i was reading shangas topic on going to his first pen show. he mentioned that he was looking for a big red, but rejected a hard rubber one that peter ford had in his shop, preferring a permanite (plastic) big red. in a pm to me shangas indicated that plastic was more resistant to cracks than hard rubber in the big red. is that true?

yes.

regards
-d

Hey Aunt Rebecca! What a wonderful smile you have.

Yeah I am dead-set on getting a permanite plastic Duofold. Everything I've read about the differences between hard rubber and permanite has convinced me that the latter is stronger, more durable, etc. I wouldn't want to buy a vintage fountain pen that I know is readily prone to cracking & splitting. Of course, plastic is as well, but it's stronger, which is why I want to go after that.

I'm hoping that this-coming Sunday, I find the pen that I've been reading about for the past six months!

well, if you don't find one, do drop me a line. have a gem ready to goto the website. Not inexpensive, but verrrrry nice.



regards

David (evil Tempter) I

You bastard! YOU EVIL BASTARD! HOW DARE THOU TEMPT ME SO!!!

Honestly speaking, though - What you have there, David, is EXACTLY what I'm after.

EDIT: Okay, I'll bite - How much? Just in case...

email sent

d

Replied!

Honestly David, that's faaaar outside my range. I'm going to have to pass on it. But thanks for the thought, anyway.

That's funny...it's the RHR Duo. Sr. that I covet! You silly, silly soul! I have a Big Red in plastic that's in good shape. I really like it, but I might be interested in a deal if you can find a RHR.

That's quite all right.

Heck, these sometimes crop up for $10 at garage sales- though some time cost is invested in finding those

My only "advice" at the pen show- watch out for cracks, heaving brassing, worn imprints etc. Pen at 2/3 "excellent retail" maybe not bargain if those problems present.

best regards

d

Parker never dropped the RHR Duofolds out of airplanes to demonstrate how tough they were...... but they did the plastic ones. That's not to say that you can't break a plastic one! (don't I know it!) But the big selling point on the plastic ones was their durability vs the rubber ones.

Well I'm sold on the idea! LOL!! Plus, I saw the difference between the rubber red and the plastic red, and the latter looks more appealing. The others have suggested bringing magnifiers & loupes to check for brassing & cracks etc. I have two magnifiers (I would, anyway. I have sight-problems and need them anyway) and I've got a rather cheap loupe which I filched from the school science-block when I was in highschool *shhh!!* I'm taking them both along with me.

By the way, another member (I forget who, now), said that a good way to check for cracks was to run your fingernail along the cap/barrel/other affected area to feel for inconsistancies in the cap/barrel's smoothness. Does this method actually work? Because when Peter showed me his RHR Duofold, he said there was a crack in the cap. He pointed it out to me but I didn't see it. And when I felt it, I didn't feel anything, either.

In general, it does, though a skilfully repaird cap lip crack can't be felt.

Take your finger nail and press up gently on the inside of the cap lip while rotating the cap. If there is a crack, you'll push it out enough that your finger nail will catch. It may be harder to feel a crack in a barrel or other area, but that check for cracks should be part of any inspection when thinking about buying a pen.

For other things to look for, take a look at the article that I wrote titled "Seeing With Your Fingers." Granted it's geared towards repair, but the comment has been made that it's a good primer on what to look for when buying a pen too!

Hi Ron,

I've always been rather too timid to do that. I always figure that if a I press just a leeetle tooo hard ....

Well you get the idea, I just might find myself paying a fairly hefty price for a damaged pen .

-john

How can you distinguish between the RHR and Permanite?
I've heard the smell but I don't know the difference
A related q. Is this original? Or should the pen have a Duo Fold Nib?
Thanks!

Color and friction smell can do it. But, a double band pen should be plastic.

Nib was used by Parker for DF nib replacements and iirc in some late Duofolds. Probably the arrow nib dates to later than the original issue date of the flat top pen you show, but is of nominal dollar impact to the pen and is not something to sweat.

regards

d

Thank you!