Metal Eyedroppers Fountain Pens?

[alusic]

Hi there,

 

I really like the eyedropper concept, especially because it has less moving parts when compared to a piston-filler pen.

 

Do you know of any fountain pen made out of metal (silver, titanium, gold etc) that is an eyedropper? What's the brand and model (and price range if you have an idea about that)?

 

Is there any Danitrio made out of metal that is an eyedropper?

 

Regards,

[*david*]

Metal eyedropper pens are generally not a good idea, because the metal can react with the ink. Stick to plastic if you want an eyedropper. Maybe a metal-clad pen that is plastic inside would work for you.

[kissing]

I better clean out my metal pen that I'm using as an eyedropper It just hit me now that the metal may start to corrode

[fjf]

Also, a big metal chamber heats up with your hand, the air inside would expand, and ink may drop out at the tip. That's why today all pistons have small (about 2 ml) ink chambers, and are made of some sort of plastic, that isolates the inside better than metal.

[alusic]

Metal eyedropper pens are generally not a good idea, because the metal can react with the ink. Stick to plastic if you want an eyedropper. Maybe a metal-clad pen that is plastic inside would work for you.

 

Isn't ebonite also prone to suffer from ink contact? Titanium would be a great material, since it's almost like platinum when it comes to corrosion resistance.

 

Regards,

Edited September 16, 2006 by alusic

[*david*]

It does depend on the metal used, of course. If it works, it works. I won't say never use metal, just that an eyedropper pen with a plastic interior has every advantage and no disadvantage.

 

Since ebonite is used to make the best pen feeds, I think long-term ink contact must be OK for ebonite.

 

Aluminum is right out - some inks will eat it away in minutes while you watch in horror. Brass is questionable - the brass will certainly last a long time, but what's getting into your ink?

 

A solid gold eyedropper pen would work. Anybody going to buy me one?

[Johnny Appleseed]

Ebonite is just fine with contact with ink. All of the old eye-dropper pens from before the days of levers and such were made from ebonite, and most still work fine today. In fact, many of the early FPs (were talking 1860s here) started using hard rubber because of the corrosion problems with brass.

 

I would think a Stainless ED would work, but I don't know much about stainless and corrosion.

 

John

[ConnallMac]

I would think a Stainless ED would work, but I don't know much about stainless and corrosion.

 

John

Stainless steel will sometimes react, it depends on the ink and the particular type of stainless steel. There are many different grades of stainless, with different characteristics depending on the component substances used to manufacture it. I never realized there were so many "recipes" for steel until my interest in swords and other weapons that predate firearms actually got in to hard historical research. I'm sure a metallurgist could tell you more about the specific types of steel and their applications.

 

 

--J. Haney

Edited September 18, 2006 by ConnallMac

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Okay, nobody tell me that I don't look for old threads before asking a question!

 

I was just wondering about this topic out of pure curiosity; I have no plans to try eyedroppering any metal pens. Would it be fair to say that the main worry is corrosion of the metal inside the barrel?

[Inkling13]

Nakaya has a titanium pen that is milled from a solid bar of titanium. Pricy. But it won't corrode. Most other metals will corrode, including stainless. If you wanted it to be metal, I'd stick to noble metals. I'd also worry about galvanic corrosion. All in all, ebonite or another plastic would be a better bet...

[kidde]

I believe thin film plating would eliminate corrosion. TiN or even a PVD coating would eliminate ink/metal contact. I'd hazard a guess and say even a thin baked epoxy finish or one of the GunKote, Cerrakote, et al would work here. Also, these coatings are extremely wear and scratch resistant.

 

All of the above does nothing to solve the heat transfer and air expansion dilemma, but that was not part of the OP's question.

 

Paul

[Inkling13]

I believe thin film plating would eliminate corrosion. TiN or even a PVD coating would eliminate ink/metal contact. I'd hazard a guess and say even a thin baked epoxy finish or one of the GunKote, Cerrakote, et al would work here. Also, these coatings are extremely wear and scratch resistant.

 

All of the above does nothing to solve the heat transfer and air expansion dilemma, but that was not part of the OP's question.

 

Paul

But you are trusting that surface to be flawless. As in even up to the threads will be 100% covered. There will never be a thick enough layer that will prevent this, especially around the threads. How many old steel nibs that were plated in gold have survived without any signs of corrosion? I wouldn't trust a coating of any sort to last long enough to prevent damage.

[ehemem]

Nakaya has a titanium pen that is milled from a solid bar of titanium. Pricy. But it won't corrode. Most other metals will corrode, including stainless. If you wanted it to be metal, I'd stick to noble metals. I'd also worry about galvanic corrosion. All in all, ebonite or another plastic would be a better bet...

 

Yeh, but Nakaya's titanium pen is not an eye dropper.

[79spitfire]

My clear Stipula Passaporto has what appears to be stainless steel sleeving that contacts the ink when it's used as an eyedropper. My FPN limited edition does not, it's sleeved with plastic.

 

Stainless and Gold should be OK, used in the same types of alloys as the nibs themselves are.

 

I imagine Iridium, Platinum and certain Titanium alloys (not all) would also be fine. I would think that at the cost of these materials you could engineer a pen that could teleport the ink from the bottle, therefore eliminate the need to worry about compatibility with the material the pen is made of...

 

I have a few ebonite eyedropper pens and even after having iron-gall type inks sitting in them for weeks at a time, the material shows no degradation.

 

They do burp with temperature changes...

[kidde]

But you are trusting that surface to be flawless. As in even up to the threads will be 100% covered. There will never be a thick enough layer that will prevent this, especially around the threads. How many old steel nibs that were plated in gold have survived without any signs of corrosion? I wouldn't trust a coating of any sort to last long enough to prevent damage.

 

With the spray and bake coatings prep and application are everything. PVD and TiN are done using very specialized equipment and are extremely thin coatings. In firearms the wear is measured after tens of thousands of rounds.

So I fully believe in the ability to COMPLETELY coat even the threads when applied professionally.

Cost is a different matter.

 

Paul