Pen materials

[FredRydr]

That's a really shiny pen. Lots of polishing to do there. Amazing.

It was part of my Balance collection until last May when another collector made it a part of his Chris Thompson collection. I bought it after the prior dealer gave up trying to get it apart. Two other pen dealers and I also failed to get it apart, leaving metallurgist, fellow collector and my hero Stuart Hawkinson of Portland Oregon to find success. I love the steampunk look, but its weight makes it impractical to use. I must ask the new owner for a group photo of this beast with his other Thompson pens.

[FredRydr]

...I must ask the new owner for a group photo of this beast with his other Thompson pens.

And here it is. I don't know what material Chris Thompson used for the Duofolds, but I suspect an acrylic.

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[Kulprit]

Does that mean that a celluloid Platinum could eventually self ignite?

Celluloid does not “self-ignite”, that’s an old wives tale. Like many materials (including some you wouldn’t expect), cellulose will burn when a flame is applied, but to get the type of excited reaction most people would expect you’d have to increase the surface area of the celluloid as well as provide a ready supply of oxygen.

In other words, nitrocellulose is very flammable because cotton has very thin strands (lots of surface area) bundled around air pockets (oxygen). Once you add camphor and cure it into a solid rod or sheet, it has significantly less surface area and oxygen can only reach the surface, so the burning of a celluloid rod is fairly undramatic.

A celluloid pen, particularly a hollow cap or body, will burn somewhat more enthusiastically because you now have an inner and outer surface and oxygen can reach both surfaces. However, it’s still not the show most people would expect.

The shavings that result from turning celluloid, however, burn MUCH more dramatically due to their significantly increased surface area and the ability for oxygen to feed in from a multitude of directions. The finer the shavings the more energetic the burn.

Celluloid’s nasty reputation comes primarily from film stock and ping-pong balls, both of which have a very high surface-to-mass ratio. The latter seems to have cropped up only in science labs and internet videos (I’m not aware of many accidental ping-pong ball mishaps) while the former became an issue because of film’s very close proximity to extremely high temperature projector bulbs.

So all of that to say that, no, I don’t expect that my celluloid Platinum will ever find itself alight. If it does, chances are that the heat source which caused it to ignite would destroy all the other pens in its vicinity before the celluloid has a chance to.


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[RWS]

Thank you for your most enlightening post. I will rest assured.

Actually I have ordered a celluloid Faggionato pen from Papier Plume in New Orleans. Sadly I see from the Faggionato website that Frederik Faggionato died in January.

[manoeuver]

Regarding a non-kit Horn (or Antler) pen, check out Ryan Krusac's Legend series. Ryan fabricates everything except the nib units.

https://rkspens.com/product/vikings-ltd-ed-of-150

I've heard him use the terms horn and antler talking about his pens. The term most often used is naturally-shed moose antler.

[fountainpagan]

Thank you for your most enlightening post. I will rest assured.

Actually I have ordered a celluloid Faggionato pen from Papier Plume in New Orleans. Sadly I see from the Faggionato website that Frederik Faggionato died in January.

You did a good choice. Please let us see it, and give us your impressions when you receive it.

Yes, Fred left us, and it is really sad when that happens, specially when it is a talented and really gentle person.

[RWS]

Regarding a non-kit Horn (or Antler) pen, check out Ryan Krusac's Legend series. Ryan fabricates everything except the nib units.

https://rkspens.com/product/vikings-ltd-ed-of-150

I've heard him use the terms horn and antler talking about his pens. The term most often used is naturally-shed moose antler.

I am hoping to meet young Mr Krusac when I visit the San Fransisco pen show in August. His Legend series looks very interesting.

[manoeuver]

I am hoping to meet young Mr Krusac when I visit the San Fransisco pen show in August. His Legend series looks very interesting.

he's a great guy and his pens have become really special.

speaking of pen materials, Ryan has turned pen bodies out of Labradorite, a good addition to your list.

[RWS]

I am hoping to meet young Mr Krusac when I visit the San Fransisco pen show in August. His Legend series looks very interesting.

he's a great guy and his pens have become really special.

speaking of pen materials, Ryan has turned pen bodies out of Labradorite, a good addition to your list.

Thank you. I have "Stone" on the list. That includes marble, and I presume Labaradorite.

[FredRydr]

speaking of pen materials, Ryan has turned pen bodies out of Labradorite, a good addition to your list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labradorite That looks very cool. I have to wonder how a hollow rod of the stuff holds up through knocks and drops.

[manoeuver]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labradorite That looks very cool. I have to wonder how a hollow rod of the stuff holds up through knocks and drops.

yeah don't drop that one.

[Cyril]

[QUOTE=Deb;259504]

I read online that there are currently only two places left in the world, in China, that make celluloid as it's such a fire hazard. It also shrinks and degrades after time. I would prefer any pen I owned to be made with something else.

Can a piece of plastic/ Cellouloid can cause a fire hazard ? We are living with around most of materiels generated and created by us human.Most of them are not fire proof or non flamable.

[catbert]

Dymalux

[RWS]

Oh dear. I have been looking for an excuse to buy a Desiderata pen for a while.

We really are getting esoteric in our materials now.

[calamus]

The OP asked about what caps and barrels are made from or covered with, so my post may be a bit off the mark... BUT, in terms of what pans cans be made from in general, I'd like to point out that for centuries pens were made from feathers, particularly goose feathers. Before that, reeds. Also, certain twigs that can be easily hollowed out.


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[RWS]

Thank you. But we are on "Fountain Pen Geeks". I assumed that I was refering to fountain pens.

[arrow]

Does anyone know about early plastic materials? I know bakelite and celluloid has become widely used names for all kinds of cellulose, phenol plastic based materials. I know melamin is an early one we still have in our daily surroundings. From someone who collects old plastic jewlery, I have heard the names, bakelite, lucite, bexit(e). I like those early black eyedrop fillers, I'm not sure what they are made of. There are intersting materials in new low priced pens too, but I don't know how cow-horn behaves over time. I think it's one of the better materials, since spectacle frames can be made of the. I think some amber, horn and tortoise imitations are cellulose acetate, it can have a translucent quality.

[catbert]

Juma

[Ray-VIgo]

You learn to live with the quirks of vintage pen material. They all represent a kind of compromise between appearance and durability. Celluloid produces some wonderful colors, and often with good depth. But celluloid can shrink and some of the colors tend to discolor when exposed to a deteriorating pen sac. It's possible in at least some cases to weld celluloid cracks. Hard rubber produces some very nice, crisp chasing designs and can come in some interesting color blends. It's also tolerant of heat and shaping - I love hard rubber for sections and feeds in particular. But hard rubber pens can oxidize and become prone to fading. It's also difficult to repair if cracked. Some of what people often call the early "plastics" from the 1940s-50s are a bit more robust than celluloid. But they also can shrink and discolor, and they often do not have the same depth and sparkle as celluloid. Casein can also produce some very strong, vibrant colors, but it does not fare well when exposed to water or moisture for an extended period. Metal, especially when used for caps, can make a pen really "pop" as to appearance, but any kind of serious dent really shows up and needs to be carefully removed for the cap to return to an acceptable appearance.

[RWS]

Juma

Mr Catbert, are you trying to bankrupt me?