Penbbs Smell

[sapient]

I have seen dozens of reviews about PenBBS pens, and the beauty of their acrylics, but no one seems to be talking about the HORRIBLE smell.

Having watched all the reviews I decided to buy my first PenBBS pens about a year ago: they were two 456, one in the 58 Cherry acrylic, and one in the 59 Dawn.

 

The 59 Dawn in particular has a horrible, garlicky smell, that according to the internet might even be toxic. The pen did not smell when it arrived, and generally does not smell when it is empty and dry; however, once I inked it, it quickly developed that horrid smell. I have disassembled it and let it air for weeks by this point; I even tried sunning it, which darkened the milky acrylic to an unappealing grey. Yet, over a year later, the smell coming from the pen every time I uncap it is so overpowering, it makes the pen practically useless.

 

The 58 Cherry also smells, but the smell is actually different, a bit less offensive and not quite as strong as the 59. This one also did not smell when it arrived, but developed the smell when inked. A year later, the smell is undiminished.

 

The only other PenBBS pen I dared buy after that was the 268 that is injection molded and not acrylic - and hallelujah it does not smell. This is one of their cheapest pens, yet in my book their best by far.

 

My reasons for this rant are twofold:

First as a warning to anyone considering buying their first PenBBS, since no one else seems to mention that horrible little detail.

Second, as a plea for any advice on reducing the smell: Despite being made in china, the price of these pens is quite significant compared to my income, and I am loathe to just throw them away.

Edited July 16, 2020 by sapient

[linkoiram]

For me I noticed a horrible smell coming from some of my pens, and that was due to using some silicone grease that wasn't 100 percent pure so the other ingredients were causing the putrid smell. I notice no smell on the couple of penbbs pens I have.

Edited July 16, 2020 by linkoiram

[sapient]

For me I noticed a horrible smell coming from some of my pens, and that was due to using some silicone grease that wasn't 100 percent pure so the other ingredients were causing the putrid smell.

 

I have been using the same silicon grease in many other pens and none of them smell at all. Plus, the smell actually began after the first inking, before disassembling them and using my grease.

Edited July 16, 2020 by sapient

[TSherbs]

I have a Moonman 600s that stinks a year later. Worse than Noodler's, and not diminishing. I just keep it away from my face (although I like smelling things). I don't know what to do about it either.

[sapient]

I notice no smell on the couple of penbbs pens I have.

 

Based on the fact that mine started stinking once I inked them, I am guessing that their C/C pens might not stink (at least not noticeably) since the ink does not come in contact with the acrylic. It would be interesting to check if a smell develops if you eye-drop fill these.

[Mech-for-i]

might be specific ink vs specific acrylic ... for the more than a dozen PenBBS I had I had notice no smell of the sort mentioned.

[sapient]

might be specific ink vs specific acrylic ...

 

I have tried inks from Herbin, Lamy, Diamine and Noddler's. The stink persists.

 

If I clean the pen and let it dry and air out for some weeks the smell is reduced, but it comes back strong after re-filling.

[Newton Pens]

Some acrylics just smell like a nail salon (my sister in law told me that's what it reminds her of). Some are stronger than others.

I think if you give the pen a soak and wash in a weak ammonia/water solution it'll help. It won't hurt, but might not get rid of the smell as much as you'd like.

[sansenri]

yes, it's the chemicals used... you will notice that most of the time it is only cheap pens that smell (some cheap Indian acrylic pens also smell).

Difficult to find a high quality pen smelling. Western made pens also usually do not smell.

The point is that a process that produces a smelling object (which generally means the object is releasing a chemical substance - smell is caused by free molecules of the material - often volatile solvents, which in some cases might even be dangerous, but I do not venture beyond, as we would have to know what substance is released) would not be accepted by quality and safety standards in the Western world...

Not all pens of the same model may smell similarly, that may depend on the colour of the pen (different substances used) or even batch to batch, if production process is not well standardized (too much solvent in a specific batch run)...

Its' a price to pay for cheaper objects.

[NighthawkSix]

I have almost every PENBBS version and none of them have smelled.

[sansenri]

consider also that some people are more sensitive to smell than others.

 

About the nail salon smell, that is probably due to use of acetate acrylic which likely releases acetone when turned...

[langere]

I have seven different models of PENBBS pens over the last two years and none of them smell either. I wonder if OP got the two from bad batches? There might be some environmental factors in play here as well. Where are the pens stored, for example.

 

Erick

[sapient]

Some acrylics just smell like a nail salon (my sister in law told me that's what it reminds her of).

 

About the nail salon smell, that is probably due to use of acetate acrylic which likely releases acetone when turned...

 

My pens do not smell like that. The 59 has a chemical garlic smell and the 58 an unfamiliar chemical smell - none of them smell like acetone.

[sapient]

I have seven different models of PENBBS pens over the last two years and none of them smell either. I wonder if OP got the two from bad batches? There might be some environmental factors in play here as well. Where are the pens stored, for example.

 

Erick

 

I got my two smelly pens within a couple of weeks of each other from the official PenBBS etsy store. So they might have been manufactured at the same period. They are the only pens in my collection of over 50 that smell like that; and, as I said, the smell appeared the first time I inked them, a couple of days after I got them; so it can't be a result of anything I did.

[A Smug Dill]

Based on the fact that mine started stinking once I inked them,

... as I said, the smell appeared the first time I inked them, a couple of days after I got them; so it can't be a result of anything I did.

 

Isn't that contradictory? You inked them, and the smell appeared, but not before. Correlation does not imply causation, I know; but if the pens didn't smell when they arrived, and don't smell when they're empty, then surely one must conclude it has to do with having (whichever) ink inside the pen — and you were the one filling them?

 

For what it's worth, I have been keeping four PenBBS pens inked continually over most of the past year, and none of them smell in any way unusual. Three PenBBS 308 pens (always converter-filled, since I don't actually like using the barrel of any pen as the ink reservoir, unless the model or colour does not offer a c/c-fill option) and one PenBBS 309 (yes, I knowingly bought a piston-filler, just to see if PenBBS's implementation is any good).

 

I am guessing that their C/C pens might not stink (at least not noticeably) since the ink does not come in contact with the acrylic. It would be interesting to check if a smell develops if you eye-drop fill these.

Not interesting enough to me to risk having to scrub the inner wall of the barrel with a long-stemmed cotton tip swab afterwards anyway, especially with Noodler's inks or even Diamine, sorry.

 

I have tried inks from Herbin, Lamy, Diamine and Noddler's. The stink persists.

I always used Pilot Iroshizuku (ama-iro), Sailor Shikiori (souten) and Robert Oster (River of Fire) inks in my PenBBS 309 'Cloud'.

 

 

Edit: Re-checked the details in my inking log book.

Edited July 17, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[sapient]

 

Isn't that contradictory? You inked them, and the smell appeared, but not before.

 

Erm... inking a pen is kind of a requirement for usage... If all that is needed for a smell to develop is putting ink in it, then the fault is with the manufacturer, not me.

[sapient]

I wonder if OP got the two from bad batches?

 

So, my sister bought an improved 355 despite my warning. The pen came 2 days ago and she inked it yesterday (an R&K ink). Today she brought it to show it to me. First thing I did was uncap it and smell the cap. It has the same garlicky chemical odor as my own 456 pens. The smell is not too powerful yet, but it is there. So mine was not just a bad batch. And I now have checked 3 different colors, bought at different times, and they ALL smell. So I am having a very hard time accepting that there are acrylic penBBS pens out there that do not smell. As far as I can tell, people claiming that PenBBS pens do not smell either have stuffy noses, anosmia or are lying.

[A Smug Dill]

As far as I can tell, people claiming that PenBBS pens do not smell either have stuffy noses, anosmia or are lying.

 

 

Yet, as far as I can tell, my PenBBS pens don't smell, but I can smell garlic just fine when I cooked dinner tonight with it an hour ago. I'm not disputing your personal and subjective experience, but supporting your narrative isn't the inherent spirit of discussion; if I don't smell anything on my pen but you do, then it's not a case of one of us invalidating the anecdotal report of the other, but our different experiences "cancel out" each other for our fellows who may be trying to assess the likelihood of their getting a smelly PenBBS pen.

 

I bought (and just received) two PenBBS 355 Mark II pens earlier this week, but I'm not in a hurry to ink them up out of the 200+ pens we have here, just to find out about that particular aspect in view of this discussion.

 

If you particularly want to test the possible (olfactory) result of putting certain inks in direct contact with particular PenBBS acrylics, you could probably buy PenBBS pendants in those acrylics that contain replacement nibs. I just received two with my last order from Beini. They're much cheaper than buying a full 308/309/456/whichever model just to test for any chemical reaction.

[TSherbs]

... So I am having a very hard time accepting that there are acrylic penBBS pens out there that do not smell. As far as I can tell, people claiming that PenBBS pens do not smell either have stuffy noses, anosmia or are lying.

Or you're all delusional. That's an option, too, if you're just going to start questioning what people report here in good faith from their personal experiences.

 

Just stop buying the pens if you don't like them.

[Mech-for-i]

Well so I am kind of free tonight so I take out all my PenBBS acrylic fountain pens and examine them one by one , taking off the cap and unscrew the barrel and smell them all in and out , one of my 323 is already inked with a mix of 1:1 R&K Iron Gall Salix + Scabiosa , a 308 is inked with J. Herbin Vert Empire , my recently acquired renewed mechanism 355 is already filled with Sailor Jentle Douyu, and all my other more than a dozen others are taken out from my cache / storage , they range from a very early original batch 308 to the latest ( a model 487 )

 

Hmm .. well .. they smell .. acrylic , you know that slight Camphor smell , very faint and light if there is any and that's it and only on the newer ones, and for the pen that's already inked well I can only smell the ink .. now do not read me wrong I am not invalidating your observation I am just saying I cannot duplicate your finding and that's off my 30+ PenBBS

 

As put in by the prior post, if the smell offend you then just stop buying these pens and seek other options ..