Strange Metal Corrosion In Stipula Celluloid Etruria

[como]

+1. While discussing the celluloid outgassing problem, part of me is always worried that this topic, while important, can get blown out of proportion and overshadow the joy of owning a beautiful celluloid pen. It’s like being in a forum of discussing nothing but ski accidents. In the end somehow it falsely gives the impression that we should just dismiss skiing as a wonderful sport altogether. With care and knowledge, the unfortunate chances of getting a pen with such problem can be minimized. As to completely eliminating the risks, well life is risky and we can only do so much.

With some modern pens, perhaps. But I'm not willing to say that is the case for all modern celluloid pens. But I have a nearly 100 year old celluloid pen in my pocket that's just fine, and many in my collection that have no problems.

[Wahl]

Not all celluloids decay, before buying one, we should do a bit of research and ask the experts.

 

Ron has already given us some pointers, there area few others I would not touch, but I am no expert, so will refrain from pointing them.

 

Regardind Duofolds, I have a Mandarin from 1927, the first model, which is just fine, and my Big Red looks as new.

[jchch1950]

Celluloid pens are a deception. They are more expensive and the destroy themselves. Omas, Montegrappa,Visonti and Stipula are among muy death pens. One of the nibs is now in a Opus 88 pen ,now I have to look for more pen bodies where I can use the "spare" nibs. I have seen the Peyton Street pens that use number six nibs but I'm not sure if I can fixed them.

[como]

@NyokoWould you mind having a look at the cap ring to see what the hallmark says please, if any? I thought that it would be vermeil (gold plated on sterling silver). I wonder if the tarnish on the clip and cap ring is the same type as on the metal part below the section. 

[PHHPHD]

With all this talk of disintegrating Coral Viscontis, I thought I would add a picture of mine.  It happened last week as I was showing my wife my pens (again).  If anyone has hints how to best save the nib, I'd like advice before I attempt the removal.   I have a thread on this pen in the Italy section of pens.

[como]

@PHHPHDI don't have this pen model so I can't be sure. Can you look into the section from nib end, if the nib has a collar, and if the collar has two holes opposite of each other for pegs to go into? Visconti nib collars need a special tool to unscrew out. Nib and feed can be pulled from collar. I don't know how the Voyage model section was built the same way. Some other members can probably step in and help more.

[sansenri]

On 9/26/2020 at 8:59 AM, jchch1950 said:

Celluloid pens are a deception. They are more expensive and the destroy themselves. Omas, Montegrappa,Visonti and Stipula are among muy death pens. One of the nibs is now in a Opus 88 pen ,now I have to look for more pen bodies where I can use the "spare" nibs. I have seen the Peyton Street pens that use number six nibs but I'm not sure if I can fixed them.

 

Sad to hear that so many of your celloloid pens have succumbed... Can you tell us which they were?

 

Omas nibs are not so easy to set, even when #6 like the Paragon nibs, as they are shorter (32 mm) than typical #6 nibs like Bock or Jowo (35 mm).

In my experience they fit better in a Bock collar with matching Bock feed. I've done the swap successfully on a Ranga 8B (fortunately the nib was just a spare, not salvaged from a dying pen...) The Peyton Street pens you mention are presumably Ranga pens.

 

More recently I have also achieved the swap of an Omas nib on a Jinhao Century, fits perfectly with the Jinhao feed. The pen itself does not stand up to the Ranga quality though it's much cheaper.

 

Stipula nibs are easy to swap around, they are 35 mm and fit perfectly in Bock collars with Bock feeds (I believe they are Bock made...)

 

 

[bugmd]

On 3/3/2021 at 10:54 AM, PHHPHD said:

With all this talk of disintegrating Coral Viscontis, I thought I would add a picture of mine.  It happened last week as I was showing my wife my pens (again).  If anyone has hints how to best save the nib, I'd like advice before I attempt the removal.   I have a thread on this pen in the Italy section of pens.

This exact thing happened to my lapis voyager. I saved the nib and section, the silver clip and the filler plunger. Bummer. Oddly enough, my coral and lapis Anniversary Voyagers are both fine

[Nyoko]

On 3/3/2021 at 3:23 AM, como said:

@NyokoWould you mind having a look at the cap ring to see what the hallmark says please, if any? I thought that it would be vermeil (gold plated on sterling silver). I wonder if the tarnish on the clip and cap ring is the same type as on the metal part below the section. 

 

So sorry I never responded to this before, I haven't looked at this thread in a long while. To answer your question, the cap band is vermeil, it has the "925" hallmark -- it is partly worn off but it is clearly 925.

[Nyoko]

 

UPDATE: Recently I took out my Stipula Etruria, the one that started this thread, and noticed that the barrel was all cracking apart (see photo), but the other parts are fine. It seems like the deterioration of the celluloid has stopped, though, because the smell is now pleasant and the metal parts inside are not corroding like they were before.

 

Unfortunatly, I left the pen in a cushioned single pen sleeve on the table overnight and apparently one of our cats pushed it onto the floor. Even though it shouldn't have been too bad an injury for the pen, when I took it out of the sleeve, I discovered the barrel had broken in half, as you can see in the photos.

 

However, I am still determined to keep the pen going, so I will try to glue it together. After I do that, I will post a further update.

 

[mge01park]

Visconti Titanic LE (plunge filler)
I’m happy I found this thread as I have this newly discovered issue. I'm in a state of shock. I hadn't checked the pen in a while & never used it but kept it in the original inner and outer box all in a file box in ac room, etc. (An error with no ventilation I presume).
I'm seeing some pink/mauve tones of color to the left and right of the clip, the section area changed to that almost entirely. It’s celluloid and I read above about it and I probably did the wrong thing with no ventilation or enough air. I’m so disgusted by this unfortunately. From what I’m understanding I shouldn’t expect the Visconti lifetime guarantee to help me? Thank you. The pen discolored from what’s supposed to be blue and copper/bronze in a few areas. Any ideas about it are appreciated? 

[mge01park]

My Stipula Etruria 75th anniversary RB had a degradation in the metal parts. Stipula replaced the inner metal so that the refill would be set in and the pen could be used. They also changed the point area but the silver or metal degraded again. The pen functions. If you try a cloth for silver or gold it could peel down the metal that’s there further. The FP version of it never had any issues beyond the filler knob not just turning one day and they fixed it. I’m not sure if there’s a sac in there. Stipula service always excellent and for many years, no complaints here about that.