"precious Resin" Pen

[AltecGreen]

Brian Gray has just completed a new custom pen for me that I refer to as the "precious resin" project. I came upon the idea for this pen because of the many discussions here on FPN about plastics used for pens and a general feeling that plastics are cheap and full of marketing and collector hype. So my goal was to have a pen made from a state of the art plastic as an example that plastics run a gamut and some plastics are really precious.

 

 

You can find pictures of this new pen in Brian's gallery of Morgan pens.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edisonpenco/4709519891/

 

 

The material for this pen is Torlon 4301 which is a polyamide-imide filled with graphite and PTFE. This plastic maintains strength and stiffness to 500° F (260 C) and is quite tough. This material is also strong at cryogenic temperatures too. This material is designed to work in harsh chemical environments. As a point of reference, a 0.750" dia. by 12" long rod of Torlon 4301 costs between $120.00-140.00.

 

Brian did an amazing job on this pen because this material is not easy to machine. I'll quote Brian, "Semi-dull tools didn't really do much at all to it". The pen turned out quite nice and the finish is very unique.

 

Picture of Torlon 4301 rod stock.

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3388/4617927878_dbb3cc7307.jpg

 

 

Originally, I wanted to have this pen made from Vespel SP-1 but it was harder to obtain and three times more expensive. For the future, I'm contemplating a semi-transparent demonstrator made from Primospire SRP and a pen feed made from Rulon LR. Plastics get a bad rap because people equate plastic with cheap. There some plastics out there that are far from cheap. A 8" x 8" x 1.5" plate of Vespel SP-1 retails for $10,000.

[watch_art]

that is one sexy pen. awesome plastic, too.

[Samovar]

Cool idea and amazing result!

I remember starting a thread a long time ago about precious resin and the fact that they now make guns in plastic. I had shattered my MB 146 and I just wanted to know if it was possible to use some new type of plastic, well done!

[ToasterPastry]

You've got me thinking about this. I'd probably go with Ultem, just because it has good machining characteristics. I think the discussion about Precious Resins™ was probably best answered on the previous post.

[bphollin]

Does it blend?

[AltecGreen]

You've got me thinking about this. I'd probably go with Ultem, just because it has good machining characteristics. I think the discussion about Precious Resins™ was probably best answered on the previous post.

 

 

If I had wanted a window for the bulb filler, I would have probably used Ultem 1000 for the window material. I did consider an eyedropper pen using Ultem 1000. The clear amber color would make a very nice pen. For this pen, Ultem didn't quite have that cool factor. If I wanted cool colors, I thought about using Radel because it can be colored. Vespel or Meldin would be cool just for the fact that the material is so expensive.

[karmakoda]

I can see "Q" handing this pen to 007, "Now, for Gawd's sake be careful 007, this isn't just any pen!"

Maximum cool factor.

 

Did Brian enjoy the process of working with this material, and would he be happy to work with it again, and other "state of the art" plastics? Just wondering if there are any downsides when dealing with materials like this.

Also, is the nib design on your pen a little different from the usual Edison nib choices?

 

Beautiful pen, very creative and original idea, congratulations.

This is one of those, "I wish I would have thought of that!" moments.

[Fuddlestack]

I regard the precious in precious resin as a mediocre translation (and probably done in-house by a chap which speaks fine the English, isn't it?) Edelsteine are precious stones, it's true, and edel can mean precious, but it also means fine as in fine gold, noble or simply high-grade. In Mont Blanc's case, I would translate their Edelharz as high-grade resin or, if that wasn't fancy enough for the marketing oiks, fine resin.

 

I wonder if they know how much ridicule that precious brings them?

[Brian]

A very cool pen from a unique material. Interesting review.

 

 

[bgray]

I can see "Q" handing this pen to 007, "Now, for Gawd's sake be careful 007, this isn't just any pen!"

Maximum cool factor.

 

Did Brian enjoy the process of working with this material, and would he be happy to work with it again, and other "state of the art" plastics? Just wondering if there are any downsides when dealing with materials like this.

Also, is the nib design on your pen a little different from the usual Edison nib choices?

 

Beautiful pen, very creative and original idea, congratulations.

This is one of those, "I wish I would have thought of that!" moments.

 

Machining is was different. When tools are sharp, plastics come off in shavings, ribbons and strings.

 

Even with super-sharp tools, the shavings with this plastic was dust. In other words, the material was just being more or less "smashed in to submission" rather then being cut. I did some tests with small scraps before starting to make sure that I wasn't wasting Altec's time or money, and it worked, so what the hey.

 

I think that it's safe to say that this is one pen that you CAN leave on the dash of your car.

 

It was a fun one - thanks, Altec!

[dizzypen]

 

I think that it's safe to say that this is one pen that you CAN leave on the dash of your car.

 

It was a fun one - thanks, Altec!

 

*Imagines leaving her Purple Web Celluloid Glenmont on the dash*

 

Spontaneous combustion... inferno in car... car totaled... *gulp*

[Pippin60]

Beautiful Pen...

[enricof]

Wow!

 

 

What's next, unobtanium?

 

[AltecGreen]

Wow!

 

 

What's next, unobtanium?

 

As soon as I have obtained some.

[rwilsonedn]

Altec:

Perhaps now you can work with Noodler's to get an ink that will remain functional over the same temperature range as your pen ...

ron

[dsatco]

Which model is that pen...it's just beautiful? What was the cost....if you don't mind mentioning it?

[AltecGreen]

Which model is that pen...it's just beautiful? What was the cost....if you don't mind mentioning it?

 

 

That's a Morgan. You can find the pricing on the Edison Pens site. I supplied the blank 12" rod of Torlon 4301 which cost $120.00.

[Gandalfandula]

i like the plastic a lot! that site is very interesting...i may browse it in the future if/when i'm looking to have a custom made. i get the feeling, practically speaking at least, that it is simply way more than is necessary, though

[Pentangeli]

Outstanding work by Brian on a beautiful pen that should last many generations for AltecGreen.

[Alice L]

Wow!