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How Do You Look After Vintage Pens ?


shalitha33

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I have a pelikan-made IBIS with some signs of barrel crystallizing. Edge of the barrel that connect to the hard rubber bits has started to discolor in to a lighter shade and is showing one or two micro cracks when viewed under light. So i guess this pen sadly doesn't have much time left on it :(. Currently the pen doesn't leak or cause any other issues. I tend to keep in fully un-inked and out of direct sun light due to the fear of causing more damages to it.

 

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Is there any way to delay this process ? How do you look after these vintage pens ? Sorry about the horrible photos, its middle of the night here.

Edited by shalitha33
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I've not had any such problems of 'crystallization'.....much less with a Pelikan, but perhaps I'm just lucky.

 

At worse you do have a very good nib.............don't think the section will fit the 400/140. However the nib could fit a modern 400 or 200.

 

Hard rubber will often enough turn color or fade after a while....tell you the truth it don't look like much of a change.

Someone said your thumb oil slows that down.

I have a Mercedes pen, where the cap finial and piston knob turned (was when I got it very cheap) very olive green.....which is a bit late for thumb oil. :P

 

Use the pen.....letting it rot in a drawer is not the solution.

There are other Ibis's to be had, look for a different nib width.

I was pleasantly surprised that the Ibis that was the most minor part of a live auction lot, turned out so well, nib wise. Maxi-semi-flex, instead of the expected semi-flex.

Is your Ibis semi-flex or maxi-semi-flex?

They were made up to '54.....when the 140 took over....could be the 140 came out a year or so earlier.

But the 100n and Ibis being made to '54 surprised me........but there is always some that prefer what they had before, instead of that newfangled 400. ;)

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.

 

 

 

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Sorry, i don't know how to judge flex :(. I have been only in to this for less than a year now :(. What i can do is put some images of different pens i have all using the same ink (Parker Quink). Probably not the best ink to check flex though.

 

Pens i am using are the following

  • Pelikan IBIS
  • A.A waterman twist filler (A.A waterman no 2 modern pen co nib)
  • Do not know what this pen is. its the one with the thread and a dip pen style nib
  • The Barkley pen. L.A (with G.E.M nib)

 

IBIS with its nib

 

It writes normally, can get a little bit of variation if i press on it a bit.

 

post-144072-0-74739800-1560952200_thumb.jpg

post-144072-0-50210600-1560952208_thumb.jpg

 

A.A waterman

 

I don't have this twist filler restored so i am dipping it. Gives a bit more variation with lot less pressure.

 

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Dip style Unknown pen

 

This one takes a long time to start up. The thread inside needs to get ink and it takes a while to chain down to the nib. Just inked as i write it so its a bit unfair on this pen. Also i didn't have the nib properly seated so the double line is feed touching paper (sorry).

 

post-144072-0-38723400-1560952835_thumb.jpg

 

The Berkley Pen, Los Angeles

 

I just cant write with this pen :(. its like a paint brush and with no pressure nib twists like the tip of the brush. Its scary :(. I am always worried that i might brake this nib. Its one of the pens that i need to hold up than press down as the weight of the pen is enough to open up the tines. This pen also takes a while to properly start up so probably not fair on it to write just as i inked it.

 

post-144072-0-10923600-1560952758_thumb.jpg

 

 

Please excuse my writing. It sucks :(.

post-144072-0-26541800-1560952467_thumb.jpg

Edited by shalitha33
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Two slow starting pens after 10 mins (after inking).

 

post-144072-0-00360200-1560954467_thumb.jpg

 

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As far as i can tell IBIS does give line variation but needs about double the pressure compared to the A.A waterman and is not as wet of a line as in the other pens.For me i prefer the way IBIS work as its more manageable. I can write on almost any paper without needing to worry. The two slow starting pens puts down way too much ink on the paper compared to what i can manage with. compared to that IBIS probably wouldn't be flexing at all.

 

I really don't know what i need to expect from flex. Putting all these images so some one that knows more can judge and tell :).

Edited by shalitha33
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I don't think crystallization can be stopped once it's started, but you can help prevent it in other celluloid pens by allowing them fresh air circulation. Also, do not store this pen with other pens -- it can "poison" their celluloid and trigger their breakdown.

 

The key to all this is the nitration of the celluloid (a.k.a. cellulose nitrate). As it ages and degrades a little, it emits nitrogen dioxide, which reacts with the moisture in the air to become nitric acid. Unfortunately, nitric acid breaks down celluloid, which then emits more nitrogen dioxide...

 

Some air circulation will help carry away the NO2 before it becomes acid in contact with the pen.

Edited by Tweel

fpn_1375035941__postcard_swap.png * * * "Don't neglect to write me several times from different places when you may."
-- John Purdue (1863)

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I'd say your Ibis is semi-flex.... A flair nib............not a 'flex' nib.

 

Your other pens are superflex, don't know but suspect the second is Easy Full Flex but the third could well be a wet noodle.

The last is either a Wet Noodle or a Weak Kneed Wet Noodle....A term invented by the English nib grinder John Sowoboda(sp) a nib I don't have outside of dip pens.

......don't want, nor will I chase such....I'd have to learn to write...........not a nib for casual scribbling it would appear. I ran into a '20's MB Safety Pen with a weak kneed wet noodle nib, in a live auction, where it went for three times my max limit.

 

I have a 1/2 and 1/2 system of flex rates and flex sets, that you will stumble across sooner or later, that works for me.

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.

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

there's quite a bit of information out there about celluloid deterioration. I believe the Victoria and Albert Museum in England has been a leader on research on the preservation of historic celluloid and they have not found any means of reversing or even stabilizing the deterioration.

 

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-50/plastics-preservation-at-the-v-and-a/

 

https://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn24/wn24-1/wn24-102.html

 

The current strategies utlized for conservation are reducing temperature and humidy for storage and allowing the celluloid to ventilate so that the outgassing nitrates do not damage the celluloid (and, as most of us have seen, the metal trim). deterioriating celluloid must be segregated for that reason.

 

please note that the V&A has implicated cleaning solvents and solvent glues used for repairs, so all the restorers who use solvents to repair cracks and splits--and perhaps even some of the commonly used plastic polishes, may also be accerating deterioration.

 

The other bad news is that studies suggest that by the time you can see the deterioration, it is already far advanced: in other words, it happens slowly and invisibly for many years and then, by the time the symptons are seen, accelerates very rapidly into complete deterioration. Like a cancer.

 

hard rubber and latex rubber from sacks discolors celluloid and in vintage Parker duofold caps, the cracking often starts from the top--which may be due to reaction with the hard rubber, or simply from the thinner celluloid or the greater stresses from machining.

 

if it's any consolation, I have many deterioriating celluloid pens that have declined slowly over the years, but I keep them in a dark but ventilated storage, and the relative humidity here is very low. I'm also reluctant to buy celluloid pens from tropical countries where they been exposed to high heat and humidity.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Store it in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place if you have one.

 

Or even better:

 

Just use it and don't be too concerned about the possible deterioration. The Ibis is a lovely pen to use, feels good in hand and they have great nibs, hold a lot of ink, etc. They were designed for everyday use and I'm sure it will still be usable and enjoyable for a good long time. If you store it away, usually it won't get a lot of air circulation (which IMHO is the most important criterion for slowing the damage).

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