

[gnat9]

I just acquired a Noodler's Ahab last month. Great pen and writes very well. But I had to do a few things to get rid of the smell. :eek:

[TMac]

My go to sources for Indian pens are the previously mentioned FPR or ASA Pens. I’ve tried others but my current favorite is the FPR Himalaya.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mbp]

I had an ASA Sniper which I thought was very well made. The company was very responsive--it took a bit to make but that's understandable as I chose a custom option.

[tde44]

I have an FPR Jaipur V2 with a fine nib that I like quite a bit. Great value. I also have one of their Himalayian V2 in Ebonite with an ultraflex nib. It writes quite well and is very light. I also enjoy the ultraflex nib. The only downside to it is that it needs some very FP friendly paper because of the nib...but that was to be expected.

[amk]

Camlin has focused on the school pen market I think though there is a nice 'Trinity' fountain pen at 100 rupees and the Elegante (don't know the price for that). I also love the Camlin cute I bought in old Delhi and that is a cracking little pocket pen.

They are good reliable user pens in my experience.

[sgphoto]

Fountain Pen Revolution has a 15% off sitewide sale going on. It might be a good time to pick up an Indian pen from them. I've got an ebonite Himalaya V1 (replace the nib with a JoWo 1.1) and Guider Ebonite Schmidt broad from them and they're nice pens. I use both as eyedroppers with ESSRI and R&K Salix and they perform great.

[Deb]

The long-awaited FPR Darjeeling arrived last week. I have been disappointed by all the other supposedly flexible modern pens I've bought but not this one. The ultra-flex nib is splendid - very flexible with fast snap-back. In use, it doesn't feel quite like the vintage flex of Swans or Onotos. It has a little stiffness moving horizontally in either direction, though not diagonally. It isn't serious and once I recognised its existence I could allow for it. I think polishing the inside edges of the tine tips might cure it.

The pen itself is very nice. As it's in orange and black it has more than a hint of the early Duofold about it, though it's by no means a copy. The fit and finish is very good. It's a very good pen for the price. In fact, never mind the price. It's just a very good pen!

[KrazyIvan]

I have a few Indian made pens. My Kim & Co pen is enormous. #8 nib, ebonite and eyedropper fill. Airmail/Wality used to make a piston filler that I only know as "Black Beauty". It is one of the nicer pens I have seen. It is all black with an ink window. I do have to grease the piston often or it stiffens up quickly. Noodlers don't have anything on it in their vegetal resin lines but even after many years, I can still detect that distinct smell. It is faint but it is there.

[calamus]

I finally broke down and ordered a Himalaya from FPR. It arrived today, and I love it. I got it in a very traditional green/black rippled ebonite with a 1 mm stub nib, which is wonderfully smooth. The pen's not huge -- more or less "standard" size, I guess you could call it -- but as an eyedropper will hold enough ink to allow me to write for a good long while. Now as long as it doesn't burp...

[sgphoto]

I finally broke down and ordered a Himalaya from FPR. It arrived today, and I love it. I got it in a very traditional green/black rippled ebonite with a 1 mm stub nib, which is wonderfully smooth. The pen's not huge -- more or less "standard" size, I guess you could call it -- but as an eyedropper will hold enough ink to allow me to write for a good long while. Now as long as it doesn't burp...

I bought the Himalaya V1 three months ago but replaced the nib with a JoWo 1.1. There was nothing wrong with the nib sent with the pen, but I like the JoWo better. At first, it was a tad dry, but a minute spent opening the tines made it perfect. I've kept it inked with ESSRI and it writes like a champ. No hard starts, no burps, holds a good bit of it.

I think you've bought a good pen and for the value it's hard to beat.

[sjpens12]

The Camlin pens are good! I have an Elegante that I find to be a nice pen to use.

[gnat9]

Has anyone heard of a brand of fountain pens called 'Raja'?

It is an Indian name, of course. From what little I have been able to gather, they were a company that existed in India during the British colonial times.

Do they still exist today, and are they still making fountain pens?

Thanks

[Deb]

I think that company disappeared long ago. It was actually a British company. There is a modern Indian company producing the Gama Raja fountain pen

https://www.fountainpenindia.com/product-page/gama-raja

There's also Guider Raja

https://fprevolutionusa.com/products/guider-raja-fountain-pen-schmidt-upgrade?variant=36295620289

[Empty_of_Clouds]

https://i.imgur.com/gkUws7dl.jpg

From a listing on that auction site.

[gnat9]

Thank you so much for the information , Deb and Empty_of_Clouds.

[Spideysgirl]

I just acquired a Noodler's Ahab last month. Great pen and writes very well. But I had to do a few things to get rid of the smell. :eek:How did you get rid of that putrid smell?

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[Lloyd]

I just acquired a Noodler's Ahab last month. Great pen and writes very well. But I had to do a few things to get rid of the smell. :eek:How did you get rid of that putrid smell?

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
Get a skunk to spray it.

[VertOlive]

The Ranga Desk Pen looks tempting.

[Yazeh]

I have an Kanwrite desire with what I believe is full flex nib, though the nib resembles more an ultraflex. Lovely pen and great nib.
However, I noticed early on that the convertor was either leaking or leak prone with massive evaporation. For some reason silicon grease was applied to the top part of the convertor...
Anyway, I emptied one of the free cartridges supplied, filled with ink and the evaporation problem is gone, or at least less than before :)

[Cyril]

I am the only one who is compleately disappointed of Indian pens.

I have a bunch of pens Bought from PFR. They all became useless due to two issus.
They are Kenwrite / Himalaya /Gamma etc.

First issue-The pens carriages converters are screw-type. the thread has gone fast within a few months. They don't take any International cartridges so these pens can't be used.
Second issue- These pens are very messy when you use eyedropping. So the Kenwrite is poring down. Burping massively when write. It tends to leak even when the pen is unused stored upward in a pen holding Cup- Bowl.
Third issue- when the Himalaya pen is shaken down the nib and the feed so loose-fixed it tend to come loose and turen around the section which is wired.

I am sure PPR never knew these problems. I contacted him... no answer. So I never buy again.
As the weather in London is horrible and cold during the winter period These pens Burps. So I never use them or encouraged to use any other ( vintage Pens) as eyepopping.

I have two Gamma extra-large ( Baseball-bat size ) pens. They were both bought by maitaken by it's size. They are both eyedroppers and I am not going to put any ink into them. So for sevearl years they are there doing nothing.
For THis pen to remove the nib you need a "Tap" I asked the FPR. No solutions.
And I am sure these pens will be given away one day.

I must give a good credit to the FPR steel nibs. I bought some steel extra nibs. They are good and especially when tune them by slight grinding you can achive some amazing capability to write Cursive and calligraphy florishing type that does not need flexibility.
I appreciate that quality of Indian nibs. I believe they had very beautiful vintage flex nibs which is very rare to obtain now.
If I ever buy a pen It is "RANGA" AS IT GIVES LOT OF OPTIONS to go with JOWO Nib sections (screw fitted ) and with International cartridge compatibility.

[Cyril]

I have Two Noodlers Pens and a piston filler rollerball which tends to dry out ink very fast
They are amazing.
I find the pistons get frozen if you leave them without using for sometimes so they need to check regularly and better grease them before storing them.
Other than that they are great pens for the price. Worth every money you put on them. :)
Very special Nibs on Ahab.

[ajha1970]

Please refer to webisite
https://www.fountainpenindia.com/gama- For Gama Pen, It is more than 100 yrs old Pen makers

ffountainpenindia.com- Please find Gama Filigiri Silver pen5570655707

[choombak]

I am a fan of KanWrite's pens and nibs, and have several. There are, however, a few things about KanWrite that I'd like to add:
1. KanWrite do sell direct to consumer, and can be contacted over email or WhatsApp. Their email is kanpurwriters@gmail.com. If anyone needs their WhatsApp number (which happens to be a cellphone), please message me here or email choombak AT gmail DOT com. They typically send you the latest catalog and pricelist over email, and are very quick to respond.
2. KanWrite top-end pens, Desire and Heritage, are Bock threaded (in my experience). Both pens write flawlessly, with Heritage being my favorite. If you go with KW, then Heritage is what you should opt for.
3. They also make nib units, which can be Bock or Jowo threaded. If you order direct from them, grab several nib units, which can give a head-on competition to Bock. I haven't seen the nib units offered for sale at their dealers.

Hope this helps.

[abmsadi06]

I would recommend something from my personal experiences.

1. Deccan: Deccan are really well made FP with ebonite body and feed. They use KanWrite nibs which is really smooth and awesome. Deccan nowadays have acrylic bodies and Deccan author have their own Deccan Nibs. I've only Deccan Advocate fountain pen. It wasn't easy to get outside india I must say. Had a lot of difficulties to send the payment.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/q-zaslMi5EB9jABfUqIo0OAExehpQxr_Zyvh5YDuKBFVXgBaprTb qN7RuyLTm-IbHDtBO_EOAkgL9Un1z0R3QoVHWIJBumcocQYfp23zWYZk-oTL0eHZGkWCaWkOUpzFOtbZulOF5sj5QZKoB72QLULAcl9bLLu oV0iSi_MudkuxmgzwlBNlDZmIqJ-jh-trqUl6hueUd_unet-8q9KfPNfoW5gkouhxR4HJTsCEEGZI4N48Km2se_zYzEVzmsDiW ZgzE0-QVwWTCOrwOrVUI2Pvr1Tw4_hmiBVxUe4EsB_eA9WnGyui2z0Ab n025HC29prvzBjP0lwLB5zpfGAWq5FHuT1K9A0yhPS7Cd7P9iI 4sz_cO0w_qwH9a_RHGEqRo7bnrUBS6NozyzOFCRGAc2w54wX7r-l2a8HLhzveM0Ic_VhDAbkMZTVInPwLOwCCXMtnY5wwiRzvsndC BA9vhSGkprmPR9o93OYPQCN9vz2qYn_x4wBNApMTvdlPIiAsrr ZOLp8fni9LIJjGuxF1Bpzq6zfALIQmNo4KUaIHJYZ5G0ycQebS 8babY6K0nkklKsdq3dtNI1ln4TjtWkjh2pLgvyrf2AExuUE01_ G3vAmbjUUuKGs0MyN-1DftEzfotbwkuwRT2K8Sk9o9YUhdR7ZWxCFHu01Muazjpe8Ky7 OnGmXU4teP4-RnsMRi=w1280-h720-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ES-ESY9kA0Q7IutdIoR6BDh-AEWGcBJICa0lOEGfQuLK5surCNMsH3CA9-eUz68EhjZkykrjNLEh_WjjVOun2fSUdf7aaiy97wQYooZV8Cds XsOOF01Ju8MbuHGB0oDaGYhBIrhiuvZNrrrew3kpoEQ81f8krR uFgIWpubHS9PIwv7YK7kcqr2_0twoPrTbcyR_628f6NiqNBw3f x2e7ni4vZiithHgQm8xSc4vIu3Y3tjRlhUmi7NtlLC9H9eJ-FCzcNyhiSlk1UiYSaBBNk4jcSIvHiEzpBTMtkMU8Nn81fhJ2T9 3tZashtj9x7wOIuKVJTQ57G8JVynS4-NwRP5v3RfOvK8pVXB3AL0eX0zpeDz7kZzxppgoRdIN-KvoweSOKGsBBh84IgsBIJe-Br70gdu-Z4Ne0PHrCGej5VEwQ5ALqpsCGiahqAIpwucEbjnMozqtCM_NdO aWc9L2O5O2CutGnQxd_cpWvbjm1hGz4mbSzA6JfgSzAwvqrxoC natj5OvcZvriuw4bN_Th6_GqkfJBqJntSC5ipsGOhledxtrM59 NeAIsJs4Oa3olsulF4B1HRtc0v_8j5KhYVhfeMGwMfrNWLO8Sp J8kUHQ7wAJ69T_IAcLXchVNBMvFgjtdLk9r1vYkcHKM0sgroTb NAyArLkIP-y17woasPCNaNr3PcSV1_cNB7lM0Wu=w1280-h720-no?authuser=0
2. Ranga: I've only Ranga Model 8B with Bock#6 titanium nib which is really well made Fountain pen with Bock, JoWo, Schmidt nibs. Payment was easy (PayPal). The pen comes after 1 months depending on the shipping and so on. Pens are quite huge but I like them.

3. Airmail/Wality: I own 71JT from them. I got this from an indian friend of mine. But if you check eBay there is plenty of them. Airmail nibs are good and smooth with an ebonite feed. I never had problem with this pen as an eyedropper.

4. KanWrite: I don't have any pen from them but I used their nibs and the feed which made me think that KanWrite mostly have the smoother nibs "Made in India". Since I had previously experienced some scratchy nibs from india by Montex or from FPR.

5. FPR: Fountain Pen Revolution have gave me mixed experience. I've their FPR Muft pen, FPR Himalaya V1, FPR Jaipur V1, FPR Indus. I liked the FPR Muft and the Jaipur pen most where Himalaya V1 I liked it's color but have some issues like Ink leakage, scratchy nib and ink evaporation and same with the FPR Indus. Which is why I said mixed experience with them.

6. Camlin: Camlin Elegant have nice smoother nibs compare to many old camlin FP which had scratchy nibs. Overall improving.

[rkesey]

What a great rundown--thank you!