Indian Fountain Pens

[@bhaskarramaraju3668]

I am an Indian, wrote with fountain pens for 10 years or more. No pen (no matter cheap or expensive) never burped in my hands!

[@aaa_1727]

I am new to learning about fountain pens. Could you please tell me what it means when you say no pen "burped" in your hands

[@devsen71]

@@aaa_1727 Excess ink will flow out and soil your hands or it would spill over the paper. We use to say this as 'pen leak'. Welcome

[@JohananJoysingh]

Indian. But never knew this many existed. :D What is famous among students are Parkers and the Heros I guess (not indian, yes). Right now some other chinese brands have come in. But 90% would know these two. When I was a kid. There used to be just two brands that I remember buying for school. Camlin and Oliver. They were kind of cheap comparatively. I don't see the olivers anymore. Now I guess the kids (if they do buy) buy, the plasticky ones that resemble the ballpoints and the rollerballs. But they are pretty good as far as the writing goes. From what I can remember as a kid, most of the pens that I bought looked great, were really smooth, but all of them had problems with ink flow like you said. All of them were eye dropper pens. Right now I don't see much activity in the fountain pen world. Probably it is rising.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

The brands I have experienced are Gama, Guider, Airmail, Camlin, Click, Serwex, Wality, Kim ACR, Ranga, ASA, FPR, and Noodlers.

[@anishkumbhar4962]

@@bryanmarsh9886 Please make review video on Pierre cardin fountain pen

[@medavaramjitamitra8120]

Mr JJ, good morning,if you are in India, then we have so many fountain pen brands, example camlin elegante, bril, Ratnam pens, wality, etal. First thing first, if you have some time, after this break out, please visit The Deccan Pen Stores, Abids, Hyderabad. You can't have any words to describe about their fountain pens, ballpoit pens. They are having so many pens and pen related accessories. If you are at liberty just please call me. My contact number 9177390323 (Airtel). Regards...

[@JohananJoysingh]

@@medavaramjitamitra8120 great, thanks for the info. 😃

[@nagamanian5243]

same

[@engico22]

Ratnam and Ranga are two handmade heritage family owned brands. I hope you have them.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I have a Ranga pen now. It is pretty good.

[@engico22]

@@bryanmarsh9886 Ratnam pens have become small now and they take orders by whatsapp. Don't know if they ship overseas. If you want let me know I will send their whatsapp number

[@shreyasnvernekar6670]

@@engico22 Can I get their Watsapp number? Please?

[@sajjadhusain4146]

What a thoroughly illuminating video of Indian pens. I never even knew Indian fountain pens of decent design and quality even existed, much less such a variety of them shown here. I actually made a delightful discovery just a few hours ago in another review of an Indian hand-made all-black ebonite pen called the Ranga Model 3. Very basic, unostentatious design and appearance. But the writing review suggests that Ranga pen is quite a magnificent writer . As good as pens costing 10 times or even more than the $30 it costs. Since these pens are so inexpensive, I reckon I can take my chances and hope to land more hits than misses with some of them. I really liked five of the pens on display here. But first, I must try to get the Ranga model 3 pen. Thanks to this video for such an interesting and helpful review of such intriguing pens.

[@MrAndrew1953]

Best yet for me is the Noodlers Triple Tail. Beautiful, wet flex, 3 tine nib.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I agree. Mine is great. My kids gave it to me after this video was made.

[@arundheenan]

I was eagerly looking forward to you to speak about the Airmail Wality 69T pen in your collection. It is one among the best Indian pens and you might consider sharing a review on that in the future. Till date fountain pens are hand made in several towns of India. Also do you know that there are still skilled technicians who repair fountain pens in our country for a nominal cost. Every fountain pen shop in our country has a history behind it.

[@tuerceviolines]

I recommend you Kanwrite pens. Kanwrite Legacy ebonite with Titanium ultraflex and Gold 14k EF ultraflex are a joy to use. Rightnow i am writing with a Kanwrite 14K Gold ultraflex nib on a Gravitas Ultemate VAC.

[@rishman26]

Try Mohi Pens as well, one of the best value for money Pens you can buy in India

[@Volkmannx]

A Ranga is next on my wishlist!

[@jamesaritchie1]

I also think it's hilarious that so many people want eyedropper pens now. The biggest moment in fountain pen history came when a pen was invented that didn't have to be eyedropper fill. People HATED eyedropper pens. All people, everywhere. For excellent reasons. But now that no one has to use an eyedropper fill pen, some people suddenly love them. Though most I know don't actually use fountain pens very much.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I agree with you on the history, and how much of a pain these pens can be. I think that since fountain pens are now more of a hobby, people are wanting to try out older and different designs. I wouldn't use an eyedropper pen as a daily user, unless it had a shut off valve, like Opus 88, Namiki, Danitrio, or other Japanese brands. The burping of ink is a real thing and an unpleasant surprise.

[@mikafoxx2717]

​@@bryanmarsh9886buying can happen with other pen types too, like vacuumatics and piston fillers, the thing is new pens have much larger sections of feed fins that are thinner so that they can adsorb the expansion then bring it back into the barrel when it cools back down. So if you simply limit the ink capacity in an eyedropper or use a much bigger feed section, it won't burp.

[@aadityakiran_s]

7:45 No the reason why Noodler's is more expensive is because Nathan although he talks about inflation, wants to get the widest margin he can on his pens so he makes them in India and sells them here saying that they're handmade and all that.

[@edgars.rainesjr.3184]

Excellent video. I personally love my Noodler’s Ahab pens, which I think are also made in India. I hope you make more videos.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

Thanks. It has been hard finding time and space. Now we are in the process of moving, so most of my pens and inks are packed away.

[@iutkarshydv]

Noodlers are not made in india nor the FPR, if someone in india wants to buy these pen has to import it from usa from fprusa website :^)

[@iutkarshydv]

Guider, Noodler, FPR, Muft are not made in india

[@666madhusudhan]

You by the cheapest one and then judge indian pens. Try some of the good brands like kanwrite , ranga etc some of their pens are world class

[@raghavankannan5294]

How many Indians know about Ranga? Have you seen them involving in brand building effort? Have you seen them covered by any indian magazine about their feats and international reach?

[@ajaysahumirchonia]

Chairman Bittoo were those days Sulekha ink Weldon ink

[@MrCabimero]

I know you have more at home but shout out to RANGA pens. They are amazing too. I have the 4c. Can't say enough good things. Do any of those ASA pens come as a converter?

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I only have one Ranga (so far) - a Peyton St. Pens version with a vintage Waterman nib. They do make ASA pens with a Schmidt nib unit and cartridge/converter set up. None of mine are like that. It is a good option, though.

[@subramoniams9850]

Fill the ink up to the thread, screw in the section a few threads, invert the pen into a bottle, screw in the thread fully to push out a few drops of ink. That solved the burping for me. My Gama Supreme does not burp nor the Gama Demonstrator , ASA Galactic, Airmail 69T that are in your videos.

[@Deebashis-Dutta]

Give me the link to buy the yellow pen. I am from India. Thanks.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

When I ordered the pen, it was shipped from India by Fountain Pen Revolution. Then they added a USA site. Now all I can find is the USA site: fprevolutionusa.com/

[@Deebashis-Dutta]

@@bryanmarsh9886 thanks, so we can't find them in india.

[@sumitsarkar405]

Give me one fountain pen . I am a Student and I can't afford it... Though I want one 😅😅🙏

[@Mahaabharath]

You can find the yellow pen from guider, rajhamundry, Andhra pradesh

[@maggiearya]

@@Mahaabharath does it have a website?

[@neilpiper9889]

I have a couple of fountain pen revolution indus pens with the ultra flex nib. Plastic feed has no trouble keeping up when using flex. Not as good as my Pilot custom heritage 912 with the fa nib, but then there is a big price difference. Piston fillers. I had a couple of free eyedropper Muft pens when I bought them. How does that orange Himalaya fpr pen fill and which nib did you choose. The only reliable eyedropper pen I have is the Pilot Non Self filler also known as the Tank. I have had it for years and it has never leaked in any way. I have a Bril mini eyedropper pen made in India that leaks around the feed near the nib. I never use it.

[@arunabhalahiri4931]

Pilot tank is really fantastic... And really reliable... The recent moonman eyedropper pens also haven't leaked on me. They seal the pen really well. But Chinese pens are not known for tight tolerances...

[@archisbhave1384]

You need to use the pens from Kanpur Writers (Kanwrite) and Guider pens. The smoothness isn't a matter of luck and with Kanwrite the build quality is excellent.

[@viv_2489]

Yes Kanwrite known for their nibs particularly

[@JayjitMajumdar]

You can try Indian made parker and pilot, they are cheaper than rest of the world. There are several other fountain pen manufacturer from India, like, Camlim co owned by kokuyo, flair, glare etc

[@voltgaming2213]

pilot pens made in japan only assembled in india

[@prasenjitkrdas]

Sir, the small transparent pen with golden clip you showed here that has a twisted mechanism and has a lower material is Hero 1202 model from China and not from India.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

It is most definitely not a Chinese pen. It is the FPR Indus. No one makes pens out of that material outside of India.

[@prasenjitkrdas]

@@bryanmarsh9886 Then it is Click Majeestic model.

[@db417]

I thought it was the click tulip. Click has some tie up with ledos. I don't know if they are using a ledos body for that pen.

[@vidur.vachan]

Great collection, thanks for sharing mate! Have a great time!

[@goodluck7428]

Indian makes one of the best fountain pens... Lotus . Kanwrite.

[@AdrianMutu87]

Hi Bryan, this is a great video. I prefer comparison videos like this than stand-alone reviews. How do you like the Gama Supreme (pros and cons)? I'm thinking of getting one.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

The Supreme is an amazing pen. Huge, but not too heavy. Mine wrote great right away. It is still an eyedropper pen, so there may be some burping of ink, but not often in my experience. It has behaved well and is still in my regular rotation of user pens. I wanted a green one, because green is kinda my 'thing' but the brown one I have is really nice. The maker made sure that the cap and barrel patterns line up - which I really appreciate.

[@lpanades]

You should put you nib up to the hot air be expeled instead of ink. Then you turn your pen again to the right position to write with. You can't heat the ink and the air if it is just heated. This can solve the heating problem of an not fully filled pen, this is just more pronounced on eyedropper fountain pen but happens on all types of fountain pens. The only ones that do not present this behavior are those with valves that can shut of the ink flow, normally old ones. More volume means more air to expand so more ink 'leak' problems. Check Pelikan L65 and L5. It is quite and hibrid one. The pen has 2 reservoirs. One with a valve at the back and with huge capacity, And one in the front of the pen that feeds the feeder with ink. When this reservoir is empit you just open the valve and the ink will flow from the back reservoir to the frontal one. You close the valve when you satisfied with ink. But, the best performance is completly fill the little reservoir.

[@shadowmihaiu]

Great overview. I really like my Indian pens. I use the triveni, the jaipur, I have a muft I HAVEN'T used yet... reliable writers so far and very enjoyable. I also actually love my noodlers ahab, creaper and charlie which as you point out are actually Indian pens, though frankly the ahab and charlie both tend to be too wet.

[@TheMarried123]

Do you know of online sources?

[@lateshpatil5307]

@@TheMarried123 Amazon

[@TheMarried123]

@@lateshpatil5307 I entered Fountain Pens Made in India & had no luck. What Brands should I search for?

[@lateshpatil5307]

@@TheMarried123 I bought 2 from Camlin Kokuyo. A sleak and a Trinity. Their ink is pretty inexpensive but watery.

[@drvet747]

@@TheMarried123 Lotus, Ranga, Gama, ASA, Click, Constellation88, Fosfor , Kanwrite and many more...

[@abubakarjariwala]

Nice video. I am from india and love indian ebonite fp

[@jamesaritchie1]

I'd rather have it fried or baked than on a fountain pen.

[@SenthilNathan-i7i]

I love click and ranga pens

[@turtlefromthenorth]

The first celluloids were very flamable, but at least by WWI the problem was largely solved. The early type celluloid were used as a replacement for ivory in the last half of 1800s, then film (movies) and were a danger. The bad reputation has lived on ever since. Plastics like bakelite and melamin were much safer and was introduced early on. Celluloid became a widely used term for the various plastics they had then even if they differ quite a bit. If you get a fountain pen from the 1920s and 30s it's most likely as safe as any plastic is.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I am fully aware what celluloid is, and it is very flammable because of what it is made from. There is no "less flammable" version of celluloid - just different types of plastic. The celluloid derivatives used now are not celluloid. The last thing out there that was made from true celluloid was ping pong balls. They too were excitingly flammable. It is almost a shame they are making them of a different plastic now.

[@turtlefromthenorth]

Nitrocellulose is undoubtely particularly flamable, and many early and current plastics still are to a less degree (or rather have a higher flame point). We can get treated polyester these days, added flame inhibiting substances (more or less a health risk themselves). I'm pretty sure the marble and pearl like pens I have from the 50s is the less risky type, not much chance of a sudden combustion. I'm being careful though and don't what to do any harm to them. I picked up a few tricks from someone collecting vintage jewerly, and according to the test methods it looks like fountain pens can be something like lucite, maybe ebonite, bakelite or even bexite (like the shiny black part on British army clasp knifes) in some cases. I'm not too knowlegeable about the details on early plastics, but nothing near the risky celluloid film roll.

[@turtlefromthenorth]

@@bryanmarsh9886 I think some of the early plastics still are made. I know cellulose acetate still is relavively common, it's hard, durable, and can be made to look like amber, tortoise shell, any color. For some purposes it's better than polyester. I haven't found any detailed info on older fountain pens. I know some pens from the 30s are still in near perfect codition, others have turned a bit wobbly, and deteriorating. I'm trying to investigate the early type plastics. Some are described as "resin", which in theory ecompasses a bundle of different hard plastics.

[@sathishrao7926]

I, as an Indian feel ashamed that I didn’t know about any of these pens even though I’ve heard of most of the foreign brands from Jinhao to Montegrappa ( and I own Parker, Cross, Waterman, Sheaffer, Pilot etc.. ) !

[@abbaabenjaminmancaud3384]

How about Lotus pens?

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I have only heard of Lotus pens, not actually seen one, nor do I know how to acquire one

[@vidur.vachan]

@@bryanmarsh9886 hi there mate! Kindly head to www.lotuspens.com/ to know all about their impeccable offerings! Have a great time ahead!

[@voltgaming2213]

India has one of the best pen expertise after Germany and japan but those are only on mechanical pencil and ball points

[@aninditachakroborty8724]

The pen is very beautiful

[@magnoliamike]

Is the KANWRITE from India?

[@bryanmarsh9886]

Yes. Kanwrite makes pens and nibs for other brands too. I think they make Noodlers nibs, but not certain. There is a Kanwrite flex nib that looks a lot like Noodlers or FPR nibs.

[@magnoliamike]

@@bryanmarsh9886 yeah I seen the “KANWRITE heritage “ on eBay

[@DrSiddharthaGoswami]

Very nice video...

[@SiddheshGarg]

Hello. I am on my journey to go plastic free and since a week I am feeling quite guilty of using plastic pens. I tried researching a lot on Google as to which Indian pen is great. Do you have any suggestion for everyday use? Even online, I could not find any information as to which nib, pen or material are suitable for everyday use- the articles/ ecomm sites do not have a basic laydown. It is very confusing. I reside in Mumbai. Do you have any suggestion. My budget is 20 USD.

[@fraudgurupollkhol5931]

अरे यार फाउंटेन पेन के चक्कर में मत पड़े तेरा पैसा ही व्यर्थ जाएगा

[@ashwinrawat9622]

Hi bro, I hope you've found your love for fountain pen. If you are still searching, maybe I can provide some help. Go to amazon/flipkart and get a pelikan pelikano or pelikan style fountain pen and an ink bottle (parker quink will be good). Get a syringe from your local medical store. Thats a very good starting point. If you can spend more on fountain pen you can go for a Lamy medium nib fountain pen. Using these as first pen, learn to write with fountain pens and learn to maintain them. Use the syringe to refill cartridges, don't waste money and plastic on buying cartridges. Lamy also comes with a converter (a cartridge with piston mechanism so you can refill it without syringe). Fountain pens require very little to no pressure on paper to write, as opposed to ball point pen. Learn how to write with focus and your shoulder. I hope you'll love fountain pens. The reason I recommend those pens is because they provide the best writing experience for beginners. Later you may shift to other pens. Remember never buy chinese pens, they are the worst, I have never had a pleasant experience with them. They look good and are cheap, but the nibs and feed are absolute worse. Some other pens brands I could recommend are Schneider, Pilot, Platinum and Parker which are easily available on ecom sites. There was a time when you could easily go to any stationary and buy good quality Indian made fountain pens after trying it out, sadly such luxury is replaced by plastic use and throw ball point pens which you can buy for ₹5 nowadays.

[@KKTHINKER25]

Use gama eyas. Full ebonite. No plastic And no problem. Feels great.

[@viv_2489]

​@@KKTHINKER25agree

[@liketostayanonymusliketost4162]

Missed an indian brand called Kim and co

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I did not have my KimACR Jumbo Double yet, but it does show up in a later video.

[@inrpfoundation9056]

रेट बताए किसका कितना है ।

[@ruthvikPkumar]

Where did u get them from

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I have purchased Indian pens from Fountain Pen Revolution, ASA Pens, and Kiwi Pens. There are others, like fountainpenindia.com, and some retailers carry a specific Indian brand - like Peyton St. Pens that carries Ranga, and The Pen World that carries Constellations 88.

[@AndrewWertheimer]

Nice overview. You might enjoy the blog or videos here by Inked Happiness from India.

[@devildev599]

Thank you

[@DB-iv5wp]

You don't own a Ranga?

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I do now. This video is kinda old.

[@DB-iv5wp]

@@bryanmarsh9886 I would really like a video of you reviewing your Ranga/s. I own several Rangas myself.

[@BradDugg]

Nice video, may I know the names of each of the pens especially the demonstrator pens please

[@Gilbertory]

Are all the pens screw caps?

[@raghavankannan5294]

Yes 98% of Indian made Fountain pen brands are designed with screw caps only.

[@swapnilpandya4551]

Please Mention all Pens Names and Brand

[@bryanmarsh9886]

They are now listed in the description.

[@amitavachakraborty1253]

You are comparing the materials of a 3-4$ indian pens with Pelicans and Eversharpes, wow!!! (3:42 min)

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool.

[@drvet747]

I own 20-25 Indian pens...Never had any issue with any of these pens...Not it the finish nor the ink flow...They are perfect for their price...And FPR doesn't make pens they just market the Indian fo uh fountain pens

[@jamesaritchie1]

There is no such thing as "perfect for their price". Either a pen ois perfect, or it isn't, regardless of price. I've yet to see a pen from Inia that was anywhere close to perfect, and iof you have that many pens with zero issues, either you're the luckiest person who ever lived, or, well. . .

[@drvet747]

@@jamesaritchie1 I think you are the Unluckiest!

[@tecwreck4067]

Never be able to wash the smell off those bad boys.

[@Mahaabharath]

I live in Boston. Recently I got some good collection of ebonite prasad pen and looking for some pro to review them. Note that these pens are long dead,where last pen was produced in 1990s. So these pens are mummies that just woke. You can check my KZbin channel . I can ship them your way for free just to give them some quality tribute

[@1OneMinutePlease]

Can you ship me instead, I couldn't afford handmade indian fountain pens now ?

[@Crazytesseract]

Fit and finish? Indians are not particular about it sir. Subconsciously they can recognise Japanese or German products when they compare it with Indian products side by side.

[@MrsPro3000]

Just got the Asa glactic after watching g your video.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I really like mine. I think it is very close to the Gama Zimbo pen, with a different finish. Mine behaves well, and I usually keep it full of Diamine Purple Pazzazz.

[@MrsPro3000]

Brian- anyway to put the names of the pens you reviewed? I’d like to get a few. Thank you!

[@madhukrishnavallabhajosyul6996]

Noodler pens website says "proud to be made 100% in USA"

[@bryanmarsh9886]

That is just for the ink. The pens are made in India and it isn't a secret.

[@jamesaritchie1]

@@bryanmarsh9886 And this is why people have so much trouble with Noodler's pens. There is no pen on the market as inconsistent as the pens Noodler's makes. The flex nibs are the worst. , but none of them are good pens because they are so horribly inconsistent.

[@shrirangagp2856]

Sir actually all you have not Indian made. They actually made in China and imported and re-branded as originating from India. Only Camlin and Bril in India make classic looking pen but they are not so impressive.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I am sorry you think this. I have been assured by most manufacturers that indeed these are all Indian made. Gama, Noodlers, FPR, Guider, and Airmail/Wality in particular. Ranga and KimACR are also made in India.

[@jamesaritchie1]

@@bryanmarsh9886 Many, many pens "made" in India are Chinese imports. Or Chinese imported parts. This is no just something people "think", it's not even a secret. Very, very often, "Made in India" means exactly the same thing as "Made in America". The reality is it's made somewhere else, and assembled in America. India is no different. A ridiculous number of products come out China via India. This is, I suppose, one reason to buy ebonite pens as often as possible. As I understand it, these are all made in India, though I have no evidence to support this. I do believe what I've been told, though. Some veruy good pens are made in India, but to think every pen supposedly made in India actually is would be silly in the extreme.

[@medavaramjitamitra8120]

Respected commentators please go through the M/s Ratnam pens and M/s Kanwrite and M/s Ranga pens...

[@MrAndrew1953]

The knocked off a triple tail? Outrageous..sigh..

[@bryanmarsh9886]

Are you referring to the Noodlers Neponset? Or some other pen in this review? None are knock offs. And you should know that Noodlers pens are all made in India.

[@MrAndrew1953]

I didn't know Noodlers were made in India. I thought they were made in the US. What type of refills dies the Noodlers rollerball take. Thanks.

[@கோபாலகிருஷ்ணன்-ண8ங]

You did not know the quality of Indian pens 😂😂 they work way better than you think

[@TheFactbase]

Indian pens are kind and gentle....humane....imperfect....😑

[@fraudgurupollkhol5931]

दुधन पुदि फाउंटेन पेन

[@Dicloxacillin_dexmedetomidine]

If you are not capable of buying good quality indian pen, dont bark

[@jamesaritchie1]

Well, I've been into fountain pens for almost sixty years, and no, I don't know that ebonite feeds have better flow characteristics than do plastic feeds. Many say this, but I've never seen any evidence at all that it's true. I have seen absolute evidence that no one I've ever met can tell the difference. I also know that ninety percent of the problems I've had with feeds over the decades have been with ebonite feeds, not plastic. And that's probably an underestimate. Hand cut is seldom a plus. And, of course, there's ebonite, and then there's ebonite from India, which is not always very high quality. As for being handmade, yeah, just like pens from Japan are handmade. At any rate, handmade pens should never, ever, ever, ever be rough around the edges. The reason handmade pens , or handmade anything, is good, is because such a product should be more prefect than a machine made product of the same type. Fountain pens are precision writing instruments, not evil witch doctor masks from a primitive tribe in the Amazon. Those can be rough around the edges, and everyone can ooohh and ahhh, and say how wonderful. Fountain pens are either perfect, or they're just best tossed into the trash. Take a look at handmade pens from Japan. Absolutely, completely perfect, and not a rough edge anywhere. Rough edges come from lack of skill and laziness, not from being handmade. There are some very nice, very well made pens from India, any I think they're getting better overall, but right now they are, on average, well behind everyone else I can think of, including China.

[@RikthDcruze]

Indian pens are not bad at all... you have bought the cheapest stuff available... you get what you pay for mate.

[@bryanmarsh9886]

I bought what was available at the time. I have since aquired Ranga, Lotus, Active, and others. I never said Indian pens were bad.

[@usmle2232]

Bro these pens are quite durable please stop pondering so much on it’s material and all look for for whether it serves your purpose or not

[@dhaneshshukla9608]

Indian here D:

[@DrSiddharthaGoswami]

Very nice video...