Fountain Pen Review: Ranga Abhimanyu Premium Ebonite

Every time I have a Ranga pen in my hand, I am reminded how much I like them. The Ranga Abhimanyu Fountain Pen (starting at $72) is no different. This cigar-shaped pen is available in both brilliant acrylics and subtle ebonite colors. The pen has a long, tapered grip section which is very comfortable in the hand. It’s not a long pen but is wider than a lot of smaller pens making it comfortable for a range of hand sizes.

The pen comes with a standard international converter. The pen can be converted to an eyedropper filler by using the accompanying silicone grease and eyedropper that Teri includes with each order (we received the grease and eyedropper kit but we are sending it out with our Peyton Street Pens Miwok 2 pen so I don’t have it here to photograph).  There are a lot of threads on the barrel to remove the body from the grip section to get to the converter but that’s probably my biggest criticism of this pen. The cap screws on with only a quick twist but removing the body from the grip section took me about 11+ turns. At least it’s unlikely to ever become untwisted on its own, especially if it’s eyedropper filled.

I tested the Premium Ebonite model in Green-Yellow with a broad cursive italic nib that was custom ground by Nivardo, the Peyton Street Pens in-house nibmeister. The color of the ebonite is a shamrock green with a yellow-gold marbled swirl. Initially, it wasn’t a color combo I would have picked for myself but I am warming up to it. I tend to like to color coordinate my inks with my pens and I tend to not use any bright green inks. However, there is also a thread of teal in the ebonite as well as the yellow-gold and those are both colors I’m inclined to use.

I have another Ranga Ebonite pen and I like that the ebonite finish can become more matte over time. I’m sure you could polish it up if you prefer to keep it shiny but I like the softer finish. It’s a nice alternative to all my shiny acrylic pens. If you prefer shiny acrylic, the Abhimanyu is also available in an array of beautiful acrylics.

The Abhimanyu is pretty lightweight and can be posted. In my small hands though, it made the pen a little too back heavy. If you have larger hands, using it posted will probably be more comfortable.

Weights:

• 29 gms capped/posted
• 20 gms uncapped

Length:

• 5.325″  (13.5 cm) capped
• 4.625″ (11.75 cm ) uncapped
• 6.625″  (16.8 cm) posted

I think the long, tapered grip section is of particular interest for a lot of pen enthusiasts. If you have an unusual grip, long fingers or find that threads often press into your fingers, this pen may be for you. Because the grip is long, the threads are much further back on the pen making it less likely for them to press into your hand.

Can we talk about the nib?!?! The nib is a stock #6 JoWo nib but can be upgraded to a custom ground nib (approx. $45). If you have not ever tried a nib by Nivardo, what are you waiting for? I honestly think this soft spoken gentleman is one of the most under-appreciated nibmeisters in the pen community. I have several pens from Peyton Street over the years and while the pen brands and bodies catch my eye for their shape and color, it’s the delicious writing experience of Nivardo’s nibs that keep me coming back.

The nib on the Ranga Abhimanyu is a Broad Cursive Italic and usually, as a lefty who writes small, I tend to stay away from broad crisp italics for a number of reasons: too broad and my letter counters fill in (the insides of e’s and o’s and such), my writing angle is such that if an italic nib is too sharp then I just dig a corner into the paper and finally, really broad italics and calligraphy nibs are often difficult for me to keep both sides of the nib on the paper consistently (think of an ice skater moving from the inside to the outside of the skate blade) which means the feed isn’t in contact with the paper so no ink!

All of that is to say that NONE OF THAT HAPPENED with this fantastic broad cursive italic nib. It wrote smoothly at all angles, didn’t dig into the paper and wasn’t so broad that my letters filled in. I’d call that a win, wouldn’t you?

Finally, I’ve always been a fan of Peyton Street Pens’ simple, understated pen packaging. They use a paperboard box with magnetic closure, foil stamped with their web address. The pen is wrapped in plastic, inside and there are two small foam bumpers inside the box in case your pen experiences a bumpy ride on its way to you. This box is small and protective without being overly fussy. I know the packaging does not make or break the sale of a pen but I appreciate it when the packaging doesn’t make me cringe.

I realize that I pretty much summed up my feelings about this pen at the beginning of the review but I’ll reiterate it here: Ranga pens are a good value, available in an array of colors and materials and getting one of Nivardo’s custom nibs is the cherry on top. Let me know if you try one of these out and if you like it as much as I do.

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DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Peyton Street Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.