New Penbbs 492 Magnet Filler - Year Of The Mouse Le

[Honeybadgers]

OMG the little rat on the nib!!! They have some cutest nib designs... And all the details.

 

Of course the filling mechanism looks super-cool, the 3ml ink capacity is impressive, but all the rats are what make this pen “must-have” for me!!!

 

How is the feed? Did it hold up well when you switched the nib? Some of their pens have rather fragile feed in which the fins go flat when I try to pull it out.

 

Normally I wouldn't mind yanking BBS feeds nowadays, but just in case, I simply swapped in another nib unit from my pile. This was a rather pricey LE.

 

Being that the external magnet is dragged along the outside of the barrel, won't it eventually get scuffed up from that activity?

 

I actually find it works slightly smoother if you gently use your fingertips to slightly keep the two surfaces separate, so that actually solves the problem

 

But it's also acrylic. Not exactly the hardest thing on earth to polish up. And everything does wear out eventually. I had to have the entire plunger rod replaced when I had my wahl doric restored.

Edited February 16, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[JonSzanto]

 

But it's also acrylic. Not exactly the hardest thing on earth to polish up. And everything does wear out eventually. I had to have the entire plunger rod replaced when I had my wahl doric restored.

 

Thanks. That does confirm it's an issue.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Thanks. That does confirm it's an issue.

 

Well, in the same sense of the way that entropy will eventually claim the universe, is an issue yes. You'll eventually wear down the chasing on a BCHR ebonite pen. Nothing is permanent. This isn't the pelikan demonstrator models that scratch from their own caps just being posted.

 

Acrylic is a very, very robust resin. it's much harder than ABS. Acrylic on acrylic is unlikely to show any really noteworthy scratching from the cap for years, if not decades.

 

Just for reference, acryic has approximately the same mohs hardness as iron.

Edited February 16, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[JonSzanto]

It is simply something I would want to know in advance: "will sliding this thing on the exterior of a transparent, glossy pen have any effect on the surface, seeing as it will be a regular procedure when filling the pen?". I can't think of any other pen where something similar occurs so it is worth asking about, and you are currently the one source for that information. I appreciate the response.

[Lloyd]

 

 

I have my doubts that PenBBS is trolling american subforums looking for novel filling mechanisms to steal.

 

Nothing is truly "original" these days. It's all in marketing, execution, and who did it "right" first on a mass scale. Apple didn't invent the smartphone, either. IBM did. But who gets the credit? MB didn't invent the cigar shape, but who gets the credit?

 

The 492 also holds a hair over 3mL of ink. More than any piston or vac filler I know of that is still a normal form factor (without having to do a tricky multi pump fill, even then, big ones like the 823 only hold 2.5 if you basically unscrew the section and syringe fill it)

I never implied that PenBBS was copying (nor not copying) anyone else's pens. I was just showing an FPN member's pen design which incorporated magnetic filling. Personally, I try to avoid strong magnets as they can magnetize my watches.

[Driften]

I never implied that PenBBS was copying (nor not copying) anyone else's pens. I was just showing an FPN member's pen design which incorporated magnetic filling. Personally, I try to avoid strong magnets as they can magnetize my watches.

 

 

I had that happen before to a pocket watch. I demagnetized it and it was fine, but it's good to not subject mechanical watches to magnetic fields.

[Lloyd]

I've had it happen enough to own a demagnetizer..However, I still try to avoid it.

[inkstainedruth]

I'd be worrying about the magnet screwing up my phone. Or possibly the strips on credit cards, since I often keep a pen case in my purse, along with my wallet.
It's an interesting concept. I haven't had a chance to do more than skim the original post or check out the link that Lloyd provided, because it's been a long couple of days and I don't really have time until tomorrow to really study how the pen works (there's a part of me going "so, you run a magnet along the barrel to draw the piston back?" and I'm sure it's probably more complicated than that). So I'd have to probably see how they work in person.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[EliH]

I too would have to say that I prefer the magnetic filler made by Piedimonte a few years ago. Though, I’m not in the market for either as magnets and ink would not be a great combination for me personally. I know I’d have a few accidents.

 

To be fair, I am not PenBBS’s biggest fan. I find their designs to be a touch too derivative. That’s my own bias though.

[drathbun]

[penzel_washinkton]

I too would have to say that I prefer the magnetic filler made by Piedimonte a few years ago. Though, I’m not in the market for either as magnets and ink would not be a great combination for me personally. I know I’d have a few accidents.

 

To be fair, I am not PenBBS’s biggest fan. I find their designs to be a touch too derivative. That’s my own bias though.

 

Many pens around the world right now have their designs a touch too derivative.

At least PenBBS has the guts to do something new to excite potential buyers.

Edited February 21, 2020 by penzel_washinkton

[txomsy]

No need to "copy" anything. The patent must have expired long ago according to this other thread

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/288768-magnetic-piston-filler/

 

Should be on the public domain.

Edited February 21, 2020 by txomsy

[drathbun]

No need to "copy" anything. The patent must have expired long ago according to this other thread

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/288768-magnetic-piston-filler/

 

Should be on the public domain.

 

Exactly. I couldn't find any information on any pen using that patented technology from 1956. I could be that the materials available 60 years ago were just not feasible for it to work in a viable, sellable form. Also, I don't think the 492 is similar to the Peidmont in any way short of just using the magnets. They are very different pen designs. Also, to say (not that you are saying this, but) Penbbs 492 copied the Piedmont would be saying that any pen that used a screw type piston filler was copying the first piston filler ever produced.

[RDaneelO]

I finally noticed the number inscribed on the posting end of the pen as part of the mouse - mine has # 384.

 

You had an earlier one #93 - so I was a bit farther back in the line...

 

Does anyone know how many of these were made ?

 

I am enjoying it very much - It matched up well with Sailor Okuyama

[amberleadavis]

Well, I went searching for one, and ended up buying a custom ground nib on a different PenBBS pen.  I was hoping for one with a dog instead of a mouse, but that's how it goes.