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Thread: Precious Resin

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    Default Precious Resin

    So, I was viewing a current offering of a "$9000"pen made of "precious resin". I did a bit of due diligence to understand how precious this stuff might be and discovered that, at least, one person thinks its the same stuff the lowly Lamy Safari is made....ounce!!
    http://www.peneconomics.com/blog/201...precious-resin

    I realise I just increased the price of the Safari.....LOL!!

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Thanks for posting the fascinating article.

    A shows some pellets of .... resin?
    Bob

    Making the world a more peaceful place, one fine art print and one handwritten letter at a time.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    I just ordered a Lamy Vista made from Precious Resin aka ABS.......................

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Bah...that's not precious.
    Amber is precious.
    Show me a pen made from Amber and I'll drool...

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Quote Originally Posted by Detman101 View Post
    Bah...that's not precious.
    Amber is precious.
    Show me a pen made from Amber and I'll drool...
    It's precious if its made by Mont Blanc...LOL!!
    https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/ball...629622795.html

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    German is often badly translated.

    Anyway, I don't know why they don't call it "quality ABS", then everybody would know they're not talking about normal resin - which I think could arguably be called precious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin

    I bought a Kaweco pen specifically because the catalogue said ABS. Many people who have had kids know about the exceptional quality of that material when they've dug Lego out of the driveway and found it in pristine condition. That's a great demonstration of material superiority. I call it the driveway test.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    This is a specific subject that has been written up and beaten down many times over. If you care to, do a search for the term on Fountain Pen Network - there are some legendary threads about it. The fact of the matter is that it is mostly a translation issue, and the English-speakers are reading more into "precious" than was intended. That said, MB rarely misses an opportunity to use PR and pretense to keep the perceived value of their pens high. We laugh at them, laugh at them heartily; they smile back from the bank vault, sitting atop piles of cash.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Check the Fahrney's ad for the "new" Parker 51: it's not just a MB thing anymore.
    https://www.fahrneyspens.com/Item--i-161260
    Must mean it's good.


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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    This is funny. The thread in that link is from 2014, with a person asking what precious resin is all about. The very first reply indicates that the topic had already been brought up many times - this is one old horse!
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Quote Originally Posted by kazoolaw View Post
    Check the Fahrney's ad for the "new" Parker 51: it's not just a MB thing anymore.
    https://www.fahrneyspens.com/Item--i-161260
    Must mean it's good.

    Oh my, more preciousness!!

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    My first experience with ABS was with 1980's white water canoes with ABS sandwiched between vinyl layers. Great boats but no longer available although we still have two Blue Hole Canoes in use.

    Is it the resin hardness that causes MB pens to crack and leak?
    Last edited by Chuck Naill; September 6th, 2020 at 03:05 PM.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    So this ABS....basically the same ABS plastic used in automotive vehicles?

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    I am sure or would not be surprised if makers have their propriatary formulation. I mean, what is required for some purposes would be unnecessay for others. However, to excuse the use of precious as something lost in translation from German to English is just too funny since surely someone/everyone in Germany speaks or understands English.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    English is good, often excellent, in Germany. However I've seen a lot of, perhaps overconfident or headstrong, translations in commercial material that would rival a Chines instruction booklet.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    "discovered that, at least, one person thinks its the same stuff the lowly Lamy Safari is made....ounce!!"

    I realise I just increased the price of the Safari.....LOL!![/QUOTE]

    If you read the article, you'll find that he specifically says, that the material Montblanc uses for their pens is NOT the same as the ABS used in the Lamy Safari...

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    When I saw the title of this thread, my eyes rolled and I cringed at clicking on the link. So now I have, and that's all, folks!

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    An important thing to consider is that even in English "precious" doesn't mean "rare" or "hard to find" or something somehow finite. The root of "precious" simply means "valuable" (from Latin pretiosus) Given the range of plastics used to make pens (especially with the rise of the Bic polystyrene ballpoints), using higher-tier plastic to make a pen certainly would imply greater value.

    Edit: also, if its "just" ABS plastic, a reminder that there are different grades of ABS plastic depending on how the three primary components (Acrylonitrile, Butadiene and Styrene) are blended for the final product.
    Last edited by AzJon; September 7th, 2020 at 09:04 AM.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Quote Originally Posted by Nethermark View Post
    "discovered that, at least, one person thinks its the same stuff the lowly Lamy Safari is made....ounce!!"

    I realise I just increased the price of the Safari.....LOL!!
    If you read the article, you'll find that he specifically says, that the material Montblanc uses for their pens is NOT the same as the ABS used in the Lamy Safari...[/QUOTE]

    Lamy specifically discribes the Vista as ABS. Read the comments to the linked article. He gets his due share of grief.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    When I saw the title of this thread, my eyes rolled and I cringed at clicking on the link. So now I have, and that's all, folks!
    However, ten years or so ago, you might have been interested.

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    Default Re: Precious Resin

    Quote Originally Posted by AzJon View Post
    An important thing to consider is that even in English "precious" doesn't mean "rare" or "hard to find" or something somehow finite. The root of "precious" simply means "valuable" (from Latin pretiosus) Given the range of plastics used to make pens (especially with the rise of the Bic polystyrene ballpoints), using higher-tier plastic to make a pen certainly would imply greater value.

    Edit: also, if its "just" ABS plastic, a reminder that there are different grades of ABS plastic depending on how the three primary components (Acrylonitrile, Butadiene and Styrene) are blended for the final product.
    There appears to be two camps here. One camp thinks the use of "precious" not to mean what generally it means in English and gives pen makers who use it a pass. The other camp thinks its a gimmic to make the buyer think she/he is getting something special. I have to admit that I am in the latter camp. Regardless of how special it is, its still plastic. I just got a Lamy Vista. Lamy says its made of ABS. They don't call it precious and they are a German company. They are not trying got sell is for $800 either.

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