Body Material

[cattar]

Komboloi

That's what the schoolyard bullies say.

But if you really wanna fight after class, make the money worthwhile & bring the pens to me...

Two pens standard for their international brand and made for usual international retail sale by their regular staff.

 

Or better, the op asked about materials preferences, post about yours.

[JakobS]

I prefer vintage celluloid overall. For modern pens I am enjoying ebonite the most. I like solid colors and the more unusual coloring/design beyond standard marbled and rippled varieties.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Celluloid or acrylic, and plastics over lacquer finishes. ...in plastics when in a standard or medium-large pen are light and nimble. Something to write with for 8 hours a day for a life time.

 

Any metal pen will be heavier, less nimble....out side the Standard sized silver P-75. One of the first three perfectly balanced pens I found. The other two were plastic.

 

I do have some old Hard Rubber pens including BCHR...Black Chased Hard Rubber, that I like.

 

I don't prefer Large pens be that plastic or metal ....though the P-45 and the Snorkel balance well.

 

Many 'noobies' throw their book bags in three cushion bank shots....want a pen that they can stick in the back pocket and break dance with or use as a spare axle for their skateboards.

Well for tossing around in a book bag like that....an Esterbrook....or a P-51 should stand up to that strain. Plastic pens...

 

Some folks stay with heavy hefty pens, but most sooner than expected get into lighter and still solid enough plastic. If a plastic pen can last 90-70- 50 years of normal use....they are solid enough.

 

It's the sticking it in pants pockets that many want to do....in shirt pockets are so passe`, just like fountain pens....Kaweco works well, was invented in the '30's for those doing sports...is plastic and or aluminum.

[Jamesbeat]

 

When was the last time you read an Italian fountain pen that was advertised for its "decorative plastics"? I don't know of even a low end Italian fountain pen manufacturer who says such things. Do you?

 

How about a high end Italian manufacturer who says of his product, "decorative plastics"? I'll grant you that's what they do; but it's not what they say.

I don't believe I said anything of the sort.

The point that I was trying to make was that, while in theory any country could make it, it just so happens that most of it comes from Italy.

 

This is not engineering grade Plexiglas, it is acrylic that is designed to be aesthetically pleasing.

[Jamesbeat]

 

Really?

 

Your delicate understanding of fountain pens is so sophisticated that you discern the difference between natural and artificial lacquer in the body of a pen sufficient to make recommendations??

 

And that's your basis of providing an opinion to this OP? Are you kidding?

 

If I put Urushi lacquer and non-Urushi lacquer before you on two pens, are you confident you could tell the difference?

 

I'd put some money on this one.

That's not so difficult to believe.

I work in the flooring industry and I often handle wood flooring samples with a variety of factory applied finishes.

I can quite easily tell the difference between, say, a natural oil finish and a polyurethane one just by feel.

 

If I had some experience handling various lacquered pens, I expect I'd jump at the chance to place a bet like this because it would be easy money.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Jamesbeat

[Mister5]

I'll vote for celluloid, I like the look and feel.

 

But I like the look of chaised black ebonite quite a bit - though I don't have any pens that have that. Are there any modern pens that have chaised black ebonite?

[flipper_gv]

In that order:

Celluloid

Silver

Urushi

Ebonite

Lucite (Parker 51 plastic)

Precious Resin (Pelikan / Montblanc)

Acrylic

Makrolon

I don't dislike any material except maybe really cheap feeling plastic.

[praxim]

I note that the OP asks specifically about looks, not feel nor any other aspect.

 

I find that my view of each finish is biassed by how much I like the way they write; not determined by by it, but definitely there is creation of a bias. I do not recall rejecting a pen solely for its construction material, but definitely for its appearance and style.

[Jamesbeat]

I have rejected pens based solely on their construction material.

The main example would be lacquered brass.

 

Not only is is something of a manufacturing cop-out, (basically the same as a kit pen in construction) but once you scratch the lacquer, that's that.

A plastic pen can be polished.

[Komboloi]

Komboloi

 

Or better, the op asked about materials preferences, post about yours.

 

I did. But you'd have to be following the thread to know that.

 

Some people would buy a 1975 Chrysler Cordoba back in the day and explain why they paid so much for so little by referring to the "Corinthian leather" advertised by Ricardo Montalban. "But don't you understand, it's Corinthian Leather! Corinthian!"

 

Then we learn this from the wiki for Corinthian Leather 40 years later:

 

"Corinthian leather is a term coined by the advertising agency Bozell to describe the upholstery used in certain Chrysler luxury vehicles. The term first appeared in advertising in 1974.^[Although the term suggests that the product has a relationship to or origination from Corinth, there is no relationship; the term is merely a marketing concept."

 

Remember that when you pay extra for "Italian acrylics".

[richardandtracy]

Thinking further, I actively dislike the feel of Polycarbonate (of which Makrolon is a trade name). Don't know why, just doesn't feel nice to me.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

[Jamesbeat]

 

I did. But you'd have to be following the thread to know that.

 

Some people would buy a 1975 Chrysler Cordoba back in the day and explain why they paid so much for so little by referring to the "Corinthian leather" advertised by Ricardo Montalban. "But don't you understand, it's Corinthian Leather! Corinthian!"

 

Then we learn this from the wiki for Corinthian Leather 40 years later:

 

"Corinthian leather is a term coined by the advertising agency Bozell to describe the upholstery used in certain Chrysler luxury vehicles. The term first appeared in advertising in 1974.^[Although the term suggests that the product has a relationship to or origination from Corinth, there is no relationship; the term is merely a marketing concept."

 

Remember that when you pay extra for "Italian acrylics".

So you're saying that Italian acrylics aren't actually made in Italy?

[Winegums]

I love metal, especially brass as a material for the body of a writing instrument. The durable nature of metal appeals to me as I'm not gentle with my things, I don't want to have to worry about something breaking. The heft and weight is something I seek out because the extra mass smooths out my writing by damping small jitters. I like the cool feeling on my finger tips when I start writing that gradually warms to the touch. Give me a metal pen anyday.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thinking further, I actively dislike the feel of Polycarbonate (of which Makrolon is a trade name). Don't know why, just doesn't feel nice to me.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

I agree, it felt rough to me...but I didn't like it in '67 when it came out....being an American Army Brat, there was the Snorkel and P-51 for Adults...and I saw no reason to worry about second class German stuff.

One can change one's mind......given enough time.....and enough pens.

 

I will say the five or six times I did go to German Ebay to look for a used 2000, there were none.

[TheRealMikeDr]

Realmike

Italian leather is sought for clothing because it's made thinner like a fabric, holds its shape beautifully, and is long wearing.

 

Without getting too far out in the weeds here...

 

That may be the case but there's nothing that would preclude any leather manufacturer in any other country from processing leather in the same fashion. Unless the actual cows from Italy have some property that makes the hide different than any other cow it's pretty much all marketing. And don't get me wrong - I've been sitting in marketing meetings for years and I have a pretty good understanding of how all that works. If someone wants to build a brand around the illusion that "fine Italian leather" makes for a special shoe or handbag or jacket - by all means have at it! And for the record I'm just as susceptible to it as anyone else. I love my Montblancs with their precious resin!!

 

Which leads back to the OP's question - frankly I pretty much like them all depending on what type of mood I'm in. One day I'll be smitten with the heavy metal body of my Jinhao 159 and the next the slippry smooth and light acrylic body of the Parker Duofold etc etc... Which is why we all need at least one of everything...

[Jamesbeat]

Re: the Italian leather, acrylic etc thing - if a country is famous for having a particular industry, it stands to reason that they are probably good at what they do.

 

Belgium is famous for chocolate, and they probably are really good at making it because they have been doing it for a long time and have developed their own methods.

 

A country with a famous industry probably has excellent industry associations and quality standards in order to preserve their reputation.

 

I'm quite happy to believe that Italian leather probably does tend to be high quality, and the same probably applies to their acrylics.

 

Same goes for Belgian chocolate, Swedish steel, German beer French wine etc etc.

[Runnin_Ute]

As long as it isn't to heavy I don't have a lot of preferences. Ideally, weight of 15-25 grams. I generally pass completely on anything above 30 grams though. The one I have at 30 or above doesn't get as much as my other, lighter pens.

[Arkanabar]

For me, visual aesthetics are secondary to performance. This is an attitude I learned from my Dad. When he bought his pen, it was a black and lustraloy Parker "51". There's hardly a better device ever made for writing with ink on paper. And there's hardly a more basic and unadorned version of the thing. It would not have written better with a gold-filled cap, or if it was cedar blue, burgundy, plum, or dove grey.

 

I'm not really crazy about my Pelikan M200's blue marble binde. But it writes really well, and it's been my favorite pen for writing since I got it twenty or more years ago. It's not as pretty as my blue stripe M400, but it writes better, and I use it a lot more. It's still something I like better than the green, though perhaps not as much as the grey. I think the purple demonstrator is prettier yet.

 

I like light weight pens, and I appreciate the tactile aesthetics of ebonite. I'd like to have one in black chased hard rubber, but I'm pleased with my green mottled FPR Himalaya, more so than I would have the brown one.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Of materials that I've actually seen, there are various vintage celluloids that I like better than anything else, the marbled look of classic Esterbrooks, a kind of camouflage pattern on my 1950s Conway Stewart, the unique look of a Parker Vacumatic (not a 51) and a couple of other pens.

 

But that's just looks, and it's hardly the most important thing. If I really like the way a pen writes, then I end up liking the way it looks well enough, whether it's the rather plain plastic on my Pilot Custom Heritage 92, the shiny chrome of my Montblanc Noblesse, or the "Makrolon" of the Lamy 2000. I don't think I've encountered any material that was too slick or too rough to hold comfortably, although I've run into uncomfortably shaped sections.

 

I honestly don't know how I would like the appearance of premium materials such as urushi or sterling silver, but I won't consider pens in the price ranges that those materials inhabit. I'm sure that some of the examples of these of which I've seen pictures look even better in real life, though.

Edited February 25, 2017 by ISW_Kaputnik

[Jamesbeat]

Yes, uncomfortably shaped sections are a big turn off for me.

I forgive my Jinhao 599's because they were so cheap, but I'd never spend real money on a pen with a triangular section.