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QUESTION:Of the
manufactures
of modern pens,who is(are) the best?In reading this website and AOL's
pen message boards,problems seem to be found in most modern pens,ie
Doufolds have "scratchy" nibs,Sheaffer's caps scratch the barrel,Pelikan's
nibs are loose etc.Is this true? Are vintage pens of better quality than
new?
ANSWER: The real problem is you aren't reading modern pen ads---most (not all)
are constructed with EXACTLY the same materials used 50 or more years
ago--Hard Rubber feeds, Celliouds or other plastics, etc. In fact some
distoration due to improperly cured plastics has already been noted in
some modern pens (Visconti). Polymer tech? There is only one company
using that--Lamy--they are fine--but virtually all other companies are
making pens the same way, with the same materials, in some cases with
even the same equipment used decades ago (made from blocks of plastic on
a lathe)---the difference is skill, curing methods (as important now as
ever--and very prone to short-cuts) quality control and price. And when
it comes to metals---there has been no change in the formulation of 14kt
gold in our lifetimes, And as for 18kt--well several (including myself)
have pointed out that in theory 18kt may be less sutied for a pen nib
than 14kt. Everyone is entitled to an opinion---but for your post to
make more sense more pen companies would have to brag about modern
materials like Lamy. And I have been in several pen factories so I
have seen the construction equipment and materials first hand. Almost
all pen plastics are exactly the same as used 40 or more years ago.
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