Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Ranga Premium Ebonite Abhimanyu Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

(Note: We listed the pen model incorrectly in the original post and have updated the name and product links accordingly. -Brad)

The only thing that frustrates me about this pen is that, no matter how many photos I take, I can't seem to quite capture how awesome it looks in person. The Ranga Abhimanyu from Peyton Street Pens has beautiful depth of color. This red and black colorway has swirls that look like an active lava flow. The ebonite is smooth, and the body and cap feel substantial and strong.

The cap screws off to reveal a grip section in the same ebonite material. It's nicely shaped with a taper that ends in a flair that keeps the fingers from slipping. This model has no clip, and both finials are gently shaped to a point. The overall shape reminds me of a Nakaya Piccolo, though this solid ebonite is much heavier. The Ranga isn't uncomfortably heavy, though. It's very well balanced and comfortable to write with, even for long writing sessions.

The grip unscrews from the body to access the converter. It takes a standard international cartridge or converter, but the pen can also be eyedroppered. The body threads are long, so it takes lots of unscrewing to access the ink chamber, and those threads come pre-greased, so it's ready to ink right away.

Once inked, it's revealed that this is not just a pretty pen. I really enjoyed writing with it. The nib is a #6 steel nib. This one is marked as a Fine, but Peyton Street Pens offers a number of sizes as well as some grinds. This one has a fine cursive italic grind on it, done by in-house nib grinder Nivardo Sanchez. The writing has great character, and the downstrokes are wider than the cross strokes. I might be slightly biased, because that is my favorite flavor of nib grind, but I adore the way it writes. It has a nice flow, it's super smooth, and I have had no issues with the pen drying out, even when I let it sit for a few days without use.

This model of pen comes in a variety of colors, from simple elegance to gloriously wacky. The price ranges from $72 to $105 depending on size, plus another $25 if you would like a custom nib grind, which is a very fair price. It's probably a little low, but don't tell them that; I might need a second one.

(Peyton Street Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 6, 2023 by Sarah Read and filed under Peyton Street Pens, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

21 Pen Questions - Answered

Ana at The Well-Apponited Desk started the #21PenQuestions party, and while I may be late, I’m still bringing a cooler full of fun! I’ve been excited to tackle these questions, and tried not to spoil myself by reading too many other responses before coming up with my own. Let’s see how it goes!

1: What is the pen they’ll have to pry out of your cold dead hands?

The Pilot Murex. I think this is one of the great pen designs, and the one I own was a gift. I try to use it as much as possible because it fits me perfectly, and deserves to be used.

2: What’s your guilty pleasure pen?

It has to be the Namiki Yuraki Milky Way Galaxy. It is easily the most I’ve ever paid for a pen, and looks like it with all of the beautiful craftsmanship involved. No real guilt, only pleasure.

3: What’s the pen you wish existed?

What if you combined the retractable nature of the Pilot Vanishing Point into the size of the Kaweco Liliput, and in the style of a Kasama Una Ultem, but in Orange. Yeah, how about that?

4: What pen would you give to a new enthusiast?

I think I’d go with the Pilot Prera, which is a step or two above the normal basic beginner choices - primarily due to the price. I think it is worth it, but it may be a bridge too far for someone to buy on their own when the $5 Platinum Preppy, or $18 Pilot Metropolitan are on the market. Since its a gift, I’d go for it with the Prera.

5: What pen do you want to get along with but it just never clicked?

Any Conid. By all rights, their pens should be a perfect match for me, but for some reason I never get all the way there with them. I’ve owned two, and sold two. I keep trying them, too, but I don’t see another in my future. Awesome pens though.

6: What pen do you keep only because its pretty?

I have a Fagionatto Petrarque in an orange celluloid that is one of the most beautiful pens I own, but I don’t love the nib in it. I can correct that, and should if I plan on keeping this pen. It has made the cut any time I try to thin out my collection, yet I keep not using it. I need to work on that.

7: What pen (or stationery product) did you buy because everyone else did?

Musubi notebooks, and I’m glad I did. It took be a couple of years to get there, and spending over $100 on a notebook is not something I had done before. But seeing them in action, learning the story of the brand, and becoming friends with the owner finally pushed me over the edge. I love them so much I have bought several more to give away. My personal one is filled, so maybe its’ time for my next.

8: What pen (or stationery product) is over your head or just baffles you?

The Col-O-Ring. I’m just seeing if Ana is paying attention here.

9: What pen (or stationery product) surprised you?

The basic plastic-barrel Kaweco Sport. A pen this small and this light should not be a good pen. And it’s not. It’s a great pen. I remember the first time I held one and I thought there was no way this is a good product. 10+ Kaweco Sports later, I am happy to have been wrong.

10: What pen doesn’t really work for you but you keep it because it’s a collectible?

The Uni-ball Kuru Toga Dive! It is all the rage, but it just doesn’t fit my needs as a mechanical pencil. It’s cool, but I don’t think it lives up to the hype.

11: What is your favorite sparkly pen (or ink)?

Jacques Herbin Shogun is the shimmer ink I didn’t know I needed in my life. It’s a moody ink, but has a ton of color and character. And shimmer.

12: Which nib do you love – but hate the pen?

I think this is the most difficult question on the list. I’m having trouble answering it because I rarely keep pens that I hate.

13: What pen (or stationery product) gives you the willies?

That “Papaya” pen I tried at the San Francisco Pen Show that one time. OMFG.

14: What’s your favorite pen for long form writing?

It’s easy to say the Pilot Custom 823, so let’s not make this difficult, shall we? Despite being a larger pen, it fits my hand well, has massive ink capacity, and sports one of the best nibs on the market. They could change the name of this pen to the Pilot Workhorse if they wanted to be more accurate.

15: What pen (or stationery product) do you love in theory but not in practice?

Pelikan gold nibs. They are AWESOME! They simply don’t work for my writing style. Stock nibs, even Extra Fine ones, are too wet and wide. I’ve tried to modify them, too, and the visuals end up not working for me. I’ve ended up swearing them off, despite being loved by most.

16: What pen (or stationery product) would you never let someone else use?

It doesn’t exist. Every pen I own has been in other peoples hands. It’s part of the deal when buying things to use. Other people get to use them as well. A prime example: the Murex from question number one was recently mailed to a friend to test out.

17: What pen (or stationery product) would you never use for yourself?

I understand the reason why the Montblanc Writer’s Edition pens exist, but they are not my jam. Too big and bulky for my regular use, but are favorites for many.

18: What pen (or stationery product) could you NOT bring yourself to buy?

The Visconti Iopenna. I want to buy it for the memes, but I couldn’t justify $200 for a sideshow. It’s kind of amazing though.

19: What’s your favorite vintage pen?

The Sheaffer Tuckaway. I was fortunate to run across this pen at the Arkansas Pen Show years ago, and it became an instant favorite due to its size and crazy fine nib.

20: What is your favorite EDC/pocket pen?

The Spoke Roady. Biased, as I am part of the manufacturer that makes them, but they are so damn good I want one with me at all times.

21: What’s the pen (or stationery product) that got away?

One of the first fountain pens I reviewed was a Sailor Pro Gear Standard in translucent Orange. It was a loaner, and I sent it back, thinking I could just buy one later if I wanted. Oops.

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Posted on June 26, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Fountain Pens.

Hardy Penwrights Model 10-R Retro Fountain Pen Review

“Swing by the table later. I’ve got something for you.”

When a pen maker stops me in the hallway of a pen show and drops that on me I instantly have a new number one priority at the show.

In this case, Greg Hardy of Hardy Penwrights was speaking my love language, and I made a point to drop by his table at the earliest opportunity.

What he had for me served two purposes. One, he wanted me to test a specific design of his that he thought I would like, and two, he wanted to got full “Pen Addict” on the design just for me. Needless to say, both of those things had me pretty excited.

The pen model is the 10-R Retro, which Greg designed to take on the size and feel of vintage fountain pens. In short, from the product page:

“the Retro is designed for our customers who appreciate the size and feel of vintage pens while wanting the ease of using a modern pen.”

The funny thing is that if Greg never told me the inspiration behind this pen, the words “vintage” or “retro” would have never crossed my mind. My initial thoughts were that this is a perfectly shaped pen for my tastes. It features a slightly narrower than standard barrel, a slightly shorter length cap and grip section, a classically shaped stainless steel clip, and a #5 Bock nib (more on that in a minute.)

The most important part of the 10-R is what you can’t see: an integrated metal sleeve beneath the grip section. This makes every bit of difference in this pen. I knew it felt great when I uncapped it, but I didn’t know exactly why until Greg told me to unscrew the barrel. There, I saw the insert that made all of the difference.

So yeah, this is a smaller, narrower fountain pen. If you like that style like I do then the 10-R Retro is one to look at.

*Kaweco Sport #5 nib (left) vs. Bock #5.*

The nib is another consideration. As I mentioned, it is a Bock #5, which is slightly wider across the shoulders of the nib than comparable nibs from Jowo or Schmidt. This one is firm and fine, and writes well. It should, as Greg had it tuned by Kirk Speer at Pen Realm before giving it to me.

At this point, if it sounds like Greg was setting me up for a review that couldn’t fail, well, you would be right. I mean, did you see the Orange Sherbert material by Tim Crowe at Turnt Pen Co. that he used? Oh by the way, Greg made a custom finial, too. All. The. Things.

Price wise, the 10-R Retro checks in at $275, which I think is at the top end for this pen. That makes sense as it is made in smaller batches compared to the 10-T Traveller, which runs $185 but has certain economies of scale built in to allow for a lower price. For me, I prefer the 10-R design, and the differences it has over standard barrel shapes.