Re: Materials used for pens
One tries different tests. Most pens are plastic. However some are celluloid plastic which has a distinct odor of camphor when rubbed briskly or simply sniffed on the inside (rough) surfaces, near threads and in the wet interiors of caps and barrels. Hard rubber also responds to the smell test---rubbing gives a smell of vulcanized rubber (bitter rubber odor). Casein is the tricky one, not easy to tell unless you also collect period items made of this material like wall clocks and radio panels. Bakelite is very hard and sort of reminds you of electric switches and old telephones when you handle it, dense, unyielding, slightly warm, but perhaps colder than celluloid. Acetates are the coolest to the touch.
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