JonathanF1968
Member
Weird thing, I opened a couple of my finished pens, that have been around for a few months, and there was a bit of clear liquid inside them. Not sure what that is.... Thicker than water. Almost like a thin oil? Weird.
Yeah, I would have thought so too but a zip lock baggie with 10 or so of the cheap refills was full of the same clear, greasy like liquid and like with the pens, some - not most - of the refills in the baggie had the black plastic at the end of the tube partially separated from the tube. There were no signs of ink, just this clearish fluid.If it's a Parker style it's probably grease from the transmission.
Mike
The completed pens were in shoe boxes.Air tight zip locks might be the culprit. If all are bad maybe it's a storage issue. Did the faulty refills in the pens come from zip bags.
Well what was the result???If these are pens with "cheap" Parker-type refills, it's the refills. I wrote about this in an earlier post; I had to disassemble and clean some 40+ pens which I had put in storage as we moved about the last 8 or so years.
I wrote about earlier. The result for the pens stored with the refills were a mess; there was dried ink all inside. Many of the pens were salvaged by aggressive cleaning with hot water &/or 91% iso-propanol. A few of the pens weren't. As I said above, the refills stored in the baggie looked like they had been dipped in cosmoline - they were dumped. As a side note, all of my Mont Blanc ball points were stored the same, but with Mont Blanc refills, and non of them had any issues.Well what was the result???
Do you live in a humid area. In my Florida garage everything vinyl or rubber gets gummy from the humidity. Glues, caulks expire quickly. How's your storage area?The completed pens were in shoe boxes.
You keep saying I wrote about this earlier well I did not see it and am trying to get this topic up front. Is this a situation with all kits?? Has anyone else seen this?? Is this a particular kit or refill. I have hundreds of pen kits that have not been used yet. Does this material attack the finish on platings?? We all complain about those small plastic baggies the kits come in but maybe that is a great thing if this happens. I have never seen this. I have not seen this on any past pens I made. I do not always replace the refill so there are pens that use the factory supplied refill. Is there a photo of the refill or some proof of the bag with this fluid like stuff.?? My object here is to get some info here for us all. Is this something that vendors need to be aware of as they store kits and pick them off the shelves. There is a bottom line here that needs to be addressed I think.I wrote about earlier. The result for the pens stored with the refills were a mess; there was dried ink all inside. Many of the pens were salvaged by aggressive cleaning with hot water &/or 91% iso-propanol. A few of the pens weren't. As I said above, the refills stored in the baggie looked like they had been dipped in cosmoline - they were dumped. As a side note, all of my Mont Blanc ball points were stored the same, but with Mont Blanc refills, and non of them had any issues.
Yup, I do keep saying that, and if you had taken the time to go back to the thread "Ink Leaked Into The Barrel" you would have seen this: "You keep saying I wrote about this earlier well I did not see it and am trying to get this topic up front. Is this a situation with all kits?? Has anyone else seen this?? Is this a particular kit or refill. I have hundreds of pen kits that have not been used yet. Does this material attack the finish on platings?? We all complain about those small plastic baggies the kits come in but maybe that is a great thing if this happens. I have never seen this. I have not seen this on any past pens I made. I do not always replace the refill so there are pens that use the factory supplied refill. Is there a photo of the refill or some proof of the bag with this fluid like stuff.?? My object here is to get some info here for us all. Is this something that vendors need to be aware of as they store kits and pick them off the shelves. There is a bottom line here that needs to be addressed I think.
It was a mix. The pens were mostly made in my shop in Alliance, OH. They were then packaged up when I moved back to Columbus, MS. They were not unboxed. About a year and a half later they made the move to east Texas and remained untouched. Two years later they were moved to Cincinnati, OH, and remained untouched. Following that they were moved to the Chicago area for 3 years, and then back to Columbus, MS where I unboxed them about 2 - 3 months ago.Do you live in a humid area. In my Florida garage everything vinyl or rubber gets gummy from the humidity. Glues, caulks expire quickly. How's your storage area?
I'm rendering the kit refills as junk. I got a email from a friend that had a leaking refill. First thoughts were I hope nothing got damaged (clothes,etc) and personal embarrassment. I have a lot of kits on hand and about 10 spare refills. Getting trashed. Not worth the aggravation. Sorry you're having problems but we can learn fromIt was a mix.
I hope that my sharing information will be found useful by participants on this forum. I just don't cotton well to those who choose to be belligerent and condescending. And I do apologize if you or other readers thought my comments were directed to them, they were not. I did as your are doing, and am only buying enough Schmidt, Parker or Mont Blanc refills to meet current orders.I'm rendering the kit refills as junk. I got a email from a friend that had a leaking refill. First thoughts were I hope nothing got damaged (clothes,etc) and personal embarrassment. I have a lot of kits on hand and about 10 spare refills. Getting trashed. Not worth the aggravation. Sorry you're having problems but we can learn from
It.
I'm good here. Never considered your posts to be offending or whatever. We're still buddies. Im here strictly to have fun and enjoy the fun of pen turning and what the forum has to offer.I hope that my sharing information will be found useful by participants on this forum. I just don't cotton well to those who choose to be belligerent and condescending. And I do apologize if you or other readers thought my comments were directed to them, they were not. I did as your are doing, and am only buying enough Schmidt, Parker or Mont Blanc refills to meet current orders.
The obvious answer is "price." In addition to being somewhat smart alec as an answer, it also points to the quality control, materials, manufacturing process, etc. of these components. Cheap knock offs from low rank manufacturers are cheaper because they don't put the effort into making high quality items in order to make lower priced ones. You get what you pay for is generally a good measure. Plus Mont Blanc is not going to let a product out the door that might deteriorate like the ones described. Of course, some of the history of the components points to long, rough life, as well.As for refills I'm a rookie.... what makes Montblanc that much better. I think to provide a Montb or Schmidt is classy and safer.
I will tell you this you are a piece of work. Ask you a question and the feedback is not warranted. I hope the OP got something of an answer because I did not follow it.How could you possible know the feelings of my past students since obviously you were not numbered among them? I doubt you have ever had contact with any of them. The facts are as stated. Go back, read, and digest; accept it if you wish, reject it if you wish. I am weary of discussing this with you.
I mention Mont Blanc because I am also a pen collector, plus have some experience in buying and selling mid to large size companies. Most usually when it comes time to sign the contract, out comes the Mont Blanc #149s from everyones' suit coat inner pocket. Is that snobby? Yes. Is that a fact of corporate life? Yes!For the sake of conversation.......Montv vs $2 Schmidt......Could I tell the difference in the dark. Honestly I'm not a writer (writing stinks)...doubt I would know the difference. Would like other hear feedback from other Montblanc users.
JT, I have no doubt you could not follow what was in the thread, no doubt.I will tell you this you are a piece of work. Ask you a question and the feedback is not warranted. I hope the OP got something of an answer because I did not follow it.
Could you imagine we gave this answer to everyone that asked a question here. Wow.
And I will tell you just as I told my graduate students in times past "I will not do your research for you again."
No sir Professor. me no follow.JT, I have no doubt you could not follow what was in the thread, no doubt.
Who, what ethnic group are you disparaging?No sir Professor. me no follow.
Got my new Blue Tooth Midi today...and it is made for snobs(and suckers like me). Would you believe the remote is optional. If they made an air conditioner the coolant agent would probable be extra. Or sold cars would sell with out tires.Festools here.
Hey, stop sniping at each other on my thread.
The kit is a cigar from Woodturningz. The cartridge is a Parker refill. I thought I was getting a good quality one, but maybe not.... (Maybe, it was the original that came with the kit, I'm not positive.)
It happened on two pens. One was a pen I stored in my car, so it could have gotten hot in there. I forget where the other pen was that had this issue, but I will try to locate it.
It wasn't ink, it was a clear liquid. Transmission oil from the pen kit?
Had a nice conversation with Ed from Exotic Blanks, and he thinks that it happened because my car got hot and the transmission oil leaked from the transmission, rather than it being a cheap cartridge problem. Makes sense. So, I guess I shouldn't have a car pen....