FPR Jaipur

[eachan]

Western companies make fountain pens for the hobby market. These days it’s only really India and the Far East that make pens as practical, everyday writers. Though Chinese pens have come along quite a way, most of them need to improve a little further. Many Indian pens seem altogether better.

I’ve sourced Indian pens directly from the companies in the past. Sometimes this can be difficult. Really, these companies exist to supply the home market. Doubtless they are pleased to sell pens to the world market but not all are well set up to do it and the language barrier can be difficult to surmount. I can hardly blame them for not speaking my language when I don’t speak theirs!



Dealing with Fountain Pen Revolution removes those problems and makes some lovely pens available. I bought a pen from them that I particularly wanted and it was only a few pounds more for free postage so I chose this Himalaya. When the pens arrived a few weeks ago I laid it aside and I have filled it only today. It has a screw-in converter and while it was fixed in the pen it only took about a quarter fill. I unscrewed it and filled it more fully. A little awkward, then. The barrel has a long thread so that the pen can be used as an eyedropper filler. I confess that I find that a little annoying. FPR makes a virtue of the fact that the pen can be filled with a cartridge, using the converter or as an eyedropper filler. I don’t use eyedroppers and I would rather a shorter thread. Yes, I’m picky! The cap also has a quite long thread – two and three quarters turns – so the pen will not be a desk note-taker. That’s almost all the complaining. The nib is glassy smooth and I like a little feedback. That’s a preference, not a fault. I can fix that in a moment.



The blue marbled pattern is very bright and pretty. Acrylic marbling cannot match patterns in celluloid but this one comes close. The chrome goes with the blue very well. The pattern continues into the section. The section is quite thick, gently tapered and has a decisive “stop”. It’s really comfortable. The nib is a more generous fine than a Japanese fine. It’s nice and wet. No stinginess here!



For me, this is an exceptional pen in the hand. With a little tinkering it will be a very good pen for my wrap, for longer periods of writing.