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Why The Hole In The Cap ? - Duofold question

picautomaton

By picautomaton
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picautomaton Extremely Rare

picautomaton

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Posted

I ask this question and apologize if the subject has been broached before (if so - please point me to the link).

 

I have a Duofold International (year = '91 last quarter / black, gold trim / 'm' nib assembly). I have owned the pen since 1994 and used it extensively with Mont Blanc Blue Black. This pen was an upgrade to my Parker 45, so it was highly prised and used caped for extra length and comfort. Since discovering FPN I have been on a bit of a pen quest and have added some nice essentials to my collection. The Duofold sat in the cupboard mostly unused and having read about 'baby bottoms' on nibs I guess this is what the stock medium nib suffered from hence the lack of use.

I recently went to our local Parker boutique and purchased two nib assemblies for approximately 30USD each - one a 98 and the other a 76 = SCORE ! The 76 was nice but required a very steady writing position the 98 has pushed my Duofold to the No. 1 pen in my collection. O.K. what I have discovered is that under-neath the clip there is a minute hole and it looks precision drilled so guest it should be there. I would like to know why this hole exists as I think all the other pens don't have a hole like this and what it actually does is 'concentrate' the ink in the nib assembly with the effect that when you write with the pen after a few days rest your first few sentences are noticeably darker. (Interesting point - the Caran D'ache Grand Canyon ink currently in the pen has a very hard time drying following a few days of non-use as described).

 

So - why the hole?

 

look forward to your replies

"One Ink-drop on a solitary thought hath moved the minds of millions" - P R Spencer

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DJJM19951998 Rare

DJJM19951998

Posted
Posted

Mine have the hole(s) too. One of mine has two holes. I have no idea what they are for, but must of my pens that are vintage have the two holes.

Aurora Optima Burgundy Celluloid

MontBlanc 149

MontBlanc Starwalker Cool Blue

MontBlanc 144

Lamy 2000

and about 30 other pens

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bluefish65 Rare

bluefish65

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I've seen this question before (however, I couldn't find it when I searched for it) and I believe the hole serves to equalize air pressure when removing the cap. Without it, there's the possibility of creating a vacuum when uncapping, thus sucking out a blob(s) of ink from the nib/feed.

 

Greg

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DJJM19951998 Rare

DJJM19951998

Posted
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That makes sense, but why don't they do that now?

Aurora Optima Burgundy Celluloid

MontBlanc 149

MontBlanc Starwalker Cool Blue

MontBlanc 144

Lamy 2000

and about 30 other pens

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Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted

Plug up the hole. See what happens.

 

Paddler

 

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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PigRatAndGoat Collectors Item

PigRatAndGoat

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Plug up the hole. See what happens.

 

Paddler

 

:ltcapd:

Wait. What does happen? :unsure:

 

Montblanc 145, F nib
Faber Castell E-Motion in Pearwood, F nib
Montblanc 149, F nib
Visconti Divina Proporzione 1618, S nib
Montblanc Cool Blue Starwalker, EF nib
Montblanc Solitaire Silver Barley BP
Montblanc Rouge et Noir Coral, M nib

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Paddler Antique

Paddler

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Posted
Plug up the hole. See what happens.

 

Paddler

 

:ltcapd:

Wait. What does happen? :unsure:

 

I haven't the foggiest notion what happens. I have never been that curious about it. Since most of my pens have at least one hole in the cap, I assume it is for a good reason. I can only assume that the vent is there to avoid making an inky mess under certain conditions. Some say it is mandated by certain governments to prevent children from suffocating, should they inhale the pen cap. I don't think so; the holes are way too small to breathe through.

 

So plug up the hole and see if the pen whoopses in your pocket. Report back. :thumbup:

 

Paddler

 

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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picautomaton Extremely Rare

picautomaton

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Thanks for the suggestion Paddler, you first....

"One Ink-drop on a solitary thought hath moved the minds of millions" - P R Spencer

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picautomaton Extremely Rare

picautomaton

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Thanks for the link,

 

I was hoping that there was more of a technical reason as to why the hole exists. Who could possibly survive breathing through such a small hole beats me.

"One Ink-drop on a solitary thought hath moved the minds of millions" - P R Spencer

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skybird Collectors Item

skybird

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Posted

If you look closely at the Jack Knife Safety and subsequent designs you will note that:

 

1 There are two holes.

2 They are below the point of contact between the section and the safety seal inside the cap.

3 As a result of the seal ink will not be lost into the cap to come out of the holes.

4 If you did open the cap too quickly a bit of a vacuum would form and you could get a mess. Therefore the holes serve to have a pressure balanced inside and outside to the pen and cap to allow the removal of the cap to be mess free.

5 You will note the same holes in earlier slip top pens where this problem would have been greater as the chances of s small vacuum forming are more than with the JKS cap.

 

That should do it ;-)

Sic Transit Gloria

 

"Gloria gets seasick"

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picautomaton Extremely Rare

picautomaton

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Hello Skybird,

 

Consider it done,

 

Thanks for the J.K.S. mention. I googled it and it really is a nice bit of history that I was unaware of. Do you actually own one and is it still usable? Must be quite valuable in all respects.

 

Cheers,

 

p.s. if you follow rugby good luck for the tri-nations coming up.... :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

 

 

"One Ink-drop on a solitary thought hath moved the minds of millions" - P R Spencer

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