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Making Sacs


StickyFingers

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Hi All,

This is my first post, and I hope it's going in the correct section.

Having just bought a beat up old Osmiroid 65 that requires a new sac, I went looking at the suppliers (UK). I was astounded at the ridiculous prices being asked for these; something like £1.50 each! So, as they're so simple to make, I thought I'd make my own. Latex and thickener are available cheaply, and the mould couldn't be much simpler, so I've just ordered the materials. However, although it's a very simple process, I'd be interested to hear how others have gone about this task. I've had a quick search on here but found nothing.

Cheers

Max

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I would be interested in seeing your results. Check out the story of The Pen Sac Company in Southern California, that is where I get mine.

 

--greg

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Like Greg, I buy sacs. The savings does not offset the effort to make them.

 

The FarmBoy

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Hi All,

This is my first post, and I hope it's going in the correct section.

Having just bought a beat up old Osmiroid 65 that requires a new sac, I went looking at the suppliers (UK). I was astounded at the ridiculous prices being asked for these; something like £1.50 each! So, as they're so simple to make, I thought I'd make my own. Latex and thickener are available cheaply, and the mould couldn't be much simpler, so I've just ordered the materials. However, although it's a very simple process, I'd be interested to hear how others have gone about this task. I've had a quick search on here but found nothing.

Cheers

Max

 

Unless you have the absolute correct formula to produce sacs that are used for fountain pens (and it is not just simple latex and thickener) you are going to have some serious problems...

I.E. a while ago one of the sac manufactures had a production problem and something was left out of the original formula... the resulting sacs turned to a gooey mess in short order....

Also mold production is not all that simple as you need to maintain an accurate thickness of you finished sac....

 

In the long run it is a lot cheaper to spend the 1.5BP on a sac than to try to produce your own sacs....

As mentioned above look at the Pen Sac company history for some insight....

What you are trying has been mentioned before on FPN and IIRC those attempts ended in either outright failure, bad sacs or sacs that cost a lot more than those commercially available

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I salute your creativity, OP, but what's a pound fifty, a Sunday newspaper? Or a packet of hankies. I literally blow my nose with a pound fifty, so it doesn't seem that much of a gouge for another 10 or 20 years of trouble free ink filling.

Latest pen related post @ flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com : vintage Pilot Elite Pocket Pen review

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I literally blow my nose with a pound fifty

 

 

Just pictured someone blowing their nose into a handful of coins.

 

$2 or £1.50 is a lot for a little latex finger, but it's not that much to get a pen running again for years, and as others have said it's probably less than what a successful personal production will cost. When I buy sacs I think about the price of their functional effect rather than the actual material.

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FYI, latex sacs are dip formed and not injection molded. This makes mold making much easier, it also makes wall thickness and consistancy much more of a challenge.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Don Quixote Sac Company, Ltd.

"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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Hi to all who've replied.

It seems the general consensus of opinion is spend and be damned.

 

It seems to me that the consensus is that you'll probably spend more (and probably say Damn! more) making your own, so it is most likely easier and cheaper to buy the maybe overpriced but still quiet cheap sacs offered. I don't think anyone is discouraging your attempts at making your own. Indeed, I'm sure we'd all be very interested in any attempts you make and would follow any successes or failures with supportive commentary.

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Hi All,

This is my first post, and I hope it's going in the correct section.

Having just bought a beat up old Osmiroid 65 that requires a new sac, I went looking at the suppliers (UK). I was astounded at the ridiculous prices being asked for these; something like £1.50 each! So, as they're so simple to make, I thought I'd make my own. Latex and thickener are available cheaply, and the mould couldn't be much simpler, so I've just ordered the materials. However, although it's a very simple process, I'd be interested to hear how others have gone about this task. I've had a quick search on here but found nothing.

Cheers

Max

 

Hmmm...very interesting thread. A lot of "It'll never work" and "you're wasting your time/money" followed by some back and forth that got a little prickly. I thought I'd take this in a different direction and say to StickyFingers "Good luck and let us know how it all turns out."

 

Mike

Edited by MCameron
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As explained earlier, the sac"s are made using a dipping process.

Further to the exact latex formal there are 3 important parameters which should be kept under control:

1- Keeping your dip dish constantly at the exact temperature

So your probably need a water jacketed dish with heater, thermostat and water circulating pump.

2- Keeping your latex dish constantly at the same viscosity.

3- Determine and maintaining a perfect withdrawal speed to obtain equal wall thickness over the total length of the sac.

You could for example use a stepper or servo motor or a cam driven lifting system.

I really like the idea, but - given the need to control the above mentioned parameters - I doubt if your efforts will be successful.

Wishing you success !

Francis

 

 

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First of all welcome to FPN.

 

Like I said above do a bit of research on what the pros are doing. Then poke around the Repair forum here, there are many discussions involving the pros regarding pro/cons of adhesives, polishes, sac materials, dry lubricants (talc etc.), gaskets, rosin, beeswax, silicone paste, etc.

 

Then do it your own way and report back on how ot worked out. There is a huge mine of homebrew data here but don't use the forum search functions to find it, use Google.

 

Best of luck and welcome!

Edited by gweddig
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Exceptionally fascinatin' and entertainin'..Ain't it... .

 

Fred

 

surround yourself with people of quality and substance..

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Perhaps it could be said that I use more sacs than the average bear but they are only a buck a piece from the Pen Sac Co if you buy the assortment. I realize that seems like a lot of sacs but I wonder how many you get from a can of latex before it goes bad.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Dee, this from another grumpy old man,

I'd just buy sacs that are made to do what you need them to do .. rather than experiment with what you think might work but don't really know.

It's up to you though to determine how you spend your time and what risks you want to take....

 

Quote <I've also read about shellac being required as an adhesive; not only is this also ridiculously expensive, but clearly totally unnecessary.>

 

With regards to Shellac it's tried, simple to use and proven to be effective. It is incredibly easy to make this your self, the issue is most people use only a tiny amount so buying a bag of Shellac flakes is over and above their actual requirement, but a small bottle which will last a long time and can easily be rejuvenated if it dries too much works a treat.

 

Sometimes reinventing the wheel just means spending time you could better use on something else far more productive.

 

Only my opinion...

 

Hi to all who've replied.

It seems the general consensus of opinion is spend and be damned. Clearly, since I last bought pen sacs many years ago, the comparative prices have rocketed, and I can see why this is. But my generation reacts violently against what it considers to be exorbitance, and always tries to find an alternative. I tend to be wary of any internet stories of failure of amateurs, by professionals, as a means of preserving their businesses. I've read on here about microscopic differences of size being of apparent importance, clearly another con by the pros. I've also read about shellac being required as an adhesive; not only is this also ridiculously expensive, but clearly totally unnecessary. Technology has moved on in the adhesive world, but a lot of crafts and industries don't seem to have noticed, or they feel that the general public are so thick that they won't accept progress. There are many examples in manufacturing where adhesive alone would be more than sufficient for the job in hand, but due to traditional practice, a belt and braces approach requires some additional support. But I digress, the expensive lac beetle ooze is no longer necessary in the 21st century.

I suppose the moral here is, don't believe everything you read.

I will continue to be a grumpy old man until the day I die, which is only three years away now, so I don't need this sac to last long!

Cheers

Max

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Hi again,

Some very interesting comments here, and a somewhat surprising variety of opinions. I'll keep you all updated with my experiments as soon as I do them. This may not be for a week or two, as I'm going into hospital on Wednesday for an op, and will be a little restricted in what I can do when I come out. The worst bit about it is not being allowed to drive for six weeks!

Until next time

Cheers

Max

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Just a reminder, polite discussion goes a long way, and folks can learn from the give and take. It's possible to have a contrary belief and discuss it in a polite way. Grumpy and cranky however has little virtue and does not go far on FPN. :ninja:

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As a Professional as you describe it, I would only add that if you ever sell any of your pens with home made sacs in them, kindly disclose that fact to the buyer.

 

As a professional, I have had to clean out way too many gooey messes inside of barrels and it's a horrendous job.

Sensitive Pen Restoration doesn't cost extra.

 

Find me on Facebook at MONOMOY VINTAGE PEN

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