Fountain Pen Revolution send these to SBRE Brown to review, but I figured I might as well check them out! I wasn't asked to review them or share them, but I thought you might like to see them.
ABOUT
Body Material: Plastic
Trim: Metal
Length (capped): 131.7 mm/5.18''
Length (uncapped nib-end): 123.9 mm/4.87''
Length (posted): 148.1 mm/5.83''
Barrel Diameter: 10.4 11.2 mm/0.41'' - 0.44''
Section Diameter: 9.3 - 10.1 mm/0.36'' - 0.39''
Nib material: Steel
Weight (all): 18 g
Weight (cap): 8 g
Weight (body): 10 g
Fill type: Piston-filler
Price: $17.00USD (add $3 for broad, 1mm stub, flex)
Where to buy:
FPRevolution
PACKAGING
No packaging, just the way I like it.
APPEARANCE
The Indus is a nice looking pen. I'll point out some small details shortly, but for the most part, they all look good. There are four colors here: black, maroon, clear, and blue. They are all designed the same.
The pens resemble some Pelikans I own, and might also remind you of Aurora, depending on the color you have. They have round bodies with flat ends that are slightly rounded off. The finial is flat plastic in whatever color your pen is, sitting on top a gold ring. This is one of the spots where attention to detail lacks - the thread on the finial can be seen on the side. The clip is attached externally, starts wide, and ends in an interesting blob. The center band is at the end of the cap - it's a gold colored band with two grooved rings on it. A thin gold band marks the piston-turning knob at the end of the barrel.
The section is round and tapers ever so slightly towards the nib. There is a gold band on the end. On some of the pens, some jagged plastic pokes out at the end - another one of the finer details that were overlooked.
All the colors are really nice, but my favorite is the clear. On the colored models, there is a clear ink window on the solid models that gets covered by the cap.
Aside from these assembly flaws, which are really only noticeable up close, these are nice looking pens. Not bad for the price.
NIB & PERFORMANCE
Three nibs here: fine, 1.0 mm stub, and flex. These are some of the best looking nibs out of India, at least on the pens I own. They are two-tone steel nibs. They have a single slit and breather hole. Each is engraved with FPR, the nib grade, and some simple flourishes.
The fine nib wrote really well. It had a little bit of feedback but was very pleasant. Drying times were pretty fast and I think the level of wetness was appropriate for the nib grade. A small amount of line variation was possible, but the feed easily dried out. With normal writing, the nib didn't skip or hard start. This is one of the better fine nibs from an Indian pen - I really liked it.
The 1.0 mm nib did hard start occasionally. The tines were quite snug, resulting in a dry writing experience. Drying times were about the same as for the fine nib, which again suggested it was dry. Some line variation was possible and with pressure, the nib wrote even better - again, suggesting the tines were just too snug. With some minor adjustments (making the nib a little wetter), this one wrote much better - more wet, more smoothly, and more consistently. It was easy to adjust.
The flex nibs gave some feedback, but I was most excited to use them. With normal writing, the nib wrote a fine line that was on the dry side. Line variation was quite impressive. It actually only took mild to moderate pressure to achieve some variation. I really liked how easy it was to flex the nibs. For the most part, the feed kept up well with flexing. It did railroad, but it picked up quickly with a gentle tap on the page, or with continued writing. This is a decent, inexpensive flex nib - and in this case, there was no tinkering required.
The pistons on all four pens were already greased and operated smoothly. I prefer these pistons much more than those found on the FPR Dilli fountain pens. Lastly, the pistons do not unscrew from the body during cleaning or use, which happens to my Noodler's Konrad a lot.
All nibs:
IN HAND
The clips are pretty snug, but I could slide the pens on to pages and into pen pouches. Although I usually like pinched sections, these pens were lightweight enough that this straight grip worked for me. The threads were not sharp either.
Unposted, the pens were light, well-balanced, and comfortable. The caps did post by friction - noisily, might I add - but it was deep and secure. Posted, the pens were a good length, weight, and balance. Comfortable for me to use either way.
PROS & CONS
1.0 mm/Burgundy:
Flex/Blue and clear:
OVERALL
These pens are definitely worth a look.They are nice looking piston-fillers with decent nibs, and the nibs look nice, too. They could use some more attention to detail, and maybe that will improve - this would bump them up a class, in my opinion. They write. They're affordable, and the look nice. They're also quite comfortable to use.
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