Vintage vs Modern

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Sandsini

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I have two new Fountain Pens, one made from an approximately 80 year old French Cellulose Acetate (the blue chips) that I purchased from a far away land at great expense, and one from a modern Acrylic Acetate (the pearl white with black ribbon). Both are done in a similar style, the step side is an Aquarius while the smooth side is an Andromeda.

Both materials were beautiful to work with and both managed to be attractive pens (at least I think so...), so is the vintage material worth 9-10 times more than the modern? I have a definite opinion but I would like to hear what you think.
 

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Dale Lynch

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If you weren't told it was vintage,would you know?While I like the blue one better I would not be able to distinguish which was vintage and which was modern made.Nice pens by the way.
 
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I'm going to go against the masses here and vote for the B&W.
While both pens are very nice, I have always had a strong preference for finely crafted items presented in Black and White.

It just says "Class" to me!

Nice work!

Bill
 

jttheclockman

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The thing is you do not find material like the old vintage material. The black and white is an everyday everyone makes material. The blue crushed material is hard to find. My vote is for the blue hands down.
 

magpens

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It's apples to oranges ! . I am partial to blue so I vote for it. . If you had made a modern blue chip pen it would have been harder to choose.

BTW, what do you mean by "step side" and "smooth side"; and "Aquarius" and "Andromeda" ? . Do you give your pens names ?
 

Sandsini

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It's apples to oranges ! . I am partial to blue so I vote for it. . If you had made a modern blue chip pen it would have been harder to choose.

BTW, what do you mean by "step side" and "smooth side"; and "Aquarius" and "Andromeda" ? . Do you give your pens names ?

Mal,
The blue chip pen has a cap that is not flush with the body so to me this style, which I call Aquarius, is a Step Side pen. I used to own a 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce which among Alfa fans is referred to as the Step Nose, due to it's unique front end treatment, so I think this is where I get the Step Side designation.

The black and white pen has a cap that is flush with the lower body of the pen so that style, which I have named Andromeda, is a Smooth Side. I hope that makes sense!

Eric
 

Sandsini

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For me, the vintage materials are my favorite. I love the blue chip and would love it if were modern, but you can't find a modern version in these colors. I think that fact alone makes it worth the extra cost (plus this material is easier to work with than the modern chip style blanks).

There is something classier about so many of the vintage materials, without the wild colors and techniques we currently employ they relied on making something beautiful out of what they had and in some cases they knocked it out of the park! But Skip said it best.

Eric
 
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MShepard

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Both are very nice and I like the vintage one best. I do agree with spanx, if the other was made from a comparable pattern in modern day acrylic would you be able to tell which was which? Does the vintage cellulose have a noticeably different feel or appearance?
 

SteveAxelrod

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Your question was "is the vintage material worth 9-10 times more than the modern?". In terms of appearance, I find them equally attractive, but beauty (and value) are in the eye of the beholder.
 

darrin1200

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Personally I like the step side, but that is just a visual prefference. I think asking which of these is the better material, based on just looking at the pictures, is like asking which is the best CA finish.:wink:

From my limited experience, I find that some of the vitage materials have a softer, warmer feel in the hand. I have also heard that some of the vintage formulas are smooth as butter when it comes to machining. Visually, I have seen modern acrylics with a similar appearance to your french acrylic. Are they worth the price? Only if you can sell the final pen for proportionally equal high price.

I have recently moved into the calligraphy world, which is becoming quite popular. There has been a number of discussions about the value of vintage nibs. There are some nibs on ebay and other sales systems, that a few years ago, would have been going for a couple of dollars a piece. Keep in mind, when these nibs were origionally sold it was by the grosse. This was because they wore out very quickly, they were a consumable tool. Today these same nibs are getting sold in the $30 range, simply because of market interest. I have heard a number of professional calligraphers say that while these nibs are good, and in some ways superior to modern nibs, they are not worth that price.

I haven't worked with any of the vintage materials, so far only moder ebonite and cumberland. Either I come to late to the party when they are offered or, more usual, I don't have the funding when they are available. While I know there are clients that will pay more simply because it is a vintage material, its hard to justify the cost on speculation. Hopefully one of these days, I will find a deal that will let me get some of these to try out.

All that aside, they are both beautiful pens.
 

Sandsini

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Thanks Darrin, I appreciate your perspective. My brother in law is a rather well known calligraphic artist and he has been searching for a particular vintage music nib for ages now. Its kind of a unicorn nib for him, and as I have spent more time on fountain pen sites I see how much discussion concerns nibs. Some penmakers are using vintage nibs on new custom pens and I find that fascinating. I have actually ordered some dip pen nibs to experiment with.

As far as the vintage materials go, I've found that, for the most part, when I tell the story of one of my pens, the customer appreciates it if there is something really special about the materials it's made from. Whether it's 5000 year old Bog Oak or 95 year old Cellulose Acetate, its the story as much as the appearance that sell the pen.

My personal daily fountain pen is one I made from really old Cellulose Acetate and it has a feel that I don't get from modern materials. I love using it.
 
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