fountain pen

by Tony Thomas I picked up a few hand made ebonite pens from a company called Ranga in India. They generally sell between $20 and $30 on eBay (search for Ranga fountain pen) with free shipping and are available in various colors. They are eye dropper pens with ebonite feeds, fine nibs and hold about 2 cc of ink. The fine nibs are better than average quality and are marked "Fellowship". The pen ships with a simple box, extra nib, feed and plastic eye dropper pipette. How do I like them? After a bit of nib tuning, they are great writers and very low maintenance. The quality and attention to detail are much better than many Indian pens that I have. I use them as daily writers and am very happy with them. Looking for a hand made  ebonite pen? You can't find anything better for the price.

by Tony Thomas Iron gall ink formulations have been around for over 1500 years. They are produced by combing iron salts with tannic acids and create an ink that is completely waterproof. A really cool feature of these inks is they darken after the ink dries and oxidizes. The primary disadvantage of iron gall inks is that they are extremely acidic and corrosive and can damage both pens and paper over time. Modern iron gall formulations are reportedly much gentler, however. That said, they are considered by many to be "high-maintenance" inks. After reading many positive reviews, I decided to try Rohrer & Klingner's Scabiosa, an iron gall ink with a purplish hue. The only iron gall ink that I had used previously was Diamine Registrar's Ink and it was a bit dry for my tastes. R&K is a German ink maker that has been around since 1892 and produces 18 different fountain pen inks, including two iron gall formulas. According to their web site: "Our inks feature hi