Classic Pens LB5 King Profit: Classic Pens breaks new ground with exquisite materials for its LB5 King Profit series

by Jim Mamoulides, August 20, 2013

Sample renderings of the proposed new Classic Pens LB5 King Profit

Following the successful launch of the first two LB5 King Profit finishes Kaen (violent flames) in Flame Red and Tensui (raindrops) in Space Blue this year, Classic Pens continues and strengthens its working partnership with Sailor with four, novel, ground breaking diffusion bonded acrylic finishes, for its LB5 King Profit launches in 2014.

The new diffusion bonded acrylics have a pre-determined pattern to harmonize and enhance the form of the Sailor King Profit. For the creation of these novel materials, Classic Pens formed a working partnership with Carville in England and Sintetica in Italy.

Shown above are the initial renderings of the pen in the four new proposed diffusion bonded acrylics. The final pens are yet to be revealed.

The cap and barrel material is produced in three stages. First, Sintetica, an Italian company established in 1954 that specializes in the production of acrylic casted sheets, creates a special production of quality acrylics with pearl enhancement. Sintetica's acrylics stand out for gorgeous effects, ranging from "the classic pastel and transparent colors to imitations of natural materials such as horn, mother-of-pearl, marble and tortoiseshell," as stated on their website. Sintetica creates both unique and basic materials aimed at accessory, home, jewelry, fashion, and fine pen manufacturers.

Carville, a UK based manufacturing company established in 1928 and a leader in the precision machining of acrylic and other engineering grade plastics, then uses their diffusion bonding process to eliminate stresses and to impart long term stability to the acrylic material. Carville's manufacturing facility is located in Dorking, Surrey, UK. This process creates the unique and exclusive Classic Pens diffusion bonded materials, including the bright red Flame Red and deep blue Space Blue rods used in many new pens.

Classic Pens LB5 King Profit new colors.
Left to right: Diamond Brown (Kouseki), Forest Green (Midorigi),
Marble White and Amethyst Purple (both Tairiku)

From the Carville website on their diffusion bonding process:

This is a process developed by Carville in the 1960’s. The process was originally developed for the production of avionic instrumentation panels for the aerospace industry.

The diffusion bonding process allows plastic materials to be joined without the use of solvents or adhesives. The plastic material is joined at a molecular level which ensures that any future thermal expansion or contraction of the material will not have a detrimental effect.

Carville further developed the diffusion bonding process in the 1980’s. A joint development project with a leading medical diagnostic company resulted in the manufacture of the worlds first diffusion bonded medical manifold for use in a clinical diagnostic (haematology) application.

Diffusion bonding is a process that joins plastic component parts without the use of solvents or cements. As there are no bonding agents used, diffusion bonding is ideal for medical applications where the use of a solvent or cement would be considered a possible contaminant. Diffusion bonded joints are invisible to the naked eye and are very strong.

The resulting diffusion bonded acrylics create pens of exquisite beauty and extreme stability. Classic Pens is the leader in using this strong and beautiful material in the pen industry. The materials and the pens created are exclusive to Classic Pens.

Andreas Lambrou told me "The cost of the new diffusion bonded pearls can be more than 50 times that of regular acrylics, but apart from their extreme stability, their distinctive pattern and vibrant lustre convey with intense immediacy the beauty of the LB5 King Profit fountain pens."

With Sheaffer and Parker closing their manufacturing operations in England, Classic Pens Ltd., formed in 1987, is now Britain's oldest established fountain pen maker, with continuous service to the pen community. The company specializes in luxury pens through fruitful working partnerships with individual artists and international pen manufacturers.

Andreas Lambrou very much likes themes based on nature. Since the King Profit is a Japanese pen and will be offered at the same time and along with a special edition of Fountain Pens of Japan, the theme reflects Japanese culture. It also arrived in the 25th anniversary of Classic Pens.

Andreas Lambrou says, “If I were given the opportunity to customize the Japanese fountain pen of my choice, my choice would be the Sailor King Profit. It deserves to be married as a duet with Fountain Pens Of Japan.”

The new materials are created in three stages.

1. Sintetica produces special formula cast acrylic sheets, enhanced with pearl.
2. Carville treats the sheets to eliminate stresses which cause the acrylic material to shrink after it is made into pens. The sheets are then prepared for diffusion bonding.
3. The material is diffusion bonded and cut to produce rods, using the exclusive Classic Pens process.

The resulting diffusion bonded pearl material is being released under the following names:

• Diamond Brown for Kouseki (metal ore)
• Forest Green for Midorigi (new green trees)
• Amethyst Purple for Tairiku (continent)
• Marble White for Tairiku (continent)

Launch of the new finishes is planned as follows:

• Kuseki and Midorigi: 50 pens each finish - February, 2014
• Tairiku: 50 pens each finish, choice of two finishes - August,2014

Retail Price of the new LB5 finishes with a Sailor Japanese Medium or Broad nib will be $1,600. Pens fitted with the Sailor Nagahara Cross Point nib will carry a premium of $350.

Sailor Cross Point nib, as shown on the Classic Pens LB5 King Profit Tensui

Demand for the new LB5 finishes, and the celebrated Nagahara Cross Point nib is high. The demand for Mr. Nobuyoshi Nagahara's expertise, his special nibs and regular participation at pen clinic meetings in Japan, is now so great that the delivery delay for his hand crafted Cross Point nibs is 5 months. Sailor will be offering 15 such nibs for each LB5 finish of 50 pens. The demand for this 30% Nagahara nib supply, rose to more than 50%, with the first two LB5 finishes, this high demand continues. If you wish to have the Cross Point nib with your LB5 King Profit pen, you will want to act quickly to avoid disappointment.

For further details you can contact Andreas Lambrou of Classic Pens by email: claspeninc@aol.com

We are looking forward to seeing the new colors for this new and exciting pen!