Hard Rubber Smell

[balson]

every once and awhile i will pick up an old beaten up hard rubber pen that just stinks. the smell seems to only come from hard rubber pens and almost smells like the pens are rotting. anyone know what causes it and how to remove it?

[Inkling13]

You mean the sulfur smell? That is an intrinsic characteristic of hard rubber. I would not store hard rubber/ebonite in the same place as celluloid pens for that matter. There is nothing that can get rid of that smell other than to air it out.

[provis]

Does it smell of burning tires? That's the characteristic hard rubber "aroma". However, if you smell a tinge of something cruddy and metalic, it could be the ink reacting with the rubber sac, especially if the sac hasn't been replaced for sometime (i.e. decomposing).

 

The first... is an acquired taste. The second warrants a trip to the restorers, or DIY maintenance!

[pokermon]

All of my hard rubber pens' smell is very feint. I have to rub my finger on it back and forth 3-4 times and put my nose right up to the pen to smell the classic rubber smell 90% of the time. Are you sure your pen is hard rubber?

[fountainpagan]

1 drop of olive oil, rub the all pen with it. Then wipe any surplus that hasn't been absorbed.

[Inkling13]

1 drop of olive oil, rub the all pen with it. Then wipe any surplus that hasn't been absorbed.

Good. So it won't smell like ebonite, but rancid vegetable oil. I'll take ebonite over rancid oil, especially when rancid oil is gummy and tacky, making a mess of everything.

[pokermon]

Oil will also attract dirt as well. Don't do it. Plus you don't want any kinds of liquid on rubber to begin with.

[fountainpagan]

I have several ebonite and hard rubber pens that I regularly use, and have no rancid oil smell od attrcat more dirt..

When I say 1 drop, it is really 1 drop.

Have you tried this method, without bathing the pens in oil?

Otherwise, what is your solution? I am allways eager to learn new technics and have serveral answer to a problem.

Edited January 21, 2014 by fountainpagan

[balson]

i would be nervous about using any oils on a pen because oils will eat away the rubber sack.

 

the smell usually goes away after awhile. the smell has notes of sulphur but also has an ammonia like sharpness to it.

 

since the smell dissipates over time, and i can't think of any eyedroppers i have had that have the smell, i think it might be coming from the old sac.

[Rumblebee]

I have a Ranga ebonite pen bought with a German JoWo nib from Peyton Street Pens. Personally I was not very fond of the hard rubber smell of the new pen, but since I am also a person who chose his favourite black ink based on it's wonderfull odour, I just hide the ebonite smell with that of the Pilot/Namiki Black

[Sasha Royale]

In a certain respect, you are correct. It is dead plant material, and it is rotting. Rubber is tree sap. as organic as anything can be.

Vulcanization into commercial rubber stabilizes it 99.9%, but in aging, it releases fluids and fumes. (Don't we all ?) Likely, you

smell an accumulation of such odors.

 

You are blessed with a keen, discerning sense of smell. Air out your pen regularly by using it. Wipe with a clean, damp cloth,

to remove body oil and dead skin cells of your hand, which add to the organic content. In addition, enjoy a piece of candy, a

piece of fruit, a cup of coffee, as glass of rhum, while you write. Stop smelling your pens.

 

Write with joy.

 

PS. Pen pal has a fountain pen, hand-turned from rosewood, which feels great, as it warms to the hand. Rosewood stinks !

Edited April 16, 2014 by Sasha Royale

[balson]

i often smell new pens i get to tell if i need to wear gloves when i am cleaning out the old ink. the old inks with an antifungal agent have a very distinct smell.

 

as an update though, the pen in question eventually stopped smelling on its own. i removed the crumbling sac that was in it so that may have been a good chunk of where the smell was coming from.