Fountain Pens.

[kshitij]

Small update after a long time. The joy of using fountain pens has only grown on me over the past couple of months. The interest has grown beyond just pens and has spread to inks and high quality paper too. Never thought something as simple as writing could have such a broad spectrum of tools for it.

Have given away all most all of the cheap pens i had acquired in the beginning as i learnt what quality writing instruments truly are. But what truly remains my favourite pen is the ASA Nauka. I guess it was destiny that I won that pen here. Subsequently got 4 more made for myself in different materials and with different nibs. Currently have two more being custom made. These were a long time in the making as the blanks themselves took a long time to arrive. Should be getting the two pens by next week after a wait of around 4 months.
Will share images of those when they arrive. For now, here is what is currently enjoying my attention.

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[Mack The Knife]

Congrats on the 146, Kshitij!

I guess, having at least one Montblanc is one itch that every fountain pen aficionado wants to scratch.

However, please don't spend your hard earned on any more new Montblancs. They are way too over priced now.

Take my advice and try vintage Pelikans and Montblancs, with their semi-flex and flex nibs, instead.

Incidentally, Lamy unveiled their 50th anniversary edition of the 2000 recently. It's limited to 5000 numbers and they have priced it at Euro 500.00
I will be giving it a miss and will stick with my Makrolon version.

[kshitij]

Hi Mack,
Yes the Lamy 2k 50th anniversary was an extreme let down. I dont like the weight and balance of the steel version so will be giving this one a pass. They could have done so much better than that black amber finish.
You are right about the over priced Montblancs. The one in the picture is a vintage 149 from the early 80s. It has the "14C" nib. I had to decide between this and a current platinum finish 149, went with this for the flexy nib on it.

[Mack The Knife]

Excellent decision!

The vintage 146s are also a good buy. They are better balanced.

Do post some pics, especially macro shots of the nib and feed and above all a writing sample showing the nib's flex characteristics using your normal writing pressure.

P.S.: The platinum trim versions do look better but I am glad you went with the older pen instead. By the way, I did not know they had platinum trim 149 models.

[essdee1972]

When you host your next pen giveaway party, can yo send out more invites??

The MB looks cool! Show us some handwriting samples.

I m awaiting the results of your ASA experiment with the blanks, before jumping on. The blanks look awesome as knife handle scales, though!

[kshitij]

When you host your next pen giveaway party, can yo send out more invites??

The MB looks cool! Show us some handwriting samples.

I m awaiting the results of your ASA experiment with the blanks, before jumping on. The blanks look awesome as knife handle scales, though!

It was no give away party. Some school kids in chennai needed fountain pens, gave away all of what i dont use or cherish much

Picture time:

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The ASA experiment has gone well. The maker has sent me pictures of the pens, eagerly waiting to get them. I would recommend you get atleast one pen made from the blanks and use the rest for knife handles.

[kshitij]

Pictorial update of a couple of new additions over the past months.
The Pilot Custom 823 with the #15 FA nib

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The Montblanc 149 Platinum

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A pair of custom made pens. The material used was the aluminite lava blanks.

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Another pair of ASA TransNaukas. One buffed and one clear.

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[goodboy_mentor]

Does anyone know historically when metallic nibs first came to be used in the Indian sub continent?

[xl_target]

Does anyone know historically when metallic nibs first came to be used in the Indian sub continent?

According to Wikipedia:

The quill replaced the reed pen across Europe by the Early Middle Ages and remained the main writing tool of the West for nearly a thousand years until the 17th century. Quills are fashioned by cutting a nib into the end of a feather obtained from a fairly large bird, such as a goose, traditionally from its left wing. A quill has the advantage of being more durable and more flexible than a reed pen, and it can also retain ink in the hollow shaft of the feather, known as the calamus, allowing more writing time between ink dippings. The quill was in common use until the early 19th century and the advent of the metal nib. For business purposes, the quill was fairly quickly overtaken; however, it remains popular for personal use and for artistic work.

Metal nibs have their origins as far back as ancient Egypt and were made of metals like copper and bronze. However, the quality of writing that could be achieved with these pens was inferior to that of reed pens. It was not until 1822, when John Mitchell set up a factory in Birmingham, England to manufacture steel nibs, that their popularity took off. The metal nib retains a sharp point or edge much longer than the quill, which wears out more quickly and requires much skill to sharpen. Metal nibs are also easily manufactured to have different properties for different purposes. Also, they can now be attached to and removed from holders, allowing one to switch between nibs with relative ease.

So I would wager that since the first metal nib factory was setup in England while India was occupied by them, they brought the metal nib to India around the time that nibs became easily available. So, I would expect that it would have been after 1822.

[K1eaner]

I have a couple of Parker fountains pens, I have the Waterman (wife gifted it), I had a Mont Blanc which I broke in half when I accidentally sat on it. I know I know, I curse myself for doing so.

Hyderabad has a lot of shops in the old city where you can get some decent fountain pens, they're not always in ship shape, but if you're willing to fix them and give some love, you'll have a few classics in your inventory.

[kshitij]

Adding a quick and dirty shot of the ink drawer i took.

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[Mack The Knife]

That's not good enough.

You have to provide a writing sample with each of those. LOL.

[kshitij]

That's not good enough.

You have to provide a writing sample with each of those. LOL.

Sure. It will be a long and slow process, but dont mind doing that

Only problem is that i have noticed ink shades to appear different on screen and in reality because of the way each screen is set up. But you can get a rough idea of what the colour will look like.

[Mack The Knife]

Hello...first make my fountain pen then embark on your ink review. :p

[goodboy_mentor]

So I would wager that since the first metal nib factory was setup in England while India was occupied by them, they brought the metal nib to India around the time that nibs became easily available. So, I would expect that it would have been after 1822.

I see, it means the large scale commercial sale of metallic nibs must have started in the Indian sub continent from around 1822 onwards. Does anyone, especially those having keen interest in history reading this forum, have any idea if the use of non commercially manufactured metallic nibs was also done before 1822? If yes, since when? Who used them first? The Hindus, the Arabs, the Afghans, the Turks/ Mughals? Any hand written manuscripts or documents written with such metallic nibs are available as evidence?