Modern Duofold. Help!

[SwordsMightBeMightier]

Hi, 

 

I’m new here so not entirely sure I’m in the right place but my issue is this:

 

I bought a limited edition Parker Duofold online. It was advertised as new (I knew it wasn’t “new” but possibly purchased a decade ago and never touched) but anyway it arrived with the front side of the cap bands having a bit of an issue. Seller claims it was never touched and offers no clue as to what may have caused it. I’ve attached a pic below. It appears and feels to me to be possibly some sort of rust/corrosion to the chrome/platinum cap bands. Definitely feels scratchy to the finger as you touch it but it’s only on the front of the cap. It is also possible something got on the pen and merely needs to be cleaned off. 

The pen is the Parker True Blue Limited Edition modern Duofold.

 

does anyone recognize this? And then is next step cleaning it? Repairing it? Or returning it?

 

not sure what cleaning solution should be used for this acrylic/resin material or the chrome/platinum of the bands?

 

anyway, any help or advice you may have would be appreciated

 

Thanks!

[A Smug Dill]

1 minute ago, acameronp said:

It is also possible something got on the pen and merely needs to be cleaned off. 

 

I doubt it, when you can see the near-hemispherical spots of corrosion or oxidation on the top edge (as well as bottom edge) on the top cap ring. If it was merely dirt or grit, possibly suspended in droplets of liquid at the time of physical deposit, that landed on the cap rings, the other half of those spots would be visible either on the blue resin or perched on the edge of the cap ring.

 

Rubbing those spots with something like a ‘sunshine cloth’ could probably remedy the visual aspect of the damage slightly, but if won't restore any lost/denatured physical matter from the surface of the metal trim.

 

Hey, but I could be wrong, and for your sake I hope I'm way off in my guesswork.

[SwordsMightBeMightier]

Thanks for response.

 

yeah I agree. Was hoping there could be some other fixable problem this could be but not looking good.

 

 

[como]

@acameronp You can get the rings re-plated but of course this costs money. If you can still return it, perhaps it would be the best.

[Dione]

It looks like some sort of corrosion and if it were me I would return it. There aren't many products that you can use on the bands without making contact with the resin and you would likely need some sort of metal polish to make those spots of corrosion look better. This could harm the resin.

[Paul-in-SF]

Yes, the seller is responsible for making sure the pen is in new condition, at least, even if it has "never been touched" -- things can happen to a pen in storage, after all. I would return it, and if the seller resists at all or proposes any other solution, then you may need to pursue whatever remedies are available to you through your credit card company, paypal, or ebay, if any of those were involved in the purchase. This is a very collectible pen but you did not get what you paid for. 

[Frank C]

This is what mine looks like. I've never inked it. I have several other Duofolds; they are great pens. I could probably sell that bottle of Parker Penman Sapphire for $$$$. 
 

Yours appears to be corroded. 

 

 

 

[SwordsMightBeMightier]

Thanks for the responses. I ended up returning it. Seller played dumb but eventually he made it clear that it wasn’t as he described in the listing so lots of hassle but in the end no harm. Shame too, I really want that pen.

 

 

[bunnspecial]

Glad you could return it.

 

I've not seen that sort of corrosion even on Duofolds sold to me as "used." The trim rings on the section sometimes flake/discolor but I'm not sure if I've seen cap bands.

 

BTW, if you don't have any other modern Duofolds, IMO you owe it to yourself to have at least one.

[Vladpu]

 I ran off right away to have a look at my True Blue.  It's fine.  I can't think of any "normal" way that could happen - it had to be exposure to something corrosive, like someone using bleach-based cleaner (like e.g. Comet) on it.  

I agree, best returned.  It is always tragic when an irreplaceable treasure gets damaged.  

And I agree the modern Duofolds are among the best pens ever.  Even if over-priced and under-packaged, I even bought the 100 year anniversary one, and I have to admit I love it.

[sansenri]

Glad you were able to returned it, I believe that sort of corrosion is uncurable, as the metal has been eaten away by some acid.

My guess is the owner stored this pen together with some decaying celluloid pen, in a confined environment (a box or similar) and the acid off-gas has had the chance and sufficient time to attack the metal of the neighboring pen...

He realized too late.

He then tried to sell the pen off (IMO)... not nice.

[Paul-in-SF]

On 10/5/2021 at 12:00 AM, SwordsMightBeMightier said:

Seller played dumb but eventually he made it clear that it wasn’t as he described in the listing

 

1 hour ago, sansenri said:

He then tried to sell the pen off (IMO)... not nice.

 

Knowing only what is in this thread, I tend to agree with sansenri. SwordsMightBeMightier, I understand how you don't want to stir up trouble since you got refunded and it was made good. But I think "no harm done" is not an accurate summary of this transaction. It appears that the seller tried to cheat you, and would have been happy if they had succeeded. They might try it on again, with the same pen or a different faulty pen, on someone else. 

[bunnspecial]

14 hours ago, sansenri said:

My guess is the owner stored this pen together with some decaying celluloid pen, in a confined environment (a box or similar) and the acid off-gas has had the chance and sufficient time to attack the metal of the neighboring pen...

 

Arggg, you have me scared now....I'd hope none of my celluloid is decaying, but maybe that's a good reminder to avoid storing celluloid with other plastic types, and definitely if you have one showing signs of decay to not store it with anything else....

[sansenri]

true, celluloid is best kept separate and ventilated, but usually you will have no issues if you check celluloid pens regularly.

I usually pull my celluloid pens (especially the modern ones) out every month or so even if I will not be using them.

 

[bunnspecial]

On 10/7/2021 at 12:35 PM, sansenri said:

true, celluloid is best kept separate and ventilated, but usually you will have no issues if you check celluloid pens regularly.

I usually pull my celluloid pens (especially the modern ones) out every month or so even if I will not be using them.

 

 

I feel stupid asking this considering that I am a chemist, but what else should one watch out for?

 

I know nitric acid is a byproduct of break-down, but I don't really find nitric acid to have any smell of note.

 

Some of my pens do smell much more strongly of camphor than others(although all do if heated or scratched in some way). As I understand the chemistry, the camphor is a plasticizer, but smelling it(at least in my mind) could be the result of plastic break-down allowing it to be released more readily.