Is The Burnham No. 60 Made Of Casein?

[swordofthedove]

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired a Burnham No. 60, and am in the process of restoring it. I was just wondering if it, like many older British pens, was made of casein (which of course would affect how I go about cleaning it).

Thanks

[PaulS]

the technicalities of the history of Burnham pens makes even CS look civilized - it really isn't possible to be dogmatic without knowing more about your pen - but the short answer to your question is yes, it could be casein, and this means that the one thing you shouldn't do is give it a bath. Stick to dry heat, and be very cautious when cleaning - least obtrusive methods first.

The model 60 seems to go back pre WW II but looks to continue post war too, so id depends on characteristics of designs etc., but there are some Web sites that will give you details of period styles and approximate date for changes etc. Many post war pens were celluloid/acrylic - off hand I don't know if there is a quick and simple test for casein - perhaps someone here will know.

 

There is such a thing as casein deterioration - this shows up as crazing on the surface, but exactly why this happens to some casein pens and not other casein pens I've no idea........... it could be a temperature thing.

 

If you can post some pix then am sure someone here will he able to give a more accurate answer to your question. Sorry this not really helpful.

[swordofthedove]

Thanks a lot!

Your reply may not seem like much to you, but it's more info then I've managed to dig up through an extensive online search .

I've started fixing it up without soaking, and I'll post pics as soon as its done.

[northlodge]

there is a detailed website covering Burnham, now hosted by WES, and quite difficult to find... but I know it is still accessible. Perhaps a WES member can advise on the current web addesss

[mallymal1]

http://wesonline.org.uk/burnham/Basics_of_Burnhamography.html

 

 

[peterg]

Assuming it is a coloured marble, if you look at it under a loupe and the surface shows signs of crazing it is probably casein.

[swordofthedove]

That'll be hard to see, as I just went over it with micromesh. It has a bunch of shrinkage cracks in the cap, though.

[swordofthedove]

So here​ are the pictures. I sealed all the cracks in the cap, and sanded down the blind cap, which is made of ebonite and was severely discolored. I managed to get the nib pretty much straighened out. The button wouldn't​ come out, but the pressure bar came out freely, so I just shellacked the pressure bar to the sac, after shellacking the sac to the section, and screwed the section in, while trying to keep everything straight.It seems to have worked, as the pen draws in ink nicely!

[peterg]

Shellaced the bar to the sac?

[swordofthedove]

Yeah. It may be a bit unorthodox, but I wasn't sure there was any way to remove the button. It wouldn't pull out, and I didn't want to try with a vac tool, for fear of wrecking the button or the threads. When I tried just screwing the section in, the pressure bar would twist the sac to the point that it pulled out of the section, so I decided to try shellacking the sac to the pressure bar (after it was already stuck on to the section) and just screwing the section in, and it worked.

[swordofthedove]

http://wesonline.org.uk/burnham/Basics_of_Burnhamography.html

 

 

thanks a lot! The site is really informative!

[PaulS]

I could be way off line, but from the description of the re-assembly it sounds as though the bar wasn't seated fully down into the button - thus projecting too far upward in the barrel, and fouling the section as it was screwed in. Buttons can be removed without too much trouble - after all they are installed in the first place, although they may need a bit of coaxing - as with so many manoeuvres in assembly care is needed, and the split sections of the button can be squeezed together, and then wriggled gently to assist withdrawal. Alternatively, a long thin drift can be inserted via the barrel mouth and carefully centred down until it sits inside the button - some careful tapping on the drift can then help to move the button.

Why the bar might not seat fully into the button could possibly be due to some remains of the old sac blocking the opening.

 

Must say it now looks great - a good job of restoration - but how much ink it pulls might be open to debate. If the bar doesn't lock up against the rear of the section, almost instantly, when you depress the button then there may be some reduction of intake of ink.

 

But what does any of this matter if you're not going to use the pen everyday - it can now sit in the collection and will just look good.

[swordofthedove]

I could be way off line, but from the description of the re-assembly it sounds as though the bar wasn't seated fully down into the button - thus projecting too far upward in the barrel, and fouling the section as it was screwed in. Buttons can be removed without too much trouble - after all they are installed in the first place, although they may need a bit of coaxing - as with so many manoeuvres in assembly care is needed, and the split sections of the button can be squeezed together, and then wriggled gently to assist withdrawal. Alternatively, a long thin drift can be inserted via the barrel mouth and carefully centred down until it sits inside the button - some careful tapping on the drift can then help to move the button.

Why the bar might not seat fully into the button could possibly be due to some remains of the old sac blocking the opening.

 

Must say it now looks great - a good job of restoration - but how much ink it pulls might be open to debate. If the bar doesn't lock up against the rear of the section, almost instantly, when you depress the button then there may be some reduction of intake of ink.

 

But what does any of this matter if you're not going to use the pen everyday - it can now sit in the collection and will just look good.

 

Thanks for the advice (and the compliment)! I haven't had much experience with button fillers, but I definitely removed all of the old sack. as far as I can tell, the pressure bar went in as far back as it would go, and appeared to be actually sitting in the button. Just to clarift what I wrote earlier, I meant that I had already connected the sack to the section- the pressure bar is not connected to the section in any way. I'll definitely try removing the button if I ever open the pen again, but in the meantime It's taking up an amount of ink similar to what I've come to expect from my lever fillers of similar size, so I'm OK with that. and so far all my pens are in rotation . This one will probably get its turn next week or so...