The Feel Of Different Penbbs Materials

[MuddyWaters]

Hello,

 

I decided I would buy a PenBBS 323. I see there are many different versions including anodized metal and acrylics. Of the acrylics, there are coloured ones and clear ones. Do these feel the same or does the clear one feel more like the plastic of a TWSBI (which I dislike)?

 

I have a coloured acrylic 267 that I quite look the feel of, but not the ergonomics. Thank you!

[Mech-for-i]

Well , I had the metal and coloured acrylic and many of my fellow pals here had the clear / Demo(s) , the opaque colored acrylic feel very sturdy especially on the barrel due to its shape and profile , the clear one do feel like the same kind of material PMMA as used by TWSBI but feel more solid ( again likely with the shape of the barrel inducing thicker material on hand ), the section feel a bit better ( heft and robustness ) than the TWSBI, again likely due to thickness of the material used instead of the actual material itself. I must say it feel like so , does not mean its really of the same material, without any concrete info I would give it the benefit of doubt. it might or might not be the same kind of material, and it might just be similar but different one.

 

The metal obviously is different but do not exactly feel better than the opaque colored acrylic, I've found that the opaque coloured acrylic quite sturdy ( dropped mine quite a number of times and it come out fine ) and feel very nice in the hand, the aluminum one I think could use some more weight.

 

for the part unless you are thinking about turning the pen into eye dropper I do not see particular reason to go for the Demo(s) ; that's just me I am not really fond of Demo(s)

[MuddyWaters]

Thanks for the response. The reason I am asking about the clear is because in some models, the coloured acrylics left in the etsy and ebay stores seem really ugly and my partner does not like them.

 

My 267 feels nice but it is a truly ugly pen, unfortunately, so I am also trying to be careful.

[almoore]

Hi

 

I have a few PenBBS pens and the acrylic ones feel nice to hold and quite sturdy, my 323's are all clear and I've been very happy with them. I bought one of the anodized aluminium ones, it's a great pen and they've moved the threads to the nib like F-C which I think is an improvement. But I have quite dry hands so it's a slippery little sucker ☺

 

 

Al

[JonSzanto]

Plastic is plastic. Unless it is celluloid (or something similar) - which these aren't - any difference in 'feel' between clear and colored is in the mind of the holder. The metal pens, obviously, feel quite a bit different.

Edited May 13, 2019 by JonSzanto

[Mech-for-i]

Plastic is plastic. Unless is it celluloid - which these aren't - any difference in 'feel' between clear and colored is in the mind of the holder. The metal pens, obviously, feel quite a bit different.

 

well the feel is very much personal thing but as an engineer I had to say well plastic is not just plastic as per ... different plastic exhibit different character and present that in a final product even simple as a pen barrel ... PMMA or PU tend to be brittle but exhibit certain favorable character ( say the clearness the PMMA gives ) when PA and PC had much better impact strength and there are composite plastic which use a mix of types of plastic and not to speak of specific type tailored to be industrial strength carrying ( ABS . PVC ) .. so no its not as simple as plastic is plastic. Today's industry supplies had practically hundreds of different ones.

 

In a finished consumer product the actual parts composition ( material ) as well as its build ( physical design, molding / shaping method ) actually play equally strong role in presenting how one of these parts play. Injection molded parts inherently place build in stress on the parts ( TWSBI the prime example ) where gravity molded materials usually had far less but demand usually much more shaping process.

 

On the 323, the shape of the barrel itself place a lot of that feel into play as it practically demand a certain thickness ( and not uniform too ) at key area of the part thus making it structurally stronger, and this is felt by the user.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[JonSzanto]

 

well the feel is very much personal thing but as an engineer I had to say well plastic is not just plastic as per ... different plastic exhibit different character and present that in a final product even simple as a pen barrel ... PMMA or PU tend to be brittle but exhibit certain favorable character ( say the clearness the PMMA gives ) when PA and PC had much better impact strength and there are composite plastic which use a mix of types of plastic and not to speak of specific type tailored to be industrial strength carrying ( ABS . PVC ) .. so no its not as simple as plastic is plastic. Today's industry supplies had practically hundreds of different ones.

 

In a finished consumer product the actual parts composition ( material ) as well as its build ( physical design, molding / shaping method ) actually play equally strong role in presenting how one of these parts play. Injection molded parts inherently place build in stress on the parts ( TWSBI the prime example ) where gravity molded materials usually had far less but demand usually much more shaping process.

 

On the 323, the shape of the barrel itself place a lot of that feel into play as it practically demand a certain thickness ( and not uniform too ) at key area of the part thus making it structurally stronger, and this is felt by the user.

 

Thanks for that, but the OP was specifically talking about the feel in hand of the plastic of the pens. All of the stuff about structure, etc, is irrelevant to the question. Materials used for pen bodies - wood, ebonite/HR, acrylic, celluloid, cassein - can have a marked influence on how the pen feels in the hand, from warmth to moisture absorbency to surface properties. However, the difference between the transparent and colored materials used in the PenBBS pens in hand, in feel will be identical.

Edited May 12, 2019 by JonSzanto

[MuddyWaters]

 

Thanks for that, but the OP was specifically talking about the feel in hand of the plastic of the pens. All of the stuff about structure, etc, is irrelevant to the question. Materials used for pen bodies - wood, ebonite/HR, acrylic, celluloid, cassein - can have a marked influence on how the pen feels in the hand, from warmth to moisture absorbency to surface properties. However, the difference between the transparent and colored materials used in the PenBBS pens in hand, in feel will be identical.

I do find this off because I generally feel there is a difference even between some clear pens (twisbi vs wing sung 600 series vs wing sung 3008). Some are more slippery than others.

 

I am not sure one can say all plastics are equal when different materials have different chemical formula and thus theoretically different properties.

[JonSzanto]

I do find this off because I generally feel there is a difference even between some clear pens (twisbi vs wing sung 600 series vs wing sung 3008). Some are more slippery than others.

 

I am not sure one can say all plastics are equal when different materials have different chemical formula and thus theoretically different properties.

 

To the first point, slippery is a function of the finishing of the material, not the material itself. To the second point, my comment was made within the spectrum of materials used in the pens in question, not in a global all-plastics-everywhere scenario. I sincerely doubt there are major material differences between the clear and opaque pens. I can say this: I own both, and can feel no difference in hand. This is certainly NOT the case when I pick up a celluloid or ebonite pen in comparison.

[MuddyWaters]

 

To the first point, slippery is a function of the finishing of the material, not the material itself. To the second point, my comment was made within the spectrum of materials used in the pens in question, not in a global all-plastics-everywhere scenario. I sincerely doubt there are major material differences between the clear and opaque pens. I can say this: I own both, and can feel no difference in hand. This is certainly NOT the case when I pick up a celluloid or ebonite pen in comparison.

Yes, I can buy that different level of finishing and polishing can affect things, but would also be good to have more info on nature of the material as well.

[Newton Pens]

The difference in plastics is machined cast plastic (PenBBS) and injection molded parts (TWSBI).

[bobje]

Shawn, I’m assuming that the transparent Penbbs machined plastics also are machined, right? They would appear to require an extra step in polishing the interior surfaces. I’m also assuming that the interior surfaces of opaque plastics do not need to be polished.

[richardandtracy]

I understand the Lamy Vista is polycarbonate (PC). I do not like its feel.

The TWSBI 560 I have has exactly the same feel as the Lamy Vista & it's horrible. I simply do not like the feel of PC, whether bare or lacquered as I remember 'Speedy' of TWSBI saying their pens are.

 

If the PenBBS is acrylic (PMMA) & not PC, then it will feel different and not unpleasant to someone who dislikes the PC of the TWSBI's.

The Parker 51 was certainly acrylic (specifically the brand 'Lucite') & that doesn't feel unpleasant to me, and is nothing like the feel of my TWSBI.

 

I cannot agree with Jon who says 'Plastic is Plastic is Plastic'. There are different hardnesses, different densities, different heat conduction rates, different specific heat rates, different strengths and different densities. All these give your fingers a different impression of the material. All of which are interpreted by your brain & build up to give the 'feel' of the material. Materials like polystyrene are soft with a low density, low conduction rate and low specific heat. This tends to give the feeling of a soft and warm material, but not necessarily the best quality. Acrylic, on the other hand has a high specific heat, high conductivity & high hardness. This can give the impression of a hard, cold, high quality material with heft.

 

Polycarbonate, I feel as being greasy, almost slimy, with slightly unpleasant overtones.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Mech-for-i]

Even economically made material can be made to feel good and equally even pricy material can feel not right ; feel is both a measure of the physical property of the parts on hand ( and not just the material , say both same steel, a re-enforcement square tube would feel much sturdier than a flat piece ) and also of the person's subjective assertion of such .. I've found many of TWSBI's less than feeling solid, and part of that had nothing to do with the material, but how light weight and light duty it was build with ; I have a few eye dropper of Indian origin that use likely even less quality material but they feel super solid and the part is feeling so simply because it had a very thick proportion of material on all sides thus making for a very strong feeling in hand ; and these days with injection molded and even cast plastic many parts can be made with composite material by introducing other material at the hopping stage , those also contribute to the feel overall. Then there's the assembly, surface finishing, and general shape / profile ....

 

Say the penBBS 308 and 323 share many colour options and they clearly are of the same material, but the 323 still feel more solid and that really had to do with the shape and heft of the heavier parts

[JonSzanto]

Say the penBBS 308 and 323 share many colour options and they clearly are of the same material, but the 323 still feel more solid and that really had to do with the shape and heft of the heavier parts

 

But we are not talking about the shape of a pen, only the material. The original question was simply the difference between the colored and transparent materials, not different basic components, and not different shapes of pens. I have a 380 that feels very cold in the hand. That is because it is made of metal, not plastic. It could be a hundred different shapes and sizes and it will always feel colder than an identical plastic pen.

 

It really helps to focus on the original question and not get sidetracked into a million different tangents.