Ebonite Pen Recommendation

[gbryal]

I have a large ebonite Ranga, green with matte/bakul finish which I like a lot, though the Wality nib needed work and I would buy a different nib next time. The Fountain Pen Revolution Triveni are an affordable start with ebonite pens also; I have gloss brown one that writes well. I own a Ranga acrylic with Imperial nib, and of course the nib writes as you'd expect. I haven't seen it on ebonite but on the acrylic it matches nicely (though there remains a smell of the cement they used I think).

[amk]

I love the Indian ebonite pens, and have a number from Ranga, Ratnam (no, I tell a lie, that's a celluloid), Deccan, Guider, and Astra, as well as some vintage pens.

Let's be blunt and tell it like it is: the downsides to Indian pens are two: horrid nibs, and eyedropper, which depending on the feed and fit can be okay or just horrifyingly blotty. So if I were you I would look at buying from a supplier who can provide an upgrade to a JoWo or Bock nib and a converter system. You lose the B.I.G. ink capacity, but you'll end up with a much more usable pen and far more enjoyment.

Ranga has a good range of non-standard ebonite colours. Deccan has some wonderful black and 'ivory' ebonite pens. Everyone, just about, produces the green and brown ripples.

[gbryal]

As far as the Wality nib on the stock Ranga (and I'm not sure that's still the default), and the "work" I had to do on it, I am an amateur. I just played with the nib with my fingers and loupe until I got it aligned and used some mylar smoothing paper until I got the scratchy out. So, while it wasn't that great out of the box, it didn't take me that long to bring it up to speed so it wrote as well as anything else I had, and it came with a spare nib if I really messed it up. I will go for a Bock or Jowo next time, but I wouldn't let the nib stand in my way if I didn't mind getting ink on my fingers, especially if I was on a budget.

As far as the body on my Ebonite Ranga, the matte finish is really pleasant. It's hard and light and really unlike any other material, and while it's simply built the cap fits nicely and everything on my particular pen are within tight tolerances, with a good, sturdy clip.

[Cob]

Reference was made earlier in this thread to Mabie Todd Blackbirds. Well I offered one in the "for sale" section at £45 - say $85 - no takers, and this is restored pen in near perfect condition with a lovely flexible gold nib! Now Sold
BB3s.jpg

Cob

[Cob]

Whoops! don't post when tired!

The Blackbird is of course a celluloid one; I do have a BCHR one though and I'll post a snap of it later.

EDIT: Wrong again! According to John Brindle's excellent Mabie Todd Site, the Blackbird BB2/60 was made of black hard rubber.

Cob

[Cob]

Whoops! don't post when tired!

The Blackbird is of course a celluloid one; I do have a BCHR one though and I'll post a snap of it later.

Cob

Here two clipless Blackbirds; the brownish one is definitely BCHR, I don't know about the black one - neither carries a model number.
EDIT: thanks again to John Brindle: the model number of these clipless pens is BB2-6 and yes they are BCHR.

2 Blackbirds S.jpg

Rgds

Cob

[AtomicLeo]

If you want to spend less than $100 there are some great ebonite Indian pens. I own a Ratnamson 302 that is ebonite. A bit toothy, but I great daily writer

[AtomicLeo]

If you want to spend less than $100 there are some great ebonite Indian pens. I own a Ratnamson 302 that is ebonite. A bit toothy, but I great daily writer