Search the Community

Hello there, I have been lurking this forum for quite a while now, but only now I decided to register and ask you all a question myself Recently I bought a restored Parker Vacumatic on Etsy from a pretty well rated seller. After dispatching the pen he wrote me a message saying that the pen is en route to me and that he treated it with Renessaince Wax... That was pretty disappointing to me, as I have recently learned that using RW, or any wax really, on pens is strongly discouraged, especially on celluloid pens. Apparently it prevents the acidic gasses released by celluloid from escaping, damaging the pen in the long run. If I understand correctly, removing the RW is also not an option, since it requires aggresive solvents that would damage the plastic. So the question is, in how much trouble am I? The thought that my new-old pen is in danger and I can't do anything about it is pretty disheartenig really, but what damage should I expect and in what timeframe?

So I am looking into purchasing a Platinum 3776 Celluloid at some point and noticed some things that I have a few questions about, so, here they are: 1.) Why are some models so much more expensive than others? Like there is one over $1,000 and there is another for $382. Why? 2.) Are they real celluloid or cellulose acateate? 3.) Is PenSachi a “legit” retailer? It is a lot less expensive like most Japanese retailers, and I was wondering if any of you in the US have had experience with this retailer, I would appreciate if you valued tell your experiences. 4.) Do any of you have this pen? Do you like it? Thank you all in advance for your responses! I really appreciate it. W. H. Major

Greetings everyone, I am looking, to get more into solvent welding. Specifically I am interested In welding cracks on celluoid pens, such as parker vacumatics. I know that the proper method to do this, is to dissolve celluoid in MEK, to get a pretty thick liquid then apply to the crack, wait to dry for a long time, repeat etc. The problem is were can one find celluoid. I know old, broken pens is one source. However its very difficult, at least were I am from, to even find broken/damaged pens and escpecially ones made out of celluoid. Is there any source were I can buy celluoid, as raw material? Meaning a celluoid, cube, cylinder even shavings. It does not matter since I am going to dissolve them anyway. Thanks in advance, Nestor

I figured out how to fuse a crack on vintage celluloid, like this Ladies Hundred Year Pen. However next time I will over fill the crack and let it cure for a few weeks before I sand it down. This was done with a mix of powered celluloid (filed from old celluloid parts) and MEK. http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s4/v9/p2820048466-4.jpghttp://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p2820048464-4.jpg So today I got a Wahl Doric and it has a big crack on the barrel. I do not think it goes all the way through the barrel wall as the section is nice and tight. Here are some pics. http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v165/p2820048515-4.jpghttp://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v165/p2820048521-4.jpg And at a greater Magnification. http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v138/p2820048510-4.jpg http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v113/p2820048461-4.jpg http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v41/p2820048507-4.jpghttp://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p2820048467-4.jpg And my highest Magnification http://bobkeenanphotography.zenfolio.com/img/s4/v10/p2820048465-5.jpg The question here is will I do more harm than good with I fuse this crack like I did for the other part?