a life time

Marten van de Kraats wrote:

Two questions:

1. Am I wrong to think that one should be able to write with a fountain
pen several hours or more a day during a period of say a life time
without the nib wearing out? Is this also the case with vintage pens?


You are not wrong. Well maybe not 100 years at several hours a day but
probably a decade to several decades.

In the shops they always tell me that gold points last longer than metal
points. But how long is longer?

Thats plain silly. If any shop tells you that they dont know anything
about pens at all. Gold is what? Paper? Plastic? Its metal. No
gold ever touches the paper anyhow. On average there is no differentce
at all between a gold gold nib vs a good alloy nib. A bad or cheap or
poorly made nib of either is another story.

2. One of these days the postman will bring me two packages. One
containing a totally mint vacumatic maxima golden pearl in working
condition (the seller has an excellent reputation) and a supposedly nice
looking Waterman 52 in its supposedly original box. Since I love using
the pens I collect, I intend to fill these two pens with ink. Now I keep
on hearing that one should fill these vintage pens with blue quink or
skrip, the first one being an ink that could be rebranded as a sleeping
pill. Is the 'damage' inflicted by my favorites (Pelikan Brilliant
Black, Waterman Blue-black and Florida Blue) really irriversable?

A pen is made for ink so use what you want. Thats an endless discussion
I dont care to restart here I never read anyhwhere where any of the
inks you mention will damage a pen. and nothing is irriversable given
enough time, talent and money in pens. Frank

Marten van de Kraats wrote:

Two questions:

1. Am I wrong to think that one should be able to write with a fountain
pen several hours or more a day during a period of say a life time
without the nib wearing out? Is this also the case with vintage pens?


You are not wrong. Well maybe not 100 years at several hours a day but
probably a decade to several decades.

....and you can retip the same nib again...and again...and again...so - TAKE
CARE OF YOUR PENS!!! They might be around for 400 years! These are not
worthless disposable ballpoints!!

Scaupaug wrote:


...and you can retip the same nib again...and again...and again...so - TAKE
CARE OF YOUR PENS!!! They might be around for 400 years! These are not
worthless disposable ballpoints!!


Well sorry if this upsets anyone but I'm going to state something here
that should be an obvious fact. Any retipped nib or altered nib is
never going to be a completely original nib. Any more than a vintage
car is ever going to have its original paint once its been repainted.
True a nicely repainted car can look good and be far better than a
rusted heap. But in all cases one with original paint, if perfect, is
worth more than a repainted car. So thats how I view pens.

I'm not sure I'd like to see a vintage car repainted over and over and
over. Even though it can and has been done. Better to keep it original
if at all possible. Odds are few people will ever live long enough to
wear out a pen. As for 100-400 years thats someone else's problem not
ours. And its very far from certain many of these pens will survive
400 years. Most experts agree many plastics continue their long term
gradual cure and many of todays and vintage pens will very likley become
dust in less than 400 years. Talk to any plastic expert and they will
tell you its an unknown at best. Many consider all celluloid to be
eventually doomed for example to crazing, crumbling and dust. Just
like concrete seems to be. Its a matter of time.

I'd hate to think what a hard rubber pen will be like in 400 years.
Hard rubber pens when fresh and new were as pliable as poly plastic.
You could step and jump on a hard rubber pen, like say a Waterman 58 and
it would just bend to its walls touched and quickly reshape itself. Not
so today and they get more brittle each day. Better to worry about the
pens we have now and in our lifetime--not other lifetimes.

The process is gradual enough so we don't have much to worry about. Its
a possible problem for our great, great, grand kids. Frank

I'm going to state something here
that should be an obvious fact. Any retipped nib or altered nib is
never going to be a completely original nib.

Frank and others...I don't care that it is not a factory made retip. When I
see a pen with a broken tip that can't write - it is far better to have a new
tip than to be in the parts bin....it is akin to replacing a sac that is not an
original factory produced sac or a lever that is not installed at the factory
but must be replaced if the pen is to function...as the old lever snapped
off...etc....etc.... The whole point of a pen repair text, afterall...is to
get those pens in the hand doing what they do best instead of being left in
some dustbin forever. If you want fanatically original pens...then one might
as well take the hobby out back like a horse with a bum leg that can't be made
"original" again and shoot it.

A retip should also be affordable...not something reserved only for pens above
the $200 level due to skewed economics. It should be possible for just about
any gold nibbed vintage pen if desired IMO. Also...if a pen is an heirloom
and was once your great grandfather's - it may very well be worth a much longer
term concern. I have my grandfather's pens...and they are NOT like any others.
I do indeed want them to be here in complete usable condition for as long as
possible.

In article , wrote:

I'd hate to think what a hard rubber pen will be like in 400 years.
Hard rubber pens when fresh and new were as pliable as poly
plastic. You could step and jump on a hard rubber pen, like say a
Waterman 58 and it would just bend to its walls touched and quickly
reshape itself.

I had *no* idea that this was the case. Gumby pens!

ospam (Scaupaug) wrote in message ...
I'm going to state something here
that should be an obvious fact. Any retipped nib or altered nib is
never going to be a completely original nib.

Frank and others...I don't care that it is not a factory made retip. When I
see a pen with a broken tip that can't write - it is far better to have a new
tip than to be in the parts bin....it is akin to replacing a sac that is not an
original factory produced sac or a lever that is not installed at the factory
but must be replaced if the pen is to function...as the old lever snapped
off...etc....etc.... The whole point of a pen repair text, afterall...is to
get those pens in the hand doing what they do best instead of being left in
some dustbin forever. If you want fanatically original pens...then one might
as well take the hobby out back like a horse with a bum leg that can't be made
"original" again and shoot it.

A retip should also be affordable...not something reserved only for pens above
the $200 level due to skewed economics. It should be possible for just about
any gold nibbed vintage pen if desired IMO. Also...if a pen is an heirloom
and was once your great grandfather's - it may very well be worth a much longer
term concern. I have my grandfather's pens...and they are NOT like any others.
I do indeed want them to be here in complete usable condition for as long as
possible.


Errrr, just in case. I'm selling a 1991 ford orion... with original tyres :-)

Juan