Safe ink for Pelikan

Tim McNamara wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Juan) wrote:

In case someone is interested in seeing how celluloid is a living
thing, try this: next time u see a guitar shop, ask for a brand new
Gibson Les Paul; look at the finish, and u'll notice an even
surface. Then look at a let's say 15 years old Les Paul. In the
front of the guitar, which is made of maple (on most models) the
surface is even because maple has a very tight grain, but if you
look at the back of the guitar u'll notice some very small dings.
Those "dings" are the result of the finish getting into the grain
of the wood (the back is made of mahogany, with a much looser
grain). It's an easy and interesting test.

I think you're pulling our legs. Mahogany is softer than maple and is
dinged by belt buckles, rivets on blue jeans and other mishaps. At
least that's the case with all of the guitars I have owned.

If you're talking about tiny pinpoint marks from the manufacturer not
properly prepping the wood before finishing, that's a different issue.

Marks, scratches and belt scars are easily distinguished from the
"dings" I'm talking about. Get a Gibson SG which is entirely made of
mahogany and you'll find them on the top of the guitar.
Sure, there are other ways to see how celluloid ages: we can get a
brand new celluloid pen and take pictures of it every year and compare
them in 40 years. I thought the other test was simpler and faster.
Traditionally, nitrocellulose was consider to be a good finish because
on the one hand solvents evaporate, and on the other hand, the finish
gets into the wood (both are wood based), so the result is that the
finish gets thinner with time allowing the top of the guitar to
vibrate more freely. That is why it is said that old guitar sound
different or better than new ones. In Spain we say "la guitarra se
esta haciendo" (the guitar is making itself). Of course, the finish is
not the only thing that ages: the different glues (the chemical
reactions of cement last for up to 40 years!), the way inner wood bars
are set change due to different string tension and so on.
Many people critisize or avoid celluloid pens because they are fragile
or unreliable. I think that if we knew what we have and its properties
we could judge them for what they actually are and then decide.
Unfortunately, manufacturers don't seem eager to cooperate.
I thought this could be applied to pens (celluloid or vegetal resin
pens at least). Sorry if I went too OT.

Juan

"kcat" asked in part:


| On Wed, 13 Aug 2003 00:45:25 -0400, wrote:
|
|
| That claim is not true. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and
general
| principles of the Federal Trade Commission Act, a manufacturer may
not
| require the use of any brand of ink (or any other article) unless
the
| manufacturer provides the item free of charge under the terms of the
| warranty.
|
| When was this Act implemented?

The major provisions became effective in the mid-1970's. See
http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/magnusonmoss.htm

Frank did an excellent job of summing up the relevant parts.

john cline ii who knows a wee bit about some things (and that BIC's
warranty is most excellent, tee hee)