Which Material Is Most Durable And Scratch Resistant?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Spend a hell of a lot of money on a pen, buy a chemically inert pen bag...and it will be scratch resistant.

One keeps it out of pants pockets, where one has keys, coins and various small files, don't use the end to fold sand paper over so one can sand wood in narrow places.

 

Buying shirts with pockets and having some one, wife, mother, tailor sew the shirt pocket into a pen pocket will also stop scratches.

 

Do wax your pens, it stops most every day small scratches.

[PAKMAN]

How about a pen made from lava from Vulcan's forge?

 

 

Lava is porous and not very strong. I have some in my office.

 

I too have some on my desk, swiped from Madame Pele from my trip to Kilauea. However, it known to be quite strong and scratch resistant when obtained from Mt. Etna and formulated into a fountain pen!

 

[AltecGreen]

 

I too have some on my desk, swiped from Madame Pele from my trip to Kilauea. However, it known to be quite strong and scratch resistant when obtained from Mt. Etna and formulated into a fountain pen!

 

 

People forget that the Visconti HS pen is not made from pure lava but a lava/resin composite. The resin adds a lot of strength although the material is still a bit porous. The lava is a filer material. It still all about the resin.

Edited October 20, 2012 by AltecGreen

[AltecGreen]

I'd been reading about Primospire and was thinking I'd like to get some to have a custom P51 barrel/hood made, but haven't been able to get any. Shame.

 

 

I think I'll send an e-mail to Solvay, the manufacturer. None of the usual suppliers lists it in stock. I should have bought a few rods last time I got a price quote.

[jar]

Or do what Lamy did with the 2000, pre-scratch it so the new scratches get lost in the old scratches.

[PAKMAN]

That's why I said formulated into a pen, like most materials used or proposed to be used in a pen they go through quite a transformation from the raw product to the final product. Ebonite is great but who would want a raw rubber pen...

[XiaoMG]

I think I'll send an e-mail to Solvay, the manufacturer. None of the usual suppliers lists it in stock. I should have bought a few rods last time I got a price quote.

If it's not too much trouble, please toss me a message if/when you get a response.

[mikerph]

How about a pen made from lava from Vulcan's forge?

Visconti Homo Sapiens---close.

[humsin]

Among the pens Brian has done, I would wager my Torlon pen. Other plastics similar to Torlon would be Vespel SP-1 (I think Ralph Prather made a pen out of Vespel), Celazole PBI, oe Meldin.

 

 

Diamond would be the most scratch resistant followed by cubic boron nitride (c-BN) then sapphire. Hypothetically, BN in the wurzite structure could be harder than diamond. Of these, sapphire is the only that could practically be made into a pen.

 

I am seriously considering the Torlon pen; can you describe the material a little bit? How does it feel?

 

 

The material is Torlon 4301 which is unfilled. Torlon is a tradename name for polyamide-imide. The 4301 material is naturally grayish is color. It has a nice smooth satin finish. The material has high melting point, high material strength at temperature, very durable (it's often used as a bearing or bushing material), and excellent chemical resistance. You can throw the pen in most acids and solvents. The nib will dissolve before the pen.

 

Of the four plastics I listed, it is the least expensive. You'll have to pay around $120-150/ft. unless you buy in large quantities. The material is hard to machine and Brian had a difficult time working the material. Arguably, Celaole would be more interesting as would Primospire SRP. Celazole is three times the cost of Torlon and there are availability issues with Primospire.

 

 

 

Here is my original link about the Torlon pen.

 

What I meant by "feel" was things like warmth and slipperiness. By the way, after using the pen for some time, have there been any microscratches on the body?

[ethernautrix]

humsin, the Torlon Morgan is a gorgeous muted greenish gray, but with subtle variations in the hue of the blindcap versus the barrel. It looks like the finest marble... but maybe not marble. It is very beautiful.

 

I haven't held it in a long time. Maybe Ricky will bring it to Pen Posse tomorrow. As I recall... it has a lovely, smooth tactility. Perhaps the shape of the Morgan adds to that sense.

[humsin]

humsin, the Torlon Morgan is a gorgeous muted greenish gray, but with subtle variations in the hue of the blindcap versus the barrel. It looks like the finest marble... but maybe not marble. It is very beautiful.

 

I haven't held it in a long time. Maybe Ricky will bring it to Pen Posse tomorrow. As I recall... it has a lovely, smooth tactility. Perhaps the shape of the Morgan adds to that sense.

 

Would you say it's cool to the touch?

[ethernautrix]

It looks cool to the touch, but I wouldn't say that it is. It's lovely, though. Ricky brought it to Pen Posse today, and I took pictures of it next to my Morgan (a blue-and-gold checkered pattern). Of course, that doesn't shed any light on your question about the Torlon. I haven't looked at the photos yet, so I don't know if I've captured its cool beauty.

[ethernautrix]

Okay, here are a couple of quick SOOC shots I took yesterday of the two Morgans (mine is the blue-checkered Triumph). You can kindv see the variation in the Torlon. It's very sophisticated and pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

They're set on a Sula Jane and Earl sheaf.

[Garageboy]

Who built the Morgan?

 

Irony is that the polycarbonate is relatively soft (just think how easily car headlights haze)

Acrylic is a bit harder and denser

[ajha1970]

Spend a hell of a lot of money on a pen, buy a chemically inert pen bag...and it will be scratch resistant.

One keeps it out of pants pockets, where one has keys, coins and various small files, don't use the end to fold sand paper over so one can sand wood in narrow places.

 

Buying shirts with pockets and having some one, wife, mother, tailor sew the shirt pocket into a pen pocket will also stop scratches.

 

Do wax your pens, it stops most every day small scratches.

Please elaborate chemicaly inert pen bag and how to wax the pen? is it possible to hold and write properly if pen is waxed?

[AltecGreen]

Who built the Morgan?

 

Irony is that the polycarbonate is relatively soft (just think how easily car headlights haze)

Acrylic is a bit harder and denser

 

 

The Morgans are Edison pens made by Brian Gray.

 

 

 

 

Polycarbonate is more durable and stronger than acrylic. Bullet proof windows are made from polycarbonate as is the canopy of the F-22.

[Garageboy]

It's stronger and more durable, but is it harder? (more scratch resistant)

 

Nalgene bottles are (were, before the BPA scare) polycarbonate, as are shatterproof eye glass lenses, but they both scratch quite easily

Edited October 31, 2012 by Garageboy

[AltecGreen]

It's stronger and more durable, but is it harder? (more scratch resistant)

 

Nalgene bottles are (were, before the BPA scare) polycarbonate, as are shatterproof eye glass lenses, but they both scratch quite easily

 

 

It will vary with formulation and fillers but acrylic is more scratch resistant than polycarbonate but polycarbonate is substantially tougher than acrylic and less likely to chip or crack. It is an interesting tradeoff. On one hand, the pen resists scratches better but more likely to shatter if dropped. On the other hand, the pen develops more micro scratches with use but holds up better mechanically if abused.

 

 

There are many other plastics that one could use that combine the advantages of the two. If you want the most durable and scratch resistant plastic neither acrylic nor polycarbonate are the best choices.

 

 

 

 

In general, the most durable and scratch resistant materials are not plastics.

Edited October 31, 2012 by AltecGreen

[NedC]

Has anyone use PPG Trivex material for pen bodies, it was developed originally as transparent armour for helicopter canopies and is used fro eyeglass lenses, it has greater tensile strength and scratch resistance than polycarbonate and better optical properties as well as less tendency to develop stress fractures in drill mounts. Seems like it could make a really nice demonstrator;)

[andrew98]

Spend a hell of a lot of money on a pen, buy a chemically inert pen bag...and it will be scratch resistant.

One keeps it out of pants pockets, where one has keys, coins and various small files, don't use the end to fold sand paper over so one can sand wood in narrow places.

 

Buying shirts with pockets and having some one, wife, mother, tailor sew the shirt pocket into a pen pocket will also stop scratches.

 

Do wax your pens, it stops most every day small scratches.

Please elaborate chemicaly inert pen bag and how to wax the pen? is it possible to hold and write properly if pen is waxed?

 

I'd be interested to hear about inert pen cases, as well. I use leather 2 or 3 pen cases. Is that bad? All my pens are modern except for a Parker 51 and laminated celluloid Vac.

 

-Andy