Jump to content

Conid Ebonite Wear And Care?


r3nekton

Recommended Posts

Hi All,

 

I've decided that I need a Conid Bulkfiller as an everyday carry - having borrowed one that belongs to a friend for a few blissful days and enjoying it immensely. I'm not sure whether to go with a titanium section/knob or the ebonite - in part I'm still going back and forth on which look I prefer, but I'm also not familiar at all with ebonite as a pen material. I own a few fountain pens (and have given away more which I found myself no longer using, and have borrowed many more to test), but I cannot recall an ebonite pen being among them.

 

So I've been doing my homework, and find that ebonite can (and will) oxidise, and suffer from UV exposure, but with mixed experiences between people based on where the ebonite was made, and exactly what the pen has been through.

 

My question, then, is somewhat general - can anyone give me advice, or a feel, for how a Conid ebonite pen will hold up to daily use? I don't mind a pen which gains character over time, but I also don't want to be feeling like I have to be counting the seconds I leave my pen on a desk, or only bringing it out for a few days a month - this pen will, in the literal sense, be used every day.

 

Thanks very much!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 11
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • r3nekton

    5

  • JakobS

    2

  • Honeybadgers

    1

  • Karmachanic

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

I have two ebonite pens and a third on order. Don't leave ebonite in direct sunlight, and keep it away from hot water. Probably a good idea to keep it away from solvents as well. Other that that, don't worry about it. Bowling balls are ebonite.

 

Hear there's around 10 weeks wait time. Patience!!

Edited by Karmachanic

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah. I hadn't read anything about interactions with solvents...While I don't make a habit of dipping fountain pens into giant tubs of solvent, I do work with solvent almost every day. That might have just tipped it to titanium, as a precaution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're using the pen in a place where it might get solvents on it, I don't recommend any pen even approaching what a Conid costs.

 

If you're using a pen in that kind of situation, get yourself a raw brass, copper, aluminum or steel pen, or something easily replaceable. Or just use a good old ballpoint/rollerball and keep the conid in your pocket for when you aren't writing around those solvents.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't generally use any fountain pen when I'm actually around solvent - I have a set of aluminium Caran d'Ache ballpoints that take over, my fountain pens return to a pen case. But I probably have solvent residue on my skin a lot more than most people would.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would ask Conid directly, as ebonite manufacture can vary between companies, and thus can be more or less resistant to a specific chemical than others. Ebonite can be resistant to a good number of chemicals though, what specific ones do you work with?

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll ask Conid - I'm more concerned about light-related damage, I think, because this is something that can't be combated by just being more careful about cleaning my hands.

 

Nothing specific - I'm an experimental physicist/chemist, so while I wear gloves when handling most chemicals, there's a whole host of relatively harmless chemicals I'm using regularly. Ethanol, and various forms of hand cleaner, are basically a constant in my life - I try to clean my hands whenever I leave the lab, and ethanol is used for cleaning all kinds of objects in the lab. But that doesn't mean there aren't traces of other chemicals on my hands, which might only be removed by a deep scrub at the end of the day. Again, this is something I can control, but the light-related damage to ebonite is something to consider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do have a 60-70 year old part ebonite pen with age to olive green final and piston cap...the rest of the hard rubber chased pen is still black.

 

It will take decades for your ebonite pen to age, unless you live in Dubai and intend to leave the pen in the front window of your abandoned Rolls.

 

With any reasonable care your ebonite pen will be just fine....well into your grandchild's' day.

Yes, professionally well washed hands is reasonable care.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do have a 60-70 year old part ebonite pen with age to olive green final and piston cap...the rest of the hard rubber chased pen is still black.

 

It will take decades for your ebonite pen to age, unless you live in Dubai and intend to leave the pen in the front window of your abandoned Rolls.

 

With any reasonable care your ebonite pen will be just fine....well into your grandchild's' day.

Yes, professionally well washed hands is reasonable care.

 

To clarify - you are saying that the pen has ebonite components, some of which are originally olive green, and some of which are black. Those components which are olive green are showing age, but the black components have retained their colour?

 

Thanks for your input!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quality ebonite should be resistant to alcohols, I also work in a lab that uses ethanol (80-100%) pretty heavily (20-30 gallons a year) for preserving insect samples, and have used my ASA and Ranga ebonite pens in lab with little worry. That said, I always dry my hands with paper towels before touching any of my pens when recording data, and wash my hands with soap if I have been handling more than just a little bit of ethanol or other chemicals.

 

As far as light fastness, this again can depend on manufacture, I think most modern ebonite companies have been able to lessen the effect UV has on ebonite, though I think some of SEM's colored ebonite is known to fade noticeably quicker than others. I agree that general use won't have them fade for a good while compared to constant exposure to direct sunlight, or UV lamps etc. for a long period of time. It is probably harder to see initial damage with black ebonite compared to colored marbled, wood-grained ebonite...

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the Conid ebonite parts are very durable. I've had less issue with micro scratches using mine every day than most other pens. To me, it's not about the durability of the ebonite vs titanium parts, rather it's aesthetics. I like the look of the titanium mixed in with the ebonite and other parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...