Ebonite odor: forever or "new pen smell"?

[Splicer]

Just curious whether the brimstone odor of an ebonite pen is a temporary condition associated with brand-new pens, or whether it is an attribute that lasts the life of the pen. Anyone?

[grimakis]

When you rub an old hard rubber pen it smells like Sulphur, even after 100 years.

[ianmedium]

Not sure but I really hope it lasts forever as I love the smell! (have to be careful in public though, get some very odd looks if I am seen sniffing my pen!)

[xmattxyzx]

Not sure but I really hope it lasts forever as I love the smell! (have to be careful in public though, get some very odd looks if I am seen sniffing my pen!)

Haha yes! Same here.

[stevlight]

I was caught sniffing my my pen the other day--I love the smell of Namiki black ink!

[Splicer]

Not sure but I really hope it lasts forever as I love the smell! (have to be careful in public though, get some very odd looks if I am seen sniffing my pen!)

 

I'm more concerned with people thinking that's me they smell, actually. "Oh Splicer, he's that guy that smells like rotten eggs."

[hamadryad11]

All my vintage hard rubber pens still smell. Not just when I rub them, either. The smell becomes more pronounced as I write with it and the pen warms up from my hand. I don't know if it's strong enough for other people to notice it. I detest the smell, so I don't often use those pens.

[ianmedium]

Just wondering here, most folks say it smells like sulpher but mine smells like a tea plantation! I just checked as I thought it might be the lacquer I am smelling but the inside where there is raw ebonite does indeed smell like a tea plantation ( or a bit like earl grey tea!)

[xmattxyzx]

Just wondering here, most folks say it smells like sulpher but mine smells like a tea plantation! I just checked as I thought it might be the lacquer I am smelling but the inside where there is raw ebonite does indeed smell like a tea plantation ( or a bit like earl grey tea!)

Huh. Same here. I assumed the "rotten eggs" comments were just hyperbolic. My raw ebonite Takumi smells delightful.

[bphollin]

That's great, Ian! I wish my pens smelled like Earl Grey. I've used a loose Darjeeling tea box as a valet for the past few years for that lovely crisp smell...

[globetrotterjon]

I love the smell of my ebonite pens....

[ianmedium]

That's great, Ian! I wish my pens smelled like Earl Grey. I've used a loose Darjeeling tea box as a valet for the past few years for that lovely crisp smell...

 

Ahh Darjeeling, the King of tea's! You are going to have to get yourself an ebonite pen m'think's!

[Splicer]

Just wondering here, most folks say it smells like sulpher but mine smells like a tea plantation! I just checked as I thought it might be the lacquer I am smelling but the inside where there is raw ebonite does indeed smell like a tea plantation ( or a bit like earl grey tea!)

Huh. Same here. I assumed the "rotten eggs" comments were just hyperbolic. My raw ebonite Takumi smells delightful.

 

Nope. Nothing at all like tea of any variety here. It's a very distinct sulphur odor that I can smell if the pen is in my shirt pocket. If I sniff the inside of the cap or barrel it's like getting a noseful of a freshly-lit match. If the sulphur odor will give way to the scent of tea, I'll be quite pleased for that to linger over the lifetime of the pen.

 

It's a wonderful pen, but it is possible that it may be one that stays at home rather than goes with me out and about.

[FrankB]

I just went and sniffed my ebonite pens. All of mine smell as I remembered - like rubber tires, with varying degrees of intensity. Only one smelled faintly of sulpher, and it is current production. I wonder if the intense smell of sulpher could be a proprietary ebonite recipe?

 

If your pen is new, you just might have some serious out gassing that will dissipate at some point in time. Meanwhile, if nothing else, you might use the pen as a conversation piece, "If you smell something odd, it's my pen." :hmm1:

[Paddler]

Yup, you are now stuck with the pong of incontinent cats and sulfur. Forever.

 

Paddler

[ianmedium]

I can only think this must be down to different types of ebonite..Thanks goodness I got the tea variety!

[King of the Road]

Hmmmm ... we might be on to something - scratch and sniff pens.

If an Edison ebonite smells like tires, what would a

- Pelikan smell like?

- Graf Faber von Castel 2009 pen of the year smell like?

There might be a market.

[spotted and speckled]

Wow--that's crazy!! But if ink can smell, then I suppose pens can smell too.

 

I don't have any ebonite pens, but had been eyeing one from afar. Guess I'll eye it up close and then nose it before I get attached to it. I would so not be happy if I had to write witha stinky pen, even at home. (I don't like those scented inks either, even if they don't have sulfur or tea scents.)

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I had no idea.

[RevAaron]

I dunno, usually my new ebonite pens don't smell much, at least not compared to the old ones that have sat in a dank basement for 50 years. The older they get, the more they tend to smell. Taking measures to prevent oxidization will cut down on the smell as well as keep the pen from discoloration. Museum wax should help, but inside the cap will still smell.

 

Ebonite pens don't tend to be stinky in the way anyone else would notice them. I've never had anyone comment on it, unless I said "and check this out, sniff inside the cap!" People don't usually complain about ebonite bowling balls, either, but the level of smell is comparable to a new ebonite pen: if you rub it and sniff your fingers, you'll smell the burnt rubber smell.

 

A lot of pens smell. It's just up to the material. Ebonite smell. Celluloid (that is, actual celluloid) smells like camphor- some colors and rod stocks seem to smell more. I *love* the smell of celluloid. I think acrylic/lucite smells too.

 

The worst smell, though, is a pen which has been inside a smoker's house for decades. Sticks to your fingers, doesn't wash off easily. Doesn't seem to happen to pens owned by smokers actually using the pen, but when it's been stored somewhere filled with cig smoke year after year... Even worse is the smell of metal pens stored in that environment, at least steel and brass pens. Dunno if gold or sterling takes smell in like that.

Edited March 9, 2009 by RevAaron

[michael_s]

My Pilot Custom 845 has no odor of any kind. It's an ebonite pen with urushi lacquer.

 

-Mike