, ca will wear like plastic because thats basically what it is, it will get scratched and if its a high gloss it will show scratches very easily and then what do you do? your left trying to take the pen apart hoping nothing breaks, you can only do very minor repairs on a ca finish, which brings me to my next point, repairability, how easy one can repair a finish is part of the overall durability of the pen, if you cant repair a finish thats damaged then its no longer very durable is it?
1. When you put CA on par with tung oil as durability, you are dismissing the parts that make apples - apples and oranges - oranges, in this case TIME. CA will scratch and tung oil finished pens will get grime. TIME: CA - 2 to 8 years; Tung oil finish 3 months to 1 year. I have a pen that I made in 2008 and it barely has scratches.
2. The idea that taking pens apart to re-finish them subjects them to greater opportunity for damage, then that purely is a statement of inexperience. I haven't taken but two or three apart since I have been back from Japan, and over there I guess I took 20 or 30 apart over the last 5 years there, I didn't damage a single one that I can remember from taking it apart.
3. The finest finish that I have seen here (and overseas) are the Urushi finishes. They scratch too, but I honestly would prefer an clear urushi finish which is difficult over anything. For most wood, I prefer tung oil hands down. I can read "tung oil" in a couple of asian languages too. REAL tung oil. So I am not biased against tung oil. The deal is that USAGE and PURPOSE should drive the selection.
redface: Before I learned what the word for tung oil was in Japanese, or the kanji for it, - pre-9-11, I carried a gallon of pure tung oil back to Japan in my luggage. Pure Tung oil in Japanese is referred to and written as China tree oil. No one over there knew what "tung oil" was, not even in their dictionaries.)
On a woodworking forum back in 2004/2005, one fellow from Australia and I agreed that TO was the best water proofing finish out there (flat work). Others called us to task. He did an experiment. He put two towels in two buckets. He soaked one in pure tung oil, the other in the other finish that others were espousing. He then hung both over a clothes line and let them harden for about 10 days. Then he put them in a wash tub of water for a week. The tung oil towel was the same shape as it came off the clothes line and was still stiff. The other was a soggy whitish blob.
TUNG OIL IS GOOD/GREAT for what it does. No dispute on that from me.
But it isn't the best in all situations or most situations on pens for most people, nor is it what the general public wants (including LOML.)
4. Most oils/liquids (except for purely clear) will change the color/tint/hue on woods, and on some you do NOT WANT this. On some woods, you want protection. Tung oil finished holly will lead to an ivory as well as grime show in about 3 months. But not on a CA. Some finishes will cause some woods to "bleed", which will ruin the pen if those are done in segments.
. . .and lets say you start with 220 grit paper, sand the blank for a second with the paper under the blank catching dust and then with a cloth under the sandpaper so you dont glue yourself to the blank, take thin ca glue while sanding and pour it over the blank and sand the glue into the pores after 5-10 seconds stop and apply accelerator and grab a fresh 220 grit paper and sand all the ca off except whats left in the pores, now sand through your normal grits and your ready for finish, . . .
Why would you sand all the ca off? If one just want to fill the pores, yes there are other finishes that do that well also. But Sand the CA off? Why? Sand down to sizing by measuring with calipers. I use abralon for rough finish and to a decent smooth finish, but micromesh to 12000. Abralon's advantage is that it lets the dust out. I also have sandpaper that goes to .5micron. 4000 Abralon is the same as 3 micron. I don't sand the CA off, and most people here don't either. I did sand the CA back to a non-shine finish as noted in the link below. But CA's primary purpose is not just to seal pores, but to "finish" the pen. Shine is a personal preference for many. In addition, CA will protect more than you are giving it credit for. But even that may be a technique issue.
As far as using accelerator and "catching dust" and "gluing yourself to a blank" that is a matter of " proper technique and experience" (not enough).
Non plastic feel - Read Russ's comments about 4 or 5 down about tactile feel:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32496&highlight=shine
A truth: Going back to almost the beginning of this forum, you can find the arguments put forth on this thread, but you cannot dismiss one fact: If you want to sell, you better have a shiny finish. Put a dozen sheen or flat finished pens beside a dozen shiny, the public will buy the shiny ones. This kinda reminds me of the "cupcake wars". A polished pastry chef felt it was beneath his dignity to make cup cakes. But it was the sales of cup cakes that made the money so he could make fancy pastries on the side.
A true connoisseur will clean and care for his pen; a normal daily user will not. For me, it is not which finish is mine, but which finish does the end user want and can I provide it? Most users don't know, and will complain of the grime in 3 to 4 months versus scratches in two to eight years. Believe me, I like the connoisseur approach because these guys (and gals) will pay a pretty penny AND take care of their pens.
Bottom Line:
Tung oil is not the best, neither is CA, neither are different forms of lacquer. It is what the user wants, the maker wants, the needs, and the perceptions. And there is no "one" answer.
