At the end of 2020, I bought an Indian-made Kanwrite 'Heritage' piston-filler and raved about it and its great BB (double broad) Stub nib on this blog. A few months later, I discovered that Kanwrite offered another interesting nib option on a different model of theirs, so I bought two pens of that model in February/March 2021. Here they are:
(please click on images to enlarge)
~ Kanwrite 'Desire' pens in "Fire Blast Marble" and "Opaque Pearl Brown" ~
Some specs (my measurements):
Capped Length : 5.4 inches (13.7 cm)
Uncapped (nib tip to barrel end): 4.8 inches (12.3 cm)
Posted Length : 6 inches (15.2 cm)
Weight: 14 grams (with no ink/converter/cartridge in pen)
These Indian-made cigar-shaped fountain pens are made of plastic and have chrome, gold-coloured double cap rings and clips. The plastic does have a smell (not unexpected, due to the specific type of plastic used to make the pens) but the smell dissipates over time. The design of the pens is simple, but classic....
...and best of all---the sections match the rest of the pen! :)
The pens take standard converters (supplied) or international ink cartridges, but they can also be used as eyedropper fillers. The caps screw on well, and I haven't had issues with the ink drying out. The pens are light in weight and well-balanced posted or unposted, but I prefer to use them posted.
I ordered the pens from two different sellers in India (one on eBay, the other on etsy) but with the same nib type....
...and here's the nib type I ordered for both pens - a #6 size Kanwrite "Dualtone gold plated Broad Full flex" steel nib!
Kanwrite nibs are made in-house and I'm very impressed with their quality. The nibs have flex, but not as much flex as some vintage gold flexy nibs. Still, the Kanwrites are smooth writers and a lot of fun to write with...and for $26-$29 CAD (incl. shipping from India) each, you really can't go wrong.
Side note: The opaque pearl brown pen (from etsy.com) actually arrived with the wrong nib --a Fine-- on it (yes, just like with the PennaRossa Modena pen I reviewed two weeks ago!). The nib width is stamped at the very bottom of the nib...but you can't see it when the nib is in its section, so it was an understandable error. It took five months for the seller to mail the replacement nib to me, though, due to the terrible surge in COVID-19 cases in India (and some natural disasters they were battling, as well :( He sent the nib to me via expedited registered mail, which I thought was very considerate.
There are a variety of nib width options with the 'Desire' model---EF, F, M, B and BB 'Zoom' nibs--- so make sure you read the descriptions carefully so you don't accidentally order the wrong nib for yourself (that's actually why I ordered the pens from two different sellers--one didn't have the nib I wanted in the colour I wanted).
Note: the "Opaque Pearl Brown" model that I bought on etsy is described as "Coffee Grey Marble" on eBay. Also, there's a "Red Marble" version that resembles the "Fire Blast Marble" model, but they're actually two different resins.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied with all of my Kanwrite fountain pens---they look nice, feel great in the hand, and the nibs on them are well-made and highly enjoyable to write with.
I would not hesitate to recommend the 'Desire' model (or the 'Heritage' model I reviewed in late 2020) to someone looking for an affordable, well-made, attractive resin fountain pen with an "exotic" (Stub or flexy) nib. Kanwrite is a family-owned and operated business that's been around for 26 years and they make very good pens that are an excellent value for the money, in my opinion.
(~photos & review by Maja~)
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