Decomposing Green Coronet End

[VacNut]

I was aware that the clear sections of the Coronet were temperamental, but I wasnt aware that the ends were subject to decomposition. Has anyone come across this issue? I have searched the forum, but didnt find any information.

As with all pens that degrade, there may be no hope 😭😢

[Addertooth]

Short answer is yes, but some colors are more resistant than others. Some colors are much more succeptable. Black is recognized as the safest color.

[Parker51]

This is a known potential problem. I have a friend who as a result of this does not collect this pen and instead sells them if he somehow gets one (such as can happen when buying a lot) so as to not be the person who ends up with a disintegrating pen.

[Paul-in-SF]

Usually, as I understand it, the end of the pen changes from the original marbled color to translucent, which is the signal that disintegration might begin at any time. I have an otherwise lovely Doric II vac filler with this problem.

 

Also, apparently, the process of disintegration emits a gas that can cause bad effects on other celluloid pens that are close by, so if you have such a pen don't store it in a closed space with other such pens.

[VacNut]

This was a complete surprise to me, when I looked at the pen. I keep it in a converted cigar box in a cabinet. I thought keeping it out of sunlight and in a climate controlled space was enough, but reading through the research, it looks like it is best to keep it in an open box or stored with a zeolite archival paper.

 

Are the Eversharp more susceptible than other celluloid pens? The Parker vacumatics don’t seem to have this problem, except the Ripleys. Does anyone know if the Italian pens from the 30’s ha e this problem.

 

I am at a loss what is considered an open box or how to keep the rest of my celluloid pens safe. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[Addertooth]

Yes, many other brands have the exact same problem. I have one pen which did not discolor in any way, but it crumbled at the end when I took a polishing cloth to it. But I do agree that normally the celluloid will become a "more pale" color as a sign of failure in the future. How far in the future? Hard to say, I have heard of some that limped on for over a decade, and others that went dramatically bad in months.

[VacNut]

I am going to have to spend more time looking through the pens to check for degradations. I noticed the pen because of black markings on the gold cap, which I attributed to ink stains. I am guessing that the marks may be corrosion from the acidic fumes.

 

I keep the pen in a converted wooden cigar box with matte board trays. I was worried about the cedar, as Syd had mentioned potential out-gassing from wood. Looking through Richard Binder’s site, I see he has written about cedar boxes. I am going to drill a few discreet holes into the boxes for venting.

[sansenri]

When celluloid starts its degradation process (at a faster pace than normal) there is not much you can do about it.

It is likely that the particular batch of celluloid was not cured as accurately as others.

(for reasons that are not well known, lighter colour celluloids seem to be more unstable than darker)

What you need to do is store it in a open box and far from other celluloid pens.

The out-gas is nitric acid, which can worsen the degradation itself if kept in a confined space, corrode metal trims, and spread the degradation to other nearby celluloids.

I have an Omas in celluloid which is suffering from this problem (there is some noticeable warping in the celluloid body and the brass ring on the final has turned green from oxidation.

What I do is use it and store it in a cardboard box without the lid, this seem to have slowed down the degradation.

Unfortunately the celluloid degradation seems to be affecting also the inside of the pen. I have found that if leave the barrel full of water with time the water inside turns yellow...

Before I became aware of this I used the pen and filled it with JH Midnight blue, the ink in the bottle has now changed colour and is now a sort of purplish blue. (I assume the ink might have been affected by the acid, I now use this ink only for this pen).

So be careful when filling it...

On the other hand, since it's likely to die earlier than other pens I own, I use it more...

[ihimlen]

Im quite surprised to see this on the Green coronets, first time Ive ever seen this on these pens (I did see this on some 2nd ten Dorics in shell celluloid, mostly gold shell and on some Pacemakers). I guess this has a lot to do with the curing time of celluloid and the fact that the shell celluloid was formed by tubular wrapping and then the ends (cap/barrel) were formed by applying heat with the end plugs solvent welded in place. Some batches of celluloid may not have cured properly or too much heat (for too long) may have been applied on some pens which was not evident at the point of manufacture but which resulted in slow crystallisation and gradual decombobulation over the years. Thats my theory on these at least...

Edited July 2, 2020 by ihimlen

[VacNut]

Im quite surprised to see this on the Green coronets, first time Ive ever seen this on these pens (I did see this on some 2nd ten Dorics in shell celluloid, mostly gold shell and on some Pacemakers). I guess this has a lot to do with the curing time of celluloid and the fact that the shell celluloid was formed by tubular wrapping and then the ends (cap/barrel) were formed by applying heat with the end plugs solvent welded in place. Some batches of celluloid may not have cured properly or too much heat (for too long) may have been applied on some pens which was not evident at the point of manufacture but which resulted in slow crystallisation and gradual decombobulation over the years. Thats my theory on these at least...

I was very disappointed when I saw the pen. I thought primarily Doris had this problem. .

I sent the pen out for repair. The damage was only at the end and not down onto the barrel. The end is being re-built. I will post pics of the repair when I get it back.

[Ted F]

I was very disappointed when I saw the pen. I thought primarily Doris had this problem. .

I sent the pen out for repair. The damage was only at the end and not down onto the barrel. The end is being re-built. I will post pics of the repair when I get it back.

 

I have a Pacemaker where the end of the cap disintegrated. Where are you getting yours repaired and are they matching the color of your barrel?

[VacNut]

I have a Pacemaker where the end of the cap disintegrated. Where are you getting yours repaired and are they matching the color of your barrel?

I have sent the pen in for repairs. They are rebuilding the end by applying multiple layers of a thickened celluloid. It will take several months to rebuild the end. There is topic on this forum of someone rebuilding a Doric by softening parts of a sacrificial barrel and fusing the multiple layers together to replicate a tip.

I will update the group when I receive the pen.

[PAKMAN]

I was so very close to buying a Doric at a pen show when a friend said take another look at the crazing on the end. Once they start it's down hill from there. Waterman 100 years in certain colors have this problem often too.

[Ron Z]

...except that the HYP can be rebuilt, with excellent results.

[PAKMAN]

True that! I've seen some rebuilt 100 Yr Waterman pens that look awesome! Ron, do you make this repair?

[Ron Z]

True that! I've seen some rebuilt 100 Yr Waterman pens that look awesome! Ron, do you make this repair?

I do.

[Bobby Check]

Ron has repaired some of my Hundred Year Pens and the results are wonderful.

 

Bobby

[Ron Z]

What scares me with some of the celluloids is that contact with solvent can exacerbate and accelerate decay. I've tried solvent welding the Sheaffer gray red veined celluloid. Within a few months the repair air starts to craze and crack. I'll have to change my approach before I can take any in.

 

The same with some of the Wahl celluloid, green, and black and pearl in particular. I'm using the same solvent, and same repair techniques that I usually use. By contrast, a solid color pen, Parker celluloids (even most of the Vacumatic material) or the striped Sheaffer celluloids are very stable, and can take about anything that I need to do to repair them.

 

Building up celluloid is indeed a time consuming project. There are ways to speed that up a bit, but it still takes time, sometimes a very long time.

[VacNut]

What scares me with some of the celluloids is that contact with solvent can exacerbate and accelerate decay. I've tried solvent welding the Sheaffer gray red veined celluloid. Within a few months the repair air starts to craze and crack. I'll have to change my approach before I can take any in.

 

The same with some of the Wahl celluloid, green, and black and pearl in particular. I'm using the same solvent, and same repair techniques that I usually use. By contrast, a solid color pen, Parker celluloids (even most of the Vacumatic material) or the striped Sheaffer celluloids are very stable, and can take about anything that I need to do to repair them.

 

Building up celluloid is indeed a time consuming project. There are ways to speed that up a bit, but it still takes time, sometimes a very long time.

I was quoted several months for the repair, depending on how quickly the layers set. Either way, I think I will stay away from Eversharp celluloid pens.