Conid Ebonite Wear And Care?

[r3nekton]

Hi All,

 

I've decided that I need a Conid Bulkfiller as an everyday carry - having borrowed one that belongs to a friend for a few blissful days and enjoying it immensely. I'm not sure whether to go with a titanium section/knob or the ebonite - in part I'm still going back and forth on which look I prefer, but I'm also not familiar at all with ebonite as a pen material. I own a few fountain pens (and have given away more which I found myself no longer using, and have borrowed many more to test), but I cannot recall an ebonite pen being among them.

 

So I've been doing my homework, and find that ebonite can (and will) oxidise, and suffer from UV exposure, but with mixed experiences between people based on where the ebonite was made, and exactly what the pen has been through.

 

My question, then, is somewhat general - can anyone give me advice, or a feel, for how a Conid ebonite pen will hold up to daily use? I don't mind a pen which gains character over time, but I also don't want to be feeling like I have to be counting the seconds I leave my pen on a desk, or only bringing it out for a few days a month - this pen will, in the literal sense, be used every day.

 

Thanks very much!

 

 

[Karmachanic]

I have two ebonite pens and a third on order. Don't leave ebonite in direct sunlight, and keep it away from hot water. Probably a good idea to keep it away from solvents as well. Other that that, don't worry about it. Bowling balls are ebonite.

 

Hear there's around 10 weeks wait time. Patience!!

Edited February 16, 2019 by Karmachanic

[r3nekton]

Ah. I hadn't read anything about interactions with solvents...While I don't make a habit of dipping fountain pens into giant tubs of solvent, I do work with solvent almost every day. That might have just tipped it to titanium, as a precaution.

[Honeybadgers]

If you're using the pen in a place where it might get solvents on it, I don't recommend any pen even approaching what a Conid costs.

 

If you're using a pen in that kind of situation, get yourself a raw brass, copper, aluminum or steel pen, or something easily replaceable. Or just use a good old ballpoint/rollerball and keep the conid in your pocket for when you aren't writing around those solvents.

[r3nekton]

I don't generally use any fountain pen when I'm actually around solvent - I have a set of aluminium Caran d'Ache ballpoints that take over, my fountain pens return to a pen case. But I probably have solvent residue on my skin a lot more than most people would.

[JakobS]

I would ask Conid directly, as ebonite manufacture can vary between companies, and thus can be more or less resistant to a specific chemical than others. Ebonite can be resistant to a good number of chemicals though, what specific ones do you work with?

[r3nekton]

I'll ask Conid - I'm more concerned about light-related damage, I think, because this is something that can't be combated by just being more careful about cleaning my hands.

 

Nothing specific - I'm an experimental physicist/chemist, so while I wear gloves when handling most chemicals, there's a whole host of relatively harmless chemicals I'm using regularly. Ethanol, and various forms of hand cleaner, are basically a constant in my life - I try to clean my hands whenever I leave the lab, and ethanol is used for cleaning all kinds of objects in the lab. But that doesn't mean there aren't traces of other chemicals on my hands, which might only be removed by a deep scrub at the end of the day. Again, this is something I can control, but the light-related damage to ebonite is something to consider.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I do have a 60-70 year old part ebonite pen with age to olive green final and piston cap...the rest of the hard rubber chased pen is still black.

 

It will take decades for your ebonite pen to age, unless you live in Dubai and intend to leave the pen in the front window of your abandoned Rolls.

 

With any reasonable care your ebonite pen will be just fine....well into your grandchild's' day.

Yes, professionally well washed hands is reasonable care.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[r3nekton]

I do have a 60-70 year old part ebonite pen with age to olive green final and piston cap...the rest of the hard rubber chased pen is still black.

 

It will take decades for your ebonite pen to age, unless you live in Dubai and intend to leave the pen in the front window of your abandoned Rolls.

 

With any reasonable care your ebonite pen will be just fine....well into your grandchild's' day.

Yes, professionally well washed hands is reasonable care.

 

To clarify - you are saying that the pen has ebonite components, some of which are originally olive green, and some of which are black. Those components which are olive green are showing age, but the black components have retained their colour?

 

Thanks for your input!

[JakobS]

Quality ebonite should be resistant to alcohols, I also work in a lab that uses ethanol (80-100%) pretty heavily (20-30 gallons a year) for preserving insect samples, and have used my ASA and Ranga ebonite pens in lab with little worry. That said, I always dry my hands with paper towels before touching any of my pens when recording data, and wash my hands with soap if I have been handling more than just a little bit of ethanol or other chemicals.

 

As far as light fastness, this again can depend on manufacture, I think most modern ebonite companies have been able to lessen the effect UV has on ebonite, though I think some of SEM's colored ebonite is known to fade noticeably quicker than others. I agree that general use won't have them fade for a good while compared to constant exposure to direct sunlight, or UV lamps etc. for a long period of time. It is probably harder to see initial damage with black ebonite compared to colored marbled, wood-grained ebonite...

[SoulSamurai]

There's products available that can restore the finish on black ebonite (not sure about other colours), like "potion number 9" (http://www.pensburymanor.com/pensburymanor/Pen_Potions_7_8,_9,_10_%26_Potion_Kit.html)

[SpecTP]

the Conid ebonite parts are very durable. I've had less issue with micro scratches using mine every day than most other pens. To me, it's not about the durability of the ebonite vs titanium parts, rather it's aesthetics. I like the look of the titanium mixed in with the ebonite and other parts.