What is Precious Resin?

[jaytaylor]

W.R.T. Mont Blanc, they refer to the "shiny plastic" components of their pens as "precious resin" - what is precious resin???

 

IMHO it is a dense shined up plastic with fancy marketing lingo.... after all shiny plastic does not sound too good on a $200+ pen

 

Just think of the world of possibilities if this marketing lingo were applied to other pens...

 

Say - calling a plain steel nib "exquisite metal"

[Dawn]

Yup I reckon Precious Resin is an upmarket way of saying of shiny plastic

 

We are paying for a fabulous marketing campaign, after all its just plastic.

 

Dawn

[lordjeebus]

Acrylic, I think.

[Richard]

"Precious Resin" is not acrylic, celluloid, styrene based, or any other of the common plastics. I don't know what the resin base is, but I do know that it's glass reinforced. That's what makes it so shiny, and that's also what makes it so brittle.

[kissing]

and that's also what makes it so brittle.

:bonk:

 

Oh dear.

[Blade Runner]

Plastic pens other than MB irreparably break apart when they've been dropped

or rolled off a table and land on a hard surface. I don't think it's an issue

to dissuade you from buying a MB. I've owned MBs since 1994, and the

ones I bought new have been flawless performers. The only ones that

have required service have been used ones on ebay.

And if you should accidentally drop one and break it, MB will essentially

replace all broken or marred elements but the nib for a nominal fee.

Enjoy!

[saintsimon]

"Precious Resin" is not acrylic, celluloid, styrene based, or any other of the common plastics. I don't know what the resin base is, but I do know that it's glass reinforced. That's what makes it so shiny, and that's also what makes it so brittle.

It's not just shiny and brittle - the black ones are actually somewhat translucent. You can see a strong light through the black barrel of some MBs.

Edited September 18, 2006 by saintsimon

[Maja]

W.R.T. Mont Blanc, they refer to the "shiny plastic" components of their pens as "precious resin" - what is precious resin???

Funny you should ask, Jaytaylor...I was just reading a slightly older thread on the Waterman Charleston and FPNer Dillo commented on the composition of precious resin here :

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=12076

[Gerry]

Amberized. Hmmmmm. Amber is a very well known material, but I wonder exactly what is 'amberized'?

 

Amber: A hard yellowish to brownish translucent fossil resin that is used chiefly in making ornamental objects (as beads). [Webster's New Collegiate Dictonary]

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[andyr7]

Amberized. Hmmmmm. Amber is a very well known material, but I wonder exactly what is 'amberized'?

 

In the UK at least we refer to the colour amber, so if WE say a pen is amberized it is a polite way of saying 'the barrel has become discoloured and nasty with age and use' (see the thread 'CS22 on ebay', within the CS forum). Probably not a good word to use in a description of an expensive new pen!

 

Andy

[Gerry]

Amberized. Hmmmmm. Amber is a very well known material, but I wonder exactly what is 'amberized'?

 

In the UK at least we refer to the colour amber, so if WE say a pen is amberized it is a polite way of saying 'the barrel has become discoloured and nasty with age and use' (see the thread 'CS22 on ebay', within the CS forum). Probably not a good word to use in a description of an expensive new pen!

 

Andy

 

Gerry

[RSVP]

The "precious resin" used by Montblanc (and others) is a light material that can be polished to an extremely high shine. Apparently Montblanc look to other materials but haven’t found one as light that can be polished so effectively.

 

Most (if not all) pens if they're not metal will come to damage when dropped on a floor from a good height. Most concerns were raised over the old Classique size (now discontinued). The replacement 145 is screw-top and much sturdier. 146s and 149s are sturdy to begin with.

 

If you're not keen on the resin have a look at the 146-based Writer's Series , especially the Poe, Wilde etc. In terms of genuinely different designs at this price point, they represent some of the best value offerings one can find.

 

 

It's not just shiny and brittle - the black ones are actually somewhat translucent. You can see a strong light through the black barrel of some MBs.

 

Pelikan and lots of other brands are the same. You don't notice it unless you hold the pen to a very bright bulb.

[kissing]

Is "Resin" more vulnerable to being scratched/marred if I carried it around in a pencil case along with other pens (which are made of metal).

 

Most of my pens are either Metal or cheap plastic, so I never think twice about carrying them all together in a single pencil case. However, I recently obtained a Pelikan M150 which is made if shiny Resin and have been reluctant to carry it in the same case along with the other pens, with the fear that contact with the other pens will scratch or ruin the smooth, shiny Resin

 

How 'scratch proof' is "resin"?

[RSVP]

As with all "fine" pens they'll be fine with normal treatment. I'm very reluctant to put any plastic pen in a pencil case (there's always a forgotten pair of compasses ) .

 

The inside-pocket treatment is better (plus the manoeuvre to retrieve it highlights the ceremony of cap-removal even more ).

[kissing]

As with all "fine" pens they'll be fine with normal treatment. I'm very reluctant to put any plastic pen in a pencil case (there's always a forgotten pair of compasses ) .

 

The inside-pocket treatment is better (plus the manoeuvre to retrieve it highlights the ceremony of cap-removal even more ).

I usually do carry my Resin pens in my inner jacket pocket of my school uniform when I go to school.

 

ALAS!! I live in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's pretty much Spring time now This means that I won't have my jacket with me and I'll be forced to carry even my "pocket pen" inside a pencil case :bonk: . As highschool life is kinda rough, I don't want to carry around a fountain pen in the thin shirt pocket either

 

One resolve I came up with is putting my resin pen in one of those velvety pen sleeve things like this one:

 

http://beartoothwoods.com/catalog/images/Box_Sleeve.jpg and then put it in my pencil case along with my other pens (made of metal).

 

The only catch is - having it inside a sleeve ruins the cap-opening ceremony It's not as graceful to have to pull it out of the sleeve THEN unscrew the barrel. <_< :roflmho:

[jaytaylor]

I carry my pens in the two Mont Blanc pouches below & these are carried in my laptop bag - both keep the pens appart and well protected, the green case is soft and the black case has a hard shell.

 

If you look closely you can see one of my "precious resin" pens next to a 51vac and a 5th avenue 6?4.

 

The P51 is shiny plastic and dull metal, the 5TH ave is also shiny plastic but with solid yellow metal parts!