Lacquered Pens - a warning

January 16, 2023

A Warning to be careful with Lacquered pens

I own a few pens that have lacquered finishes. The first lacquered pen that I bought is a Parker Urban, in the ‘Navy Blue’ finish with chrome trim.

I bought it in 2013, and I always used to post the cap on the end of the pen whenever I wrote with it.

Being slightly-obsessive about having things arranged ‘just-so’, I always posted the cap so that its clip was aligned with the centre of the pen’s nib. This habit is actually useful if one’s pen has a hooded nib, like a Parker “51”. Aligning the clip of the posted cap with the nib of a “51” means that one always has an obvious visual indication of the position of that pen’s nib.

Anyway, back in 2021 I was about to post the cap of my Navy Blue Urban when I noticed this:

It is a small scuff in the lacquer, through which one can now see the brass of the pen’s body.

OK, it is only small, and is hardly ‘the end of the world’.

But it made me realise that lacquer (on this pen at least) is not as durable as I had assumed that it would be.

Now, it may be that this lacquer on this pen is, for whatever reason, less durable than the lacquer on other pens.

Or it may well be the case that I am especially ham-fisted, or clumsy in the way in which I post the cap on this pen, but…

If you are, as I am, a person who would find a small scuff mark like this one to be disappointing, I advise you to take care when posting the cap on any lacquered pens that you own.

I no longer post the caps on the few I own that have lacquered finishes.

Slàinte,
M.

January 17, 2023

I don’t post at all. All materials of the pen body are soft and will be scuffed by the pen cap eventually. Look at the characteristic round scratches on the bodies of Pelikan pens due to the cap lip scratching as you screw on the cap.

Lacquer is a form of paint. Imagine if you keep striking your car door with the key in the same spot every day!

January 17, 2023

I agree with @MidSouthern-Dad. I don’t get religious about how people use their own pens, but mine are never posted.

January 17, 2023

It’s a lesson that I’ve only learned the hard way! :doh:

I’m really careful when I post the cap on my Ciselé Parker 75 - but that’s out of concern for the clutch mechanism inside the cap, rather than the finish on the pen’s metal body.

I continue to post my “51”s, and my Pelikan M205 too (because that pen is too small in my hand to be comfortable when not posted).
But I now take much greater care when doing it, and have even put a small amount of candle wax on to the black plastic body of my M205 to try to prevent the scratching that you so-rightly warn against 👍

January 17, 2023

As far as damage is concerned, I think it makes a difference what cap material is up against the surface of the pen barrel, as much or more than what material the barrel is made of. If the inside edge of the cap is metal, as in the photo in the OP, probably not posting is a good idea. When it's resin against resin, or urushi against urushi, the risk of damage is less. Note: my modern Pelikans all have resin on the inside edge, the metal cap ring is on the outside of the cap and never touches the barrel.

I have some vintage pens that are fairly small, and writing without posting is uncomfortable. None of these has metal edges on the inside of the cap; I would in general avoid such a configuration anyway.

January 18, 2023

The cap of the Pelikan M series is a resin, and the body is celluloid. However, they caps are still able to scratch the barrel of the pen when you screw them on and off.

I have a few ebonite pen bodies, with ebonite caps, and there are the same swirlies from screwing on / off the cap.

My sad story of capping damage is a Montblanc Ramses II, which has a vermeil (gold plate over sterling silver) body, and a cap carved out of lapis lazuli stone, lined with plastic. One attempt at capping it, and it left a permanent mark on the soft gold. Never again would I ever post a cap (except on the tiny pens that need it, like the Kaweco sport, or Pilot E 95S).