Do you use a fountain pen?

[Robbo 27]

motco said:

The term 'plastic' is almost useless unless you know what polymer you are dealing with. Some are almost inert to all solvents, others will literally fall apart with just a sniff of the fumes. The old nostrum to try on an inconspicuous part is good advice. Some of the older rigid materials (and some newer ones too) will dissolve very readily in organic solvents - especially chlorinated ones like trichlorethylene or carbon tetrachloride. Suprisingly one of the toughest modern materials - polycarbonate - is among the most easily attacked with solvents. So it is with acrylics (Perspex, Lucite, Oroglas, etc) otherwise known as polymethylmethacrylate. Beware!

Sounds like good advice.

One of the all time greats in pens is the Parker 51, I think its also the only pen made from Lucite.

The earliest pens were made from black hard rubber, which was a lovely product to work with, then came casein and celluloid much later. One of the most troublesome materials was used in the Parker 61, polystyrene, probably a factor of being now well past its anticipated used by date.

I think the advice your giving is not to use solvents unless you know the pen material.

This is a pen made of red mottled hard rubber, dates from the early 20s.

[AlexC1981]

CandC said:

Do you put bids on ebay directly or use a sniper site?

Directly. Usually at the last few seconds. Sometimes I will bid early if it's a low cost item and I think I might forget to put one on. I won the other damaged Osmiroid with the cap that matches mine. Annoyingly someone bid the cost right up to my maximum I was prepared to pay for it of £15.

CandC said:

Really nice job on the Osmiroid, Alex. Very impressive.

Did you use the Renaissance wax on it, and if so, what do you think of it?

I'm still a bit undecided myself - it does smell quite strongly when applying it, so I don't know if that implies it's mixed with some type of solvent? I know it says it's safe to use and has been used by the British Museum, so one would expect it to be ok. It does seem to give a nice finish though.

Thanks, yes it smells like paraffin to me. I was/am a bit concerned about it, but I got it because this chap who does restorations uses it and I thought he brought the pens up to a nice shine. I've seen him use it on casein and other plastic types of pen and I got the impression he's been doing it for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-taRQmxTcM

When I waxed the Osmiroid I couldn't see much difference, however, I have taken a few quick shots of the Wearever. I just quickly applied some wax to it for the first time from the top to a little over half way down. Roughly down to where the bottom of the lever is. You can see there is definitely a lustre to the top half and the finish looks deeper somehow. It's like I'm not looking at a flat surface, it's like I'm looking a clear glass column filled with semi-molten green metal.....if that makes sense.

If it stops the metal from tarnishing that's certainly a bonus as I expect it wouldn't take many polishes to wear the plate off.

I had already given the pen a gentle going over with the micro-gloss a couple of days ago. I guess the wax helps by filling in any remaining tiny pits and fissures in the plastic with wax, which can be polished with a soft cloth to make a completely smooth surface.

[Robbo 27]

AlexC1981 said:

Thanks, yes it smells like paraffin to me. I was/am a bit concerned about it, but I got it because this chap who does restorations uses it and I thought he brought the pens up to a nice shine. I've seen him use it on casein and other plastic types of pen and I got the impression he's been doing it for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-taRQmxTcM

When I waxed the Osmiroid I couldn't see much difference, however, I have taken a few quick shots of the Wearever. I just quickly applied some wax to it for the first time from the top to a little over half way down. Roughly down to where the bottom of the lever is. You can see there is definitely a lustre to the top half and the finish looks deeper somehow. It's like I'm not looking at a flat surface, it's like I'm looking a clear glass column filled with semi-molten green metal.....if that makes sense.

If it stops the metal from tarnishing that's certainly a bonus as I expect it wouldn't take many polishes to wear the plate off.

I had already given the pen a gentle going over with the micro-gloss a couple of days ago. I guess the wax helps by filling in any remaining tiny pits and fissures in the plastic with wax, which can be polished with a soft cloth to make a completely smooth surface.

I think that you need to take a view on this, I see that the benefits exceeds the risk of damage. Solvents are not used and I havent seen any problems in using products over many years, I like the idea of micro gloss and micromesh screens. Steph in the grandmia youtube vids is no fool and obtains excellent results on a repeated basis.

[motco]

Robbo, I had forgotten the "hard rubber" probability. It was known mainly by its trade name of Ebonite I think, and it was even used for lead/acid accumulator casings (car batteries) because of its acid resistance. I'm afraid I don't know too much about Ebonite or the other non-petroleum based materials such as casein and shellac, but Lucite (more commonly known here by the old ICI trade name of Perspex (or by another name for the injection moulding compound which I cannot remember) is quite susceptible to organic solvents. It is very resistant to ultra violet light though, and was used for cockpit canopies on many aircraft.

[Robbo 27]

motco said:

Robbo, I had forgotten the "hard rubber" probability. It was known mainly by its trade name of Ebonite I think, and it was even used for lead/acid accumulator casings (car batteries) because of its acid resistance. I'm afraid I don't know too much about Ebonite or the other non-petroleum based materials such as casein and shellac, but Lucite (more commonly known here by the old ICI trade name of Perspex (or by another name for the injection moulding compound which I cannot remember) is quite susceptible to organic solvents. It is very resistant to ultra violet light though, and was used for cockpit canopies on many aircraft.

I have heard hard rubber referred to as vulcanite, perhaps a variation. It is a nice product for making pens with, it can crack but then it is relatively thin and now approaching 100 years old. It takes polish well although it can discolour to greens and browns over the years. I keep hard rubber pens away from water when restoring.

Casein, a very early plastic made from milk, takes colour very well and restores nicely, it can crack however and should be kept away from water. I assume that British made early pens are made from casein unless I know for certain that they are not.

Lucite made pens are, I think, limited to Parker 51s. It doesnt seem to crack and works very well, polishes up and looks the part.

Not aware of light sensitivity although Parker made one 51 in a mid grey that fades very easily over the years, the other colours seem not to have an issue. I note what you say about solvents on Lucite, I wash the barrels and hoods in an ultrasonic cleaner with a tiny amount of detergent, washing up liquid or shampoo. No harsher solvents can be recommended.

Celluloid is also a popular material, it has its problems with discolouration. I have a dark blue pen where the end was left close to a window for many years and has faded. 1920/30s pens, Parkers in particular, discoloured in the barrel and it is thought that this was due to the black rubber sac decompossing in the barrel.




This cannot be recovered.

A problem pen is the Parker 61 made from polystyrene. A great design other than the choice of plastic which is now brittle and subject to cracks and shrinkage. Some repairers try a plastic weld but, generally, the value of the pen doesnt justify the cost of repair, most problem pens go for parts to keep others going.

Appreciate your input Motco, thank you.

[motco]

Vulcanite was another trade name certainly, but it can be confused with a mineral of that name. Celluloid will burn and burn violently, be careful with that. It's closely similar to gun cotton!

[ClockworkCupcake]

My final two pens that I ordered from China on eBay still haven't turned up, despite being ordered almost a month ago.

They are a plain black Jinhao X750 and a Baoer 801 (Black Shimmering Aurora Borealis).

I think that's me done on cheap Chinese pens now, really, unless something unusual comes up that I like the look of.

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

My final two pens that I ordered from China on eBay still haven't turned up, despite being ordered almost a month ago.

They are a plain black Jinhao X750 and a Baoer 801 (Black Shimmering Aurora Borealis).

I think that's me done on cheap Chinese pens now, really, unless something unusual comes up that I like the look of.

I had a x450 arrive yesterday, I was surprised at the huge size of the nib. Mine took 6 weeks to arrive - I had almost forgotten about it.


'unless something unusual comes up that I like the look of'

Famous last words!

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

Famous last words!

Indeed.

But as you said earlier in the thread, every new collector gets to the point where they need to decide which direction they want to go. I think I'm done with simply accumulating pens for writing, as I have enough now to be able to see which ones I'm using and which ones I'm not.

I'm not actually sure where I will go from here, and am just taking a breather for now and enjoying what I have.

[RizzoTheRat]

Just spotted this shop as I was walking through town. Love the look of their ink bottles, €15/bottle does seem a little steep though (ETA: Or it did until I saw the price of some of the other inks on their site).

http://www.vulpennen.nl/en/AKKDM01.html

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 27th April 14:10

[Robbo 27]

RizzoTheRat said:

Just spotted this shop as I was walking through town. Love the look of their ink bottles, €15/bottle does seem a little steep though.

http://www.vulpennen.nl/en/AKKDM01.html

Nice little shop and business. Must admit I would pay the price for that ink, re - use the bottle over and over. Thanks for the link.

[RizzoTheRat]

I must admit I'm tempted for the exact same reason. Shop was shut today (bank holiday) though.

I'm over here for 6 weeks so emptied my pens out before bringing them with me after earlier discussion on this thread about flying with fountain pens, and bought some Waterman cartridges to keep me going. I'd be a bit worried about putting a bottle of ink in my luggage flying back though, that would make a hell of a mess if it broke.

[alorotom]

Damn it, my white 159 lid has a hairline crack in it where it fell to the floor in a restaurant a couple of days ago!!

All my other pens feel uncomfortable now I'm totally used to the 159's girth!

Gutted!!

[Robbo 27]

RizzoTheRat said:

I must admit I'm tempted for the exact same reason. Shop was shut today (bank holiday) though.

I'm over here for 6 weeks so emptied my pens out before bringing them with me after earlier discussion on this thread about flying with fountain pens, and bought some Waterman cartridges to keep me going. I'd be a bit worried about putting a bottle of ink in my luggage flying back though, that would make a hell of a mess if it broke.

Perhaps the shop might have some good packaging materials and a ziplock bag, or even post it to home? I have carried ink myself in a plane without a problem.

They might even have an empty bottle to buy!


ETA, just been reading their website, they have some very nice stock. I dont know of anywhere in England as good as that, Penfriend on the Strand was pretty good (until it closed recently) and Selfridges have a good range but they are not in that league.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Thursday 27th April 14:24

[RizzoTheRat]

EasyJet managed to break a bottle of beer that was wrapped in bubble wrap in the middle of my suitcase last year so I'm a bit nervous of flying with glass bottles these days. A combination of a ziplock, some bubble wrap and the rest of my dirty laundry ought to be enough packaging though

ETA: Yeah, shop looks fantastic, I'm going to have to go and have a look at some point when they're open.

[RizzoTheRat]

Houston, we have a problem!

I've previously been using bottled Quink, but figured I should switch to cartridges while abroad, and bought some Waterman long standard cartridges in Mysterious Blue (looks like Blue-Black to me).

My Jinhao has previously worked fine on Quink but with the Warterman cartridge in if I hold the pen vertically nip down it drips ink at a rate of about 1 drop every 5 seconds!

Is waterman ink that much thinner than Quink or is there another reason for this?

[Robbo 27]

RizzoTheRat said:

Houston, we have a problem!

I've previously been using bottled Quink, but figured I should switch to cartridges while abroad, and bought some Waterman long standard cartridges in Mysterious Blue (looks like Blue-Black to me).

My Jinhao has previously worked fine on Quink but with the Warterman cartridge in if I hold the pen vertically nip down it drips ink at a rate of about 1 drop every 5 seconds!

Is waterman ink that much thinner than Quink or is there another reason for this?

I am 90% sure that there is another reason.

I think that the cartridge is not fully home and is letting air in, needs a good push to seat it properly.

Take care as you open the barrel, it may have leaked inside.

I appreciate that you are in Amsterdam but this is not a script for a porn film.

[Hosenbugler]

Thanks to all who commented regarding my request concerning import duties, etc.

I did mange to get some time and did some digging , apparently the import duty on pens/writing instruments is 3.7% , which seems a strange figure, could be a lot worse though! I'll get collared the 20% vat for sure though.

Apparently, for HMRC assistance, the commodity code is 9608300000 . Does anyone think that if I get the vendor to note that on the outside of the package, it will help speed things through customs?

On another subject, does anyone have any opinions on Diamine Ink's ?

[RizzoTheRat]

Good call, there was a small crack in the base of the cartridge where it connects to the pen, guess that must have been letting in air. New cartridge solved the problem. Cheers.

[Robbo 27]

RizzoTheRat said:

Good call, there was a small crack in the base of the cartridge where it connects to the pen, guess that must have been letting in air. New cartridge solved the problem. Cheers.

Glad to have helped.

If the crack is on the pointy end of the cartridge you may want to think how that crack has occurred and perhaps the Jinhao nipple is fractionnally too large for the Waterman cartridge, I am concerned that #2 will also crack, which sounds like a very good reason to see if Akkermans have better fitting cartridges available.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Thursday 27th April 16:19