Demonstrators Ie Transparent Ones

[dickydotcom]

I had the Pelikan 1050 and thought the vermeil cap really gave it a real presence and bearing but when I saw that 1005 last night it actually stunned me for a minute, nearly as much as when he told me what he had paid. But each to his own as has been voiced.

 

Bentley showroom senario : Salesperson "so what colour has sir got in mind for your new Mulsanne? We do have some stunning colours available"

 

Buyer : " tell you what leave it in base metal or primer and while you are at it any chance of a perspex bonnet so I can see stuff going on? oh and dont think for one minute of charging me less!!"

 

(sorry that just slipped out)

Didn't Ferrari do a few models with a platic engine cover for that very reason?

But I'm with you, if I wanted to see the workings of a pen I'd buy a Bic.

 

Dick D

Edited January 10, 2012 by dickydotcom

[Freddy]

Have many demos...recently used and cleaned these...I like to see the inside of 'em..

Ancora Cielo translucent blue

Visconti Voyager 288

Bexley Deluxe

Visconti Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Aurora 88

 

Fred

[smodak]

I do not like demonstrators - they look like cheap plastic to me.

Edited January 10, 2012 by smodak

[Vintagepens]

Hey, how could you not like this:

 

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2011/06/ghost-car-01.jpg

 

Full story here.

[AmateurAficionado]

Didn't Ferrari do a few models with a platic engine cover for that very reason?

But I'm with you, if I wanted to see the workings of a pen I'd buy a Bic.

 

Dick D

 

Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren.... many more I'm sure.

[51ISH]

Demonstator pens held no attraction for me......why would you want one?

 

Then I got 'caught up' in the TWSBI 530 frenzy.....as you do :embarrassed_smile:

 

Then the seal leaked.......and I'm thinking.....see told you......you made another mistake.....

 

Then the replacement seals arrive and you watch the video's through and through.....pick up the courage and get out the spanner and silicone grease......

 

Load up with your favourite blue, purple, or red ink and Wow !!......I'm smitten again

 

Coz 1 demonstrator is enough....and £32 is enough to pay.....

 

Oh hang on.....what's that.....oh a Custom 74....hardly used.....half normal retail....not normally available in the UK...

What nib is it??......oh heck...I've hit the 'Buy Now' button......why does that always happen?

[leod]

how about wonder woman's jet

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/4575937614869136.JPG?0.8624495567024028

 

or this:

http://www.instash.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/transparent-canoe.jpg

[Pen Nut]

Hang on a minute that gives me an idea..........demonstrator swimwear !

 

How popular would that be

[koa]

Computer case modders seem to like to put plexiglass windows every where, so you can see what is going on with the hardware. Actually, other than watching fans go around, there is not much to see with a computer. But I have seen harddrives with windows replacing the cover so you can watch your data being read/written. Hours of fun. almost as good as an eyedropper Vista conversion!

[New_Falcon]

I can't get my head round demonstrators either, nor the bright colours that seem to be popular at the moment.

 

I've held off buying a Noodler's Ahab and any TWSBI pen because of it.

[The Royal Pen]

...I just like to watch the ink swish round :blink:

[Dave the brew guy]

IMHO, demonstrators have their place, I even enjoy having a few, but I wouldn't want to have a collection of "nothing but demonstrators."

 

As previously mentioned, demonstrators were originally used by salesmen to display the inner workings of an item, these were produced in very small quantities and were not intended for sale to the public. Years later, these same few pens are in huge demand by collectors due to their scarcity and they often command astronomical prices. Obviously, a modern, inexpensive, mass-produced demonstrator is not likely to become a collectors item, only time will tell if some of the more expensive models (eg; M1005) will be produced in large quantity or not.

 

History aside, there are probably numerous reasons that one might be drawn to a demonstrator. A decent window will let you know how much ink is left in a pen, but many of us really do enjoy watching the ink slosh around. I think the majority of us enjoy seeing the mechanism at work. Some of us appreciate the additional attention to detail that is required to produce a pen from clear plastic, as compared to an opaque pen.

Those who dislike demonstrators often comment about their "cheap" appearance or have the idea that something has been "left out." I'm no expert on plastics, but my limited exposure to that industry leads me to believe that these people have it backwards. I've been told that many types of plastic can not be made transparent and that others are available in "clear" but are often more expensive than the "colored" version of the same plastic. Maybe Pen Nut's buyer should have told the Bentley salesman that he wanted his car "made of Stainless Steel like a Delorean, and with a Lexan engine cover like a Ferrari 360."

So, what are our choices when it comes to materials for the body of a pen? There's metal, many here don't seem to like a metal section, they claim it's slippery. Silver is nice, but if you've ever seen a Parker Cisele that's been in a box for a decade or two you know that it will tarnish. Wood, bone, antler and ivory, I don't have any of those, I'm sure they're nice but I haven't felt a need to purchase one yet. Horse hair? I'll just say "I don't get it." I have yet to buy an ebonite pen, but they are high on my list. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah...Lava has a nice feel to it, too bad it doesn't come in "clear!"

That leaves plastic, There are different kinds of plastic, some are cheap and some are expensive. One of my contacts in the plastics industry once told me that, generally speaking, black is cheap, colors cost more. Does that mean that black pens are "cheap?" Maybe...

Personally, I like multi-colored plastics, especially vintage celluloid, but I'm perfectly happy with some of the modern plastics that offer the "celluloid look." Still, I own a few metal pens, some with plating or paint, some without (maybe with a little of the afore mentioned tarnish). I own one pen made of rock, technically, a mix of lava and plastic. I also own a lot of plastic pens, including multi-color, single-color and even a couple clear pens. Some of my pens are "cheaper" than others but I still like most of 'em.

 

Whatever is driving the current popularity in demonstrator pens, it is not unique to the world of pens. The same thing is going on in the watch industry. Once upon a time, the transparent caseback was used by a salesman to display a watch movement (back then, one often purchased a movement and then selected a case to hold it). Nowadays, the "display back" is pretty common. That's OK, I like looking inside my watches too>

 

BTW, what does it say about a company that makes plastic pens but comes up with a unique name for it? Are they trying to hide that their pens are plastic? Or is it no longer "cheap, black plastic" if you call it "precious resin?"

[pw1224]

I can't get my head round demonstrators either, nor the bright colours that seem to be popular at the moment.

 

I've held off buying a Noodler's Ahab and any TWSBI pen because of it.

 

My new Noodler's Ahab is opaque -- not a demonstrator -- and it has rather sedate colors, if you consider the Christmas/Dec 25 pattern to be sedate (red & black).

 

I haven't inked it up yet. I only just finished cleaning it and I wanted to make sure it dried properly first.

[sadiemagic]

I love demonstrators because I enjoy seeing the ink inside and the workings. I have two that are c/c pens but those are nowhere near as appealing to use as my piston or eyedropper pens.

 

My demonstrator collection:

 

Pelikan M800 Blue Ocean LE

Pelikan M800 green demonstrator LE

Pelikan M800 clear demonstrator

Pelikan M200 blue demonstrator

TWSBI ROC

Stipula Passaporto Baltimore Harbor Blue LE

Pilot Custom 74 in clear

Lamy Safari Vista

Senator (unknown type)

Sheaffer school pen (1950's vintage)

Sheaffer school pen (1970's vintage)

 

Of those, my favorites are the M800 green demonstrator, the Passaporto and the TWSBI.

 

I plan to order a big fat stub nib for the Blue Ocean and M800 clear demonstrator, which will probably mean they'll rise in the rankings to the top 10 daily favs.......

 

To each their own!

Edited January 11, 2012 by sadiemagic

[Flake]

I'm so glad i'm not the only one! I really don't like clear pens, demonstrator or otherwise. I go out of my way NOT to have one.

 

I do like the clear canoe though

[P.A.R.]

My demonstrators include two Ahabs (normal and "ruby"), a Lamy Vista, and three Platinum Preppies. I want to be a mechanical engineer and as such have always loved to look at how things work. I know by know how foutnain pens work, but it's amusing to me to see all of the inner workings all of the time. If filling from an eyedropper method, it's also amusing to play with the air bubble trapped in the barrel. On a more practical note, one can see how much ink is left at a glance and if any ink has leaked into the barrel. It's a good warning system to prevent yourself from touching a grip covered in ink drops or just to see if you need to clean out the cap.

[fabrimedeiros]

As a studying mechanical engineer, I am absolutely fascinated with how things work, and being able to see the inside of my pen while it is filling is one of the coolest things ever. As long as it is a built in filling system.

I'm not engineer. I'm a doctor, but I share with you the same feelings. I love to see how the things work, look inside the things. And, after the nib, or in the same importance level is the filling system in my opinion. So, to look the filling system working is a joy for me. I feel the same on automatic demo watches. Love them.

Edited January 11, 2012 by fabrimedeiros

[ravantra]

I like demonstrators, no reason needed, less is more.

[jgrasty]

I don't care much for clear demonstrators, but I do like translucent, colored demonstrators. I've got two Pelikan M200 demonstrators, a blue one and a red one, and I'd like a green one at some point to go with them.

[XiaoMG]

I'm not particularly keen on the plastic of most fountain pens in the first place. The acrylic of my Edison Nouveau Premiere looks quite cheap, despite the rave reviews people give it. The plastic body of my black Pilot Custom 74 also seems cheap and inspires no confidence whatsoever. I get the same feeling when I pick up other pens with opaque plastic bodies, regardless of price. The gloss black on almost any high-end "resin" pen is similarly uninspiring and reminds me of a beautiful woman wearing a dress made of shrink wrap covered in glue and glitter.

 

While I'm not a huge lover of demonstrators, there's at least an honesty about them that says, "yeah, I know I'm plastic." It doesn't pretend to be something else. With some, like the TWSBI 540, the thickness and/or density of the plastic inspires a sense of confidence, but yet tries to draw attention to something else (namely, the ink in the reservoir).