what is MB's "precious resin"?

[leonardo]

LOOKS LIKE PLASTIC TO ME, with a nice reddish glow when backlit.

I've researched this on the forum as well as asked 2 MB reps... still don't have a definitive answer. 1 rep said it is made from tree sap, while the other said "it is a composite, like a cross between glass and porceline." I asked him about the tree sap thing and he said "the closest thing to this substance is a product used to seal a sarcophogus."

 

Sorry for such a stupid question -- am new to FP's and to this forum. Want to buy a MB pen but not if they're made out of plastic.

 

Learning a new addictive hobby - cheaper than fly fishing or cycling!

 

thanx,

 

leo

[RLTodd]

It has been discussed in great detail here, you can probably find a much more specific answer using the search function. It is a plastic.

[PAKMAN]

Brittle plastic!

[LouisA]

From another thread:

 

You start with the first spring sap from a rare species of tree that only grows at the edges of perilous cliffs in the desert, namely Yucca stercoris tauri. The sap--the precious sap--must be harvested only by the light of a blue moon, fed to sacred male cattle to be processed biologically, and then extracted at the other end and purified orally by octogenarian virgins bearing gold dentures. Then...only then...may the mystical substratum be forged into illustrious instruments of literary composition in the searing caldera of Mount Wannahockaloogie....

[sam]

From another thread:

 

You start with the first spring sap from a rare species of tree that only grows at the edges of perilous cliffs in the desert, namely Yucca stercoris tauri. The sap--the precious sap--must be harvested only by the light of a blue moon, fed to sacred male cattle to be processed biologically, and then extracted at the other end and purified orally by octogenarian virgins bearing gold dentures. Then...only then...may the mystical substratum be forged into illustrious instruments of literary composition in the searing caldera of Mount Wannahockaloogie....

:roflmho: :ltcapd:

[*david*]

They obviously don't want to emphasize what it really is, since information "from the horse's mouth" is rare or nonexistent. I have heard (I have no evidence) that it is a plastic with some glass embedded to make it shine more. I have no idea if that is true.

 

Resin equals plastic. No doubt about that.

Precious, on the other hand, is in the mind of the buyer.

[CharlieB]

As I understand it, the plastic contains glass, which gives it a higher shine than ordinary plastic, but also makes it more prone to shatter. I don't know if the glass is in the form of fibers or in the form of grains. Does anyone know?

[Samovar]

I started this thread a while ago...

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...42&hl=glock

[aunt rebecca]

precious resin shatters!!

[Blorgy]

It has also been suggested, in a letter published in Stylophiles magazine, that "precious resin" contains no "dinosaur juice".

[alpha1]

Its not some hi-tech polymer used in aeronautics.

 

 

 

Rather, a regular plastic in all possibility.

[InkWell]

When you figure that the body and cap are made of resin, a relatively inexpensive material, it does seem kind of odd that we'd spend $$$$$ on a pen that's mostly plastic. The real point of value of any fountain pen is the nib, no pun intended, which is also mass produced.

 

With computer aided manufacturing, it must cost less than $10 worth of material/labor for the standard run of the mill fountain pen. The company must have buying powers certainly allows them to purchase the raw materials at a substantial savings.

 

I'd love to know what the total average cost is per pen; excluding the cost of shipping and advertising.

Edited October 17, 2007 by InkWell

[dfurlano]

http://www.ides.com/resinprice/resinpricingreport.asp

 

As a sample. The cost of plastics, except for exotics are relativity cheap.

 

The more you put into a product (I mean the plastic raw material) the more it typically costs. Glass fiber, beads are typical but the also have the disadvantage of becoming brittle with fillers. Some colors will also cause brittleness. Most all thermoplastics are injection molded but expensive pens are such low volumes they may be made from extruded materials and turned on a lathe. Nylon is a very ductile material but is not very dimensionally stable unless you add fillers. Polycarbonate also will become brittle with the addition of fillers but has good color stability. ABS is inexpensive but may not have very good color stability over time and with heat becomes brittle.

Edited October 17, 2007 by dfurlano

[InkWell]

True...the more expensive pens cost more to produce, especially those that are made of native elements (gold, silver) that are machined with patterns that are repeated with each pen. Even so, the high volume of pens sold between the price of $0 to $150 are the ones that support the manufacture and sale of low volume pens in excess of $200.

 

Still those high volume/lower priced pens really cost very little to produce...we love them enough to fork over an average of $100 per pen....

Edited October 17, 2007 by InkWell

[mr T.]

I've researched this on the forum as well as asked 2 MB reps... still don't have a definitive answer. 1 rep said it is made from tree sap, while the other said "it is a composite, like a cross between glass and porceline."

 

They both are wrong and clearly don't know what they are selling. The material most MB pens are made of is Plexglass. It's been sold as 'precious resin'. In Germany they call this material 'Edelharz'. It's basically the same material that is sold by DIY stores. According to www.fountainpen.de, MB probably buys it from chemicals company Degussa (Röhm & Haas). Plexiglass is as 'precious resin' or 'Edelharz' also used on some Faber Castell models (Ambition and E-Motion pens). If this material is derived from plants or trees, it means that material is even weaker than the material derived from oil (and would be called 'Naturharz'). For information about 'precious resin' and the way MB uses it in their products see this and this link (both in German). It's for Faber Castell not really a problem to admit that Edelharz is 'precious resin'. See for that this catalogue. (pdf-file). On page 7 and 9 they state that Edelharz is 'precious resin'.

 

As I understand it, the plastic contains glass, which gives it a higher shine than ordinary plastic, but also makes it more prone to shatter. I don't know if the glass is in the form of fibers or in the form of grains. Does anyone know?

 

There is no glass involved. There is no glass in Plexiglass.

[Richard]

I disagree. Precious resin does not behave like Plexiglas®, which is an ordinary acrylic resin. It is far more brittle than ordinary acrylics -- compare it to the material of a Parker "51" -- and it does not fuse with solvents that work well on ordinary acrylics. It may be Edelharz, but it is not the same material that other companies use. It is not even the same material that is in the Cartier Diabolo, which Montblanc manufactures.

[Possum Hill]

I disagree. Precious resin does not behave like Plexiglas®, which is an ordinary acrylic resin. It is far more brittle than ordinary acrylics -- compare it to the material of a Parker "51" -- and it does not fuse with solvents that work well on ordinary acrylics. It may be Edelharz, but it is not the same material that other companies use. It is not even the same material that is in the Cartier Diabolo, which Montblanc manufactures.

 

Properties of acrylics vary, including their reaction to some solvents, even within the Plexiglas® line, so I wouldn't think that those factors would conclusively rule out all acrylics. It could just be of particularly low quality, or particularly unsuited to its purpose.

 

That said, lots of thing get called "Plexiglass", just because it's a name people have heard.

 

Is it definitely a thermoplastic? Does it react to solvents at all?

 

Since this material is brittle, there must be pieces of it lying about. One quick and dirty way to distinguish some plastics is to burn small pieces, observing flame, smoke and smell and comparing with known types of plastics.

 

I thought I read somewhere that "precious resin" was adopted by MB quite a few years ago. The date of introduction might rule out some possibilities, if today's "precious resin" is the same as the first. (It's a little hard to keep a straight face and type "precious resin".)

 

[Doug C]

A question then. I have a Diabolo and it says that it is made in France. Does MB have manufacturing facilities there?

[mr T.]

A question then. I have a Diabolo and it says that it is made in France. Does MB have manufacturing facilities there?

 

As far as I know are all the current MB models made in Hamburg, Germany. There are however some vintage models that were made outside Germany (in Sweden and Denmark). The parent company of MB (Richemont) does have manufacturing facilities in France.

[complex]

just wondering will the "clear resin" in the cap of the starwalker series turn yellow with time?

thanks for answering!