Welcome to Issue#47.

This is a packed issue, so do make sure you have some time to read it.

Karthik has a delightful account of school pens, and I tell you why I am selling my Guider Zimbo.

Having approached arbitrarily close to a certain age, one tends to allow oneself a certain latitude when it comes to reminiscing about the good old days. I, for one, certainly complain about how things were better in the good old Pre-AI days, as though they were aeons ago; they might well have been.

One memory from several decades in the past from the year 2022 CE (Anno ChatGPTei 0), however, is that of using fountain pens at school. One made one's way to the sixth standard, and one started using fountain pens. The pen in question would be a random locally available brand. It would more often than not be an eyedropper, have bad teeth, and would smell. It would perspire ink freely at the section, and leave the writer's fingers stained. Much like the qualities of the pen itself, the remedies for its shortcomings were crude too. A gentle lashing of coconut oil at the section threads would prevent one's fingers from staining. Helpful classmates helped one fix the pen's dental problems by taking advantage of the abrasive properties of concrete floors; needless to say, these surgical operations were not always successful.

Once one had learned how to use a fountain pen without destroying it, one's parents would typically allow the young writer to graduate to a Camlin. These creatures were more expensive than the ill-groomed bumpkins mentioned earlier. Those whose parents had some wealth would be blessed with the Hero 331 or similar Chinese avatars of the Parker 51. The truly wealthy would sport a real Parker, albeit with a steel nib. College was a mythical place where one did not need fountain pens anymore, and was given free rein with ballpoints. How one longed for that freedom!

It was with some surprise that I recently discovered that fountain pens were still in use at some -- most -- schools. However, memories of nibs with bad teeth prevented me from venturing anywhere near current fountain pen models intended for schoolchildren as their primary consumers. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, and I sprang on the splendidly named Rorito Flymo. My hopes were not high; then again, neither was the investment involved, which fact left me with an open mind.

My first look at the pen filled me with the sort of disgust that the elderly reserve for the young and the restless. "Youngsters these days" would sum it up nicely. The trigger for this reaction was the garish combination of Pink, Blue, Black, Saffron, Purple, and a seeming myriad of other bright colours on the barrel. Had someone accidentally drawn this pen in front of a peaceful Bovine chewing the cud at leisure in a village market, and said Bull had caught sight of it, it could have well made a vein twitch in his forehead, and got him to lower his horns in preparation to make his disapproval felt. Such was the appearance of this pen, and it left me with no doubts in my mind of it being mightier than some sharp-bladed cutting tools.

I reluctantly inked it up, and put pen to paper; all my disapproval vanished. Here was a good nib! Far better at first inking than many others much vaunted. This was no fluke, either. Trials of other examples of the same pen left me with no doubt as to the quality of the nib. In great contrast to the emotions that the artwork on the barrel, or the lack thereof, had provoked in me, the writing experience left me with a song on my lips. The nib bore a passing resemblance to that of a Platinum Preppy, but held its own on paper. There doesn't seem to be a choice in the size of tipping; all Rorito Flymos seem to come in a rather uniform Medium. I should hasten to add that this is not a complaint, it is one of the nicer Mediums I have written with. Truly, kids these days don't know how good they have it!

A day later, I inked another school pen in my possession, the rather creatively named Sheaffer School. I quite liked the Art Deco-like curves, and the staid pastel colour of the barrel. The ink window was a welcome touch, as was the fact that this pen accepted a modern Sheaffer converter without complaint. The presence of the No-Nonsense Feed in the section made this pen a prized possession. In truth, I had originally acquired this pen to divest it of its feed, in order to make use of this part in a different body. One look at the pen convinced me to not do so, because this was truly a work of art. I'd not inked it, however, until now.

When the nib met the paper, I was indeed in heaven. What a nib! American schoolchildren of old didn't know how good they had it, either, much like their modern-day Indian counterparts.

I'm rather pleased with the quality of the nib in the modern school pen that I tried. Its ubiquitous availability and reasonable price means that I can acquire a few more without guilt, and ink them with interesting inks that I would not let anywhere near my more precious pens, and enjoy a good writing experience. I would have to try hard-shield my eyes from the barrel, I suppose; that is but a minor inconvenience.

I'm equally pleased with my classic Sheaffer School. It is quite the well-designed pen, with a section that nudges its holder towards a tripod grip. The nib is hands down an excellent writer, ably supported by a pedigreed feed.

While I'm decades out of high school, I am happy that both these school pens found their way to my hands. I look forward to many happy pages of writing with them.

P.S: No discussion of school pens is complete without mention of the GeHa SchulFuller (mit Reservtank) from 1970s and 1980s (West) Germany. The pen comes with a reserve tank, much like the two-stroke mopeds of my youth. What's more, its steel nib is actually semiflex! I'm yet to acquire one, and fervently hope that a GeHa Schulfuller makes its way to my pen stand in the near future.

The Guider Zimbo is an Indian ebonite eyedropper made by Guider Pen company in the south Indian city of Rajahmundry. It’s a large pen (capped 162mm, uncapped 144mm) with a smallish Guider-stamped nib (24.3 mm exposed with a 6.1mm feed diameter) most probably made by Ambitious, and is much feted in Indian fountain pen circles. With a thick section (13.2 mm to 15mm) and 5 full turns to uncap, this is hardly your everyday carry pen. However, it is surprisingly comfortable to write with and is a good pen to have on your desk. The F-M nib writes with a little bit of feedback and is wet enough.

Obtaining a Guider, however, is a bit of a crapshoot. This is because the pen maker is a craftsman known neither for his communication skills nor consistency in pricing practices. Nevertheless, there is a steady demand for his pens, and in recent times, a commensurate increase in prices.

Some time ago, I obtained one, thanks to the efforts of a fellow enthusiast. I dutifully inked it up and used it. It was a well-made pen with a decent nib (with Guider branding and patchy plating loss!). As I mentioned above, it is a good pen and a comfortable writer.

In recent times - maybe in the past couple of years - there has been a steady demand for ‘jumbo’ pens. These are pens with a capped length more than 150mm, and a barrel girth above 15mm. These are very rough guidelines and are highly variable. In the Indian fountain pen market, a bunch of makers have taken to catering to this demand and coming out with jumbos of varying descriptions. Mostly made of ebonite, mostly hand turned (or CNC machined), usually sporting a #6 Jowo, Bock or Schmidt nib. Some cut deep, going with Indian Ambitious nibs, and some go big, going with Wingsung 630 or 930 nibs.

In my experience, each and every one of these jumbos outperforms the Guider Zimbo. The why of the matter is very simple - the Guider Zimbo is an old pen made to old specifications. Many Zimbo enthusiasts immediately swap out the stock nib and feed (which for me makes it a Ship of Theseus situation) and happily use it. For me, the pen just doesn’t cut it, especially when faced with my simply and quietly effective PLP Jumbo.

But then, for me, when put head to head, pretty much any modern jumbo can outperform the Zimbo on pretty much any aspect - from handfeel to writing to burp-resistance. The looks of the Zimbo are an acquired taste, but I don’t really mind that.

So, given all of this, I have consigned my Guider Zimbo to the destash pile. But this doesn’t mean my collection will be Guider-free. There is one Guider pen I have in my collection that I will probably never give up. I will tell you about it in the next issue!

Here’s something a few fellow fountain pen enthusiasts and I have been working on since early 2025 - the Hyderabad Pen Show! The idea is to have a celebration of the hobby and get as many enthusiasts and hobbyists to join in, along with the who’s who of the Indian fountain pen industry.

A lot of things are in the planning stages, but we are excited to announce the show, scheduled to be held on 2, 3 and 4 October 2026. We have a fantastic venue, and some really amazing workshops lined up already. We’re also working on a website - for now you can follow us on Instagram to stay informed.

I will share more updates in future issues of this newsletter as well.

Share your take on fountain pens and related things in one (or more!) of our upcoming issues.

Any and all content you share will belong to you and will be credited to your name (or a pen name of your choice) and linked to any of your online profiles. Ideal content would be a write-up between 200 and 400 words with 1 to 5 images.

Here are a few things that can go in the Fountain Pen Weekly:

If you have any other ideas as well, do share, and I will be happy to think about it.

That’s all from me this week.

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