This page provides more information about the materials we use in our Bulkfillers. These materials are featured in the barrels, as well as in the rims, clips and inner pieces of our pens. Our webshop offers the possibility to select the available materials for each pen of your choice.
Titanium
This exotic, extremely durable material was not only chosen for its strength but also for its low specific weight. Discomfort caused by a pen that is too heavy is something we want to avoid at all times. Therefore, titanium is the obvious material choice. Due to the high ratio of tensile strength to density and its very good corrosion resistance it is even used in seawater and outer space. All this makes for extremely durable fountain pen parts.
SAE 316
SAE 316 is one the most corrosion resistant alloys of stainless steel. We have chosen to use this material for the piston rod for its high resistance against highly acidic inks. These inks can eat away at many kinds of materials but not this one. Not unlike titanium, stainless steel also forms a corrosion resistant layer to protect itself from outside influences. Our vast experience with this material makes this a rather easily machined material for us.
Delrin
This polymer material is an engineering plastic that offers high strength at low weight. It is an easily machinable material that also offers a very good dimensional stability. After machining, this material can have some sort of a shine to it, though it is not suitable for polishing such as Ebonite or acrylic. At Conid, this material gets a matte finish by using a very fine steel wool, giving it a nice contemporary look.
Ebonite
In the fountain pen world, this is a very well known material, used both in barrels as well as in feeds. Ebonite is actually a brand name rather than a material name. Hard rubber is the correct term to be used. Hard rubber was originally discovered and patented by Charles Goodyear in 1844.
In the fountain pen world, this material has been around for almost all of its history. Many pens have bodies made out of this replacement for ebony wood. The most superior feeds are also made out of hard rubber, though unfortunately many have been replaced by their more cost-efficiently produced, injection moulded counterparts.
Acrylic
Available in many forms and shapes, this crystal clear thermoplastic is used because of its high strength and high polishability. When making demonstrator parts, it is vital to be able to see through them. On the earliest Bulkfillers, we used Polycarbonate because of its higher impact and chemical resistance but found that this material was very hard, if not impossible, to polish. Clear acrylic was the only logic substitute as this is also very strong, durable and easily machined.