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Ebonite Feed


smodak

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Ebonite is rubber and 30 to 40 percent sulphur, combined in a process called vulcanizing, which hardens and strengthens the rubber. This revolutionary process was developed by Charles Goodyear, US Patent 1844.

 

OK, now I've started my day by plagiarizing "Wikipedia".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonite

 

In the early days, it was a material to "rave about", modern plastics were still unknown and versions of ebonite such as bakelite were used well into the 1960s and '70s.

Vintage black hard rubber (BHR) pens are highly sought after and some current pen manufacturers offer models in ebonite swirl or solid color.

For a feed, I like it if it is appropriate to the era, or year, of my pen.

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  • 2 months later...
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Yes, I agree that ebonite is hard rubber, but in my defense, I tought that ebonite was wood, because a youtube video that shows how aurora makes the ebonite feeder, and it has a VERY wood-alike appearence:

 

Edited by MHfernandes
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Yes, I agree that ebonite is hard rubber, but in my defense, I tought that ebonite was wood, because a youtube video that shows how aurora makes the ebonite feeder, and it has a VERY wood-alike appearence:

 

 

 

Thanks for the video link. Very interesting and enlightening.

 

What kind of tree produces masonite? Or is that a man made product by a certain men's club? :rolleyes:

 

Inked

Edited by Inked
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  • 1 month later...

They should go back to making feeds with ebony. There's gotta be a few of those trees left somewhere.

"That's the disease you have to fight in any creative field--ease of use." Jack White, in It Might Get Loud

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Hi,

 

As mentioned earlier, ebonite has better wetting properties than plastic. Plastic is often treated with surfactant to improve the wetting properties. If the surfactant treatment is not done properly, the feed will repel ink and the ink will not flow properly.

 

Aurora still uses ebonite feeds in some pens and so does Omas.

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

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Aurora still uses ebonite feeds in some pens and so does Omas.

 

Apparently, lotta bowling balls are still made of ebonite. So, if ya wanna go crazy and experiment, a bandsaw and an old black bowling ball are jes the thing. ;)

nulla dies sine linea

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Aurora still uses ebonite feeds in some pens and so does Omas.

 

Apparently, lotta bowling balls are still made of ebonite. So, if ya wanna go crazy and experiment, a bandsaw and an old black bowling ball are jes the thing. ;)

 

You can also buy ebonite rod stock. That might be easier to work with.

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

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  • 1 year later...

Another question about plastic versus ebonite feeds. I read the following on another thread:

 

I travel quite a bit for work and have always carried 4-5 pens with me. On my previous trips, I only carried modern pens and those that have modern plastic feeds. They all did very well adjusting to cabin pressure during take off and landing. I did not do anything special with regard to positioning the pens. This last trip, I also brought along 2 pens that were different. One was a modern pen with a hand cut ebonite feed, and one vintage nib with a vintage feed in a modern body. While the modern plastic feed pens again faired well, the vintage feed and hand cut ebonite feed unfortunately leaked.

Is this accurate -- is an ebonite feed more likely to leak than a plastic feed if there is an abrupt change in barometric pressure?

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.

Is this accurate -- is an ebonite feed more likely to leak than a plastic feed if there is an abrupt change in barometric pressure?

no. the material has little to no bearing, it is the design of the feeder that matters. A feeder that is well capable of mitigating the effects of sudden pressure changes has to have a large ink buffering capacity. This is achieved by increasing the surface area of the capillary spaces, this means numerous very thin fins are needed. It is much easier and cheaper to create these heavily finned feeds using plastic injection molding. a good example of a modern intricately finned ebonite feeder is the feeder found on Aurora optima etc.

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no. the material has little to no bearing, it is the design of the feeder that matters. A feeder that is well capable of mitigating the effects of sudden pressure changes has to have a large ink buffering capacity. This is achieved by increasing the surface area of the capillary spaces, this means numerous very thin fins are needed. It is much easier and cheaper to create these heavily finned feeds using plastic injection molding. a good example of a modern intricately finned ebonite feeder is the feeder found on Aurora optima etc.

 

Thank you. I have posted this on the thread that by the way is extolling the virtues of a Romillo with an ebonite feed that leaks (apparently, not owing to a change in barometric pressure). The guy who bought it chided us readers to compare this handmade wonder to a Montblanc, on the assumption that anyone who is anyone would of course prefer the Romillo. I began looking at Montbancs, found the Johannes Brahms, and said the unsayable. From there, discussion on this thread moved abruptly to Leica cameras and IWC watches. The Brahms is looking better and better. Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the manufacturing and operation of fountain pens.

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  • 3 years later...

Ebonite machining wears down tooling due to the fillers used. Depending on what is used, it can be very abrasive. I couldn't help resist not resurrecting an ancient thread.

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Ebonite machining wears down tooling due to the fillers used. Depending on what is used, it can be very abrasive. I couldn't help resist not resurrecting an ancient thread.

 

Worth resurrecting just to watch that video again - the ebonite feed and nib production sequence is a joy to watch.

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  • 2 years later...

Ebonite is rubber and 30 to 40 percent sulphur, combined in a process called vulcanizing, which hardens and strengthens the rubber. This revolutionary process was developed by Charles Goodyear, US Patent 1844.

 

OK, now I've started my day by plagiarizing "Wikipedia".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonite

 

In the early days, it was a material to "rave about", modern plastics were still unknown and versions of ebonite such as bakelite were used well into the 1960s and '70s.

Vintage black hard rubber (BHR) pens are highly sought after and some current pen manufacturers offer models in ebonite swirl or solid color.

For a feed, I like it if it is appropriate to the era, or year, of my pen.

Once again resurrecting an ancient thread, but I feel compelled to comment on this(as a chemist).

 

Ebonite and Bakelite are very different materials also, albeit both saw some of the same applications.

 

Bakelite was a trade name for phenolic resin, a polymer of phenol and formaldehyde. It is what is called a "thermoset" plastic, which means that once it has cured, it won't melt, bend, or otherwise change shape until you get it up to its decomposition temperature(which is quite high). IIRC, Bakelite-trade named plastic normally uses wood pulp as a filler/shaping agent. Phenolic resin is still relatively available and used for a fair few applications. You'll still see it some for pot handles(it's probably as close to a functionally perfect material as you can find for that) and also as an electrical insulator. Another somewhat obsolete use was as a spacer and insulator between the intake manifold and carburetor in cars, although you can buy new spacers for a lot of applications(Back during COVID lock-down in the spring, I spent a lot of time playing with intakes for my MGB, and among other things bought a new set of phenolic spacers and machined them to work with 1 3/4" carburetors-machining it is a nice eye-watering job for all the formaldehyde released).

 

As for feeds-which is what brought me to this thread-I have both types. My main, extension of my right hand, pen is an early 90s 146 with what I've always assumed was an ebonite feed(and in fact didn't realize MB had switched even though it sounds like they have). It doesn't really register with me what it is, as I've never needed or wanted to mess with it, but it's there and works. Of course my vintage pens have ebonite, while nearly all of my new pens(inc. Lamy, Pelikan, Pilot, and several others) are plastic. I see "nearly all" since I bought a Noodler's Ahab when they were first release and I remember the ebonite feed being a big deal that was touted at the time. Aside from just shaping, I remember all the talk of how easy it was claimed to be to modify the ebonite feed to suit your flow preference. I never messed with it or really even used mine that much since the nib on mine was so "springy" that I found it really tiring to get any appreciable amount of flex out of it.

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