How a pen was destroyed and reincarted.

 

Anything first is always special. So was this Gama Forever fountain pen for me. Fountain pens have fascinated me since my childhood mostly Parkers and Chinese Hero pens, However, in 2013, I found the Gama fountain pens. The Gama Forever was my first made in India Fountain pen, so ever more special.

The pen is made of ebonite, with eyedropper filling mechanism, came with a stock fine nib and an eyedropper to fill the ink. I had chosen brown rippled design for the pen. The filling system and the ebonite feed was new to me. I had no prior experience with eyedropper fountain pens.

I was too happy to receive the pen so much so that I did not use the pen for a couple of months. Daily I used to look at the pen, pretend to write with it and put it back. Finally, one fine day I decided to fill up the pen with ink and use. I filled the pen with Parker Quink Blue ink. This was the time when I was not introduced to fountain pen inks yet. The nob being 'fine' was okay, not very smooth, gave some feedback but was not scratchy. I started to use the pen daily. The ink capacity was huge and I was enjoying writing. The pen was fantastic.

Then came the dreadful day. I was enjoying writing, when suddenly a blob of ink came out of the nib without any warning ruining the paper. I was clueless on what has happened. I though may be I shook the pen and the ink came out. So, I cleaned the nib and continued writing. However, after some time another blob of ink cam out of the nib. I was worried now and it was time to find out the problem.

I searched on internet for the problem. And for the first time in my life I came across the term "burping" in fountain pen context. A problem specific to eyedropper fountain pens. I read about the causes of burping and mostly it as stated that it happens when the ink levels are low in the reservoir, the heat from the hand expands the air in the reservoir, pushing the ink out of the nib. The simple solution was to not let the ink levels drop to half the barrel and if so fill the pen again. But, my naivety with the fountain pens and especially with the eyedropper fountain pens prevented me to implement the simple solution by just refilling the pen with ink. I had to find another way to fix the issue.

I was determined to fix the burping issue. First I tried to pull out the nib in a hope that the cleaning of the nib and the feed may fix the burping issue. Due to the lack of proper tools and experience with fountain pen maintenance, I failed to pull out the nib. Gama nibs in general are quite tightly fitted and will need proper equipment to pull out the nib. Still, the burping issue persisted, so I next took a drastic step. I don't know why, tried to seal the nib and the feed with fevicol(Face palm moment when I look back now). Of course this too did not help. Frustrated me, I again tried to pull out the nib, this time with the help of a plier. I grabbed the pen with plier from its section. I quickly realized my mistake but it was to late. I had already rotated the pen in the grip of pliers. This left a unrepairable awful deep scratch on the grip section. Now I grabbed the nib and the feed with plier and pulled. Instead of the nib coming out the feed broke into two. I was devastated. Within a couple of months of acquiring I was successfully able to destroy a perfect pen. With broken heart the pen went into storage.

A valuable lesson was learnt that day. Years went by and slowly but steadily I learnt more about all kinds fountain pens, the filling mechanisms, nibs, feeds and most importantly the maintenance of pens. It is 2023 now and it is time to fix my first fountain pen. I had bought a number of nibs and feeds from Kanwrite and the Gama forever takes the No 35 nib. I was now able to pull out the broken feed and the nib with a make shift peg tool. I replaced the nib and he feed. Filled the pen with ink and it worked flawlessly. Now atleast after a decade of fountain pen usage I have better experience in managing the eyedropper pens and use them without allowing them to burp.

All in all it took me over a decade to build my understanding of different types of fountain pens, their repair and maintenance. One thing that I have learnt from my experience is never rush things with fountain pens. If you don't now anything don't try on expensive pens, you will definitely destroy the pen. Sharpen your skills on cheaper pens. I still daily learn new things If there is even a slight doubt consult an expert and get the pen repaired from the professionals. Many thanks to the fountain pen community worldwide for enhancing my knowledge on fountain pens.

 

A list of Indian fountain pen manufacturers

India has a rich tradition of fountain pen manufacturing, with several well-known brands that have been in business for decades. Some of the most popular Indian fountain pen brands include:

Camlin: Camlin is one of the oldest and most popular fountain pen brands in India. They offer a range of pens in different colors, designs, and materials. Camlin Elegante, Trinity, Camlin 47 are some noted models.

Lotus - Lotus pens are one of the best Indian fountain pen. Based out of Mumbai, they make world class fountain pens in different colors and patterns. Popular pens are like Lotus Shikhar, Everest

Ranga - Ranga Pens has been making fountain pens since 1970, when the company was started by M.S. Pandurangan. Ranga was founded in Thiruvallur, in southern India, near the east coast, close to the city of Chennai. Ranga Model 8, Samurai are some popular models

Vazir - A relatively new fountain pen brand founded in 2020. They have a variety of India made fountain pens at a relatively competitive price. Vazir 1.0, Vazir Black

ASA - Another fountain pen brand from South India. They have a wide range of  premium fountain pen models that are affordable. Popular models are ASA Nauka, ASA Maya, ASA Durga

Kanwrite - Kanpur Writers Probably the only fountain pen brand from North India, located in the city of Kanpur. Mostly famous for their nibs and feeds, they do offer affordable fountain pens also. Popular pens include Kanwrite Desire and Kanwrite Heritage

Click - Click India, another popular Indian fountain pen brand that makes affordable fountain pens like Click Aristocrat and Click Falcon

Airmail Wality - Mumbai based pen manufacturing company offers a number of eyedropper filled fountain pen models. Airmail 71JT and Airmail 69JT are the most popular models

Ratnam sons - Another old fountain pen makers from South India. This brand has been endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi.

Deccan - Hyderabad based pen manufacturers. Deccan Masterpiece and Deccan Advocate are the popular models.

Other notable Indian fountain pens worth mentioning are Gama fountain pens, Mohi Pens, Beena, Guider  All in all India has a diverse fountain pen manufacturing catering to needs of all fountain pen lovers.

Review : Gama forever ebonite eyedropper fountain pen

 

Overview

The pen is a handmade Indian fountain pen and is of large proportions. The material of the pen is ebonite and it is very well balanced and sturdy. The pen is beautifully made and the pattern just looks great. It comes in a few colours: black, green marbled, light brown marbled and dark brown marbled (shown in picture). The pen is decently heavy but comfortable to hold and write. The cap has two rings at the opening, which look great. The clip and other appointments are gold trimmed. The pen can be posted but becomes un-usefully long; besides the pens body itself is large enough that it does not need posting.

The opening mechanism of the pen is screw on type and the threads are pretty smooth but need a few rotations to open. The clip of the pen is also functional and not very tight. The filling mechanism of the pen is eyedropper type which enables it to hold a lot of ink.

The pen comes with dual toned iridium point nib, which was a little scratchy out of the box and needed some adjustment before being used. The flow of the nib was also decent and varies according to the level of the ink in the pen. If the pen is full, the pen has right flow of ink which goes on increasing as the ink levels start to decrease in the barrel and ultimately leads to burping(when barrel is almost half empty).

The pen costs Rs. 675 or around $11.

• Material: Ebonite 
• Nib: Steel. Medium-Fine
• Filling System: Eye dropper
• Length (Capped): 150mm
• Length (Uncapped): 133mm
• Length (Posted): 175mm
• Exposed nib length: 23mm
• Grip Diameter: 10mm
• Max body Diameter: 14mm

Some structural observations

The whole pen is handmade so it has some indentations on the cap.

Pros

• Very sturdy pen (won’t break even if it falls).
• Very comfortable to hold and write.
• Holds a lot of ink.
• Cheap as compared to other western pens.

Cons

• Nib was scratchy, had to do some adjustment.
• Since the pen is handmade the finish is not perfect.
• The appointments are gold plated that erodes very soon.
• The pen being eyedropper needs filling very often, otherwise it starts to burp.

Conclusion

The pen is very well made and comfortable to hold despite being big. The nib was a bit scratchy out of the box and wrote very smoothly after some adjustment. The pen is made for long writing and is ideal for everyday use. But I would refrain using this pen on important documents as it might burp.

Where to buy

www.asapens.in

Writing Sample

Gallery