How Flammable is Celluloid?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 พ.ค. 2022
- How flammable is celluloid? No functioning pens were harmed in the making of this video.
#celluloid #figboot #esterbrook
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Dooh...I misspelled "flammable" at the end! Well...too late to change that.
😂
And, consistently, also at 0:34 😉
@@SchmartMaker Premiere Pro really needs spellcheck
So nib was write off too. Oh well
The moral here is to keep your celluloid pens away from David and his lighter! Seriously, though, this is an eye-opener. I knew celluloid motion picture film was highly flammable but it didn't occur to me that fairly substantial bits of celluloid would be, too. it gives one pause. Thanks for the video!
Has a celluloid fountain pen ever -- in its entire history of existence -- caused a fire? I am just guessing not. And if ever, did it cause any serious harm?
A celluloid fountain pen fire must be near to a zero risk in any assessment. The likelihood that the sun in our solar system will suddenly explode is probably multiple orders of magnitude less.
I'm a little surprised at how painful it was to watch this! But, a very useful demonstration. I wouldn't want to expose any pen to an open flame, of course, but, wow. Thank you, David.
I know, even tho the pen was broken it still looked beautiful
Ehm... I ordered mine medium. This looks a bit well done.
Nice vid.
To put it in perspective, it’s derived from cellulose, the substance that makes up the structure of things like wood and cotton. Many people intentionally plant trees in close proximity to their homes, and wear cotton right next to their skin while cooking. I’m a risk-loving fool, so I even wipe my stovetop down with a cotton rag. It’s not exactly the unkillable landshark it’s reputed to be. What’s freaky about nitrocellulose is that it produces oxygen as a byproduct as it burns so it can’t be smothered.
The more you know…
About cotton cloths and rags, cotton is actually safer to wear around strong heat than most synthetics, especially polyester. Safe operation of high amperage industrial breakers involves wearing cotton cloths as it will smoulder but not easily burst into flames while synthetics like polyester will burn easily and melt to your skin.
Good thing we're not building entire houses out of nitrocellulose, otherwise we'd be in trouble if a fire started
It’s not made of just any cellulose, it’s made of *nitro* cellulose. That’s also known as guncotton, something used to accelerate material to super sonic speeds by taking advantage of how quickly it burns (fractions of a second) in a contained space, causing a buildup of more gas than there’s room in that space for causing it to push the material (as it’s the path of least resistance) to escape. The other ingredients are alcohol (a substance where the standard method of testing purity literally used to be to see how well a sample burned), and camphor (more obscure, but rated to be roughly as flammable as diesel fuel).
Hugging all my Italian celluloid pens right now.
I learned just how flammable celluloid is the hard way. I was reshaping the tip of a guitar thumb pick, and went to use a little heat to reshape it to my thumb & it went up like that magician flash paper. FYI, Dunlop white thumb picks are celluloid, keep away from flames!
Yeah, I was trying to take apart a Conklin Glider with a heat gun and poof, in a flash it was gone.
m.th-cam.com/video/xInMYJRFw0o/w-d-xo.html
À la Stan Laurel. I reshape my thumb picks by dropping them in boiling water to soften them. No torched thumbs as yet but plenty of scalds
Rest In Peace, little soldier. Your brothers have the watch 😭
You did what I didn't have the courage to do haha. Thanks! Really informative.
Mesmerizing!! Very entertaining and educational David. Thanks a lot!!
Wow! I'd heard that, too (flammability of celluloid) and it left me reluctant to pursue many such pens. Now, seeing is believing!
Keep them away from open flames or other strong sources of heat (don't leave on the stove-top next to a hot element, or in-front of the fireplace) and store in a cool place and you should be fine. Oh, and don't leave in your car on a hot California or Australian summer day, you might not have a car left.
Way to take one for the team! I hope you at least salvaged the nib. That was a great video, thanks Dave.
Now imagine if this was even one block of shelves in a store house or a ship, a fire would be devastating, and having machined tropical woods and resins and knowing how problematic they can be this would terrify me to work with. So although it's sad we don't see this material on pens anymore, it's no wonder why nobody wants to produce, machine or distribute it.
You missed the really FUN part: Celluloid doesn't need a spark to ignite, it will just do it if the temperature gets high enough. The threshold was low enough it frequently happened in movie projectors (the film was made of celluloid, and early light was heat intense) if it was in use too long too long. Big enough issue celluloid free film was branded "safety film" and took off despite a higher cost at the time.
Good demonstration, Dave. Thanks.
Wow! A few of those together is a weapon. No wonder those old movie reels literally went up in smoke. One starts and there is no stopping it. Thanks for the visual and I'll remember to air out my Esterbrooks. Whew!
This made me want to cry! No pen should ever have to suffer what this one did! But thank you for busting the myth.
That was oddly satisfying to watch but also a moral lesson. Thanks
There’s a new listing on EBay - “Hot deal on a slightly used Esterbrook FP - last one - minor damage to the barrel, nib has a warm and fuzzy feeling”
Striking celluloid from my wish list.
Awesome video.
I saw the disclaimer but it’s still hard to watch… but I did learn that if I were in a stranded situation and need a fire starter and only have my Esterbrook, I can make one good fire before I perish.
Wow! What a great video this is!!
Today I learned.... Thanks David
I'm crying for the Esterbrook :) That being said you should see what Omas Arco looks like when you light it up 🤣
"Oh,Luke;you wild beautiful thing. You crazy handful of nothin." - George Kennedy as Dragline
Shades of Gustav Metzger(or Jimi Hendrix or Pete Townshend) !
At least you didn't harm a broken Pilot Custom 823 like Drew Brown did.
Saw a guitar repairman get a hot soldering iron too close to the celluloid binding of a vintage guitar. It didn't burn; was more like a violent POOOF!! Very impressive. And destructive.
Great video,Figboot! A study in frisson/ASMR.
Hey, Babalugats. We got a bet here!
That was quick!!! Started to sound like my wi..
It looks like those black snake fireworks things we used go play with as kids.
Wow. Now I wonder can a concentrated sunlight from a magnifying glass or a reflection set the pen on fire.
yup
Thanks for the video and demonstration! I will pay attention in the future when I write something by candlelight. 😂
Also a component in the dry propellant and warhead of air launched missiles.
I have a vintage Waterman's Patrician that I got at a discount because its original owner had apparently used it as a cigarette rest, which resulted in a large divot in the cap. I'm surprised it merely melted instead of catching fire.
Fascinating...
Ok, admit it - how many were singing along to the tune of Blazing Saddles, "He wrote a blazing biro...."
as a chemistry student, I also did such experiments 😉
The scary thing is that Esterbrooks are cellulose acetate. Cellulose nitrate like Vacumatics and Dorics and Balances burns much faster and more violently.
I've had a damaged Vacumatic barrel catch on fire as I was trying to fix a crack. It went up in literal flames and was completely charred in mere seconds.
Wow, this really gives a visual knowledge of how flammable the celluloid is! A celluloid M1000 can probably keep you warm for 1 winter night.
That burned up like a snake firework on the Fourth of July.
I always wanted to try that!
I would appreciate with a before/after writing sample comparison as other modern fountain pen reviews out there😂
I once tried to apply a little bit of heat on the threads of my Sheaffer oversized Lifetime vac-filler as it was sealed with shellac. To my astonishment, it immediately caught fire! Thanks to my handy ink-dabbing cloth, I was able to stop the fire and the pen took very minimal amount of damage.
Oh wow. I did not expect that reaction
so apparently celluloid fountain pens make a great addition to your wilderness survival pack incase you need to write something or light a fire
Let’s not forget that all resins are flammable. You should repeat with precious resins and plastics like acrylic. They all burn even if less aggressively.
I think that you’d have a pretty hard time lighting one on fire with a lighter. Just too thick. Celluloid is a different beast all together.
I thought this was a TH-cam survey. Music trigger. 🤣
My boys said that I should be sure to have a celluloid pen on hand when hiking so we can burn parts of the pen for a fire starter with their mini magnifying glass they always carry for emergency.
Oooh! The humanity!
The music for this video is used in a TH-cam Ad I get all the time. Haha. I kept searching for the Skip Ad button instinctively.
No writing test afterwards? 😆
Suddenly I‘m very happy that I like metal pens (especially brass)
That is very interesting
very interesting. i had not questioned flammability of cellulose but was intrigued by the rate of burn. it does seem to be a fairly sooty flame so i suspect quite a bit of smell along with it. care to comment on the odor and did the fumes have any affect on you? watery eyes, sneezing, etc?
I made sure to stay upwind. I have heard the fumes are potentially toxic.
Bloody hell, I would never have thought of that!
Setting fire to pens so that we don't have to. You are performing a public service!
Did the pen have any last words?
tha's why we like celluloid pen in a cigar shape
Your most incendiary video.
What happens if you rub two of them together?
It can also shatter violently.
Ping pong balls and guitar picks are readily available for anyone who wants to do this themselves. Same material.
Don’t let regulators in California see this video, or we’ll start seeing warning labels attached to any celluloid pen. And - in the summer, we go camping and I like to journal next to the campfire. I’m gonna sit a little further away now.
The Esterbrook burned just a little slower the my ASC Bologna Oversized Arco Bronze! (lol)!!
I i had no idea!
Well; I guess that answers that question!
a tough flammable thermoplastic composed essentially of cellulose nitrate and camphor.
WOW! 😱😵💫
😳 noted
Ouch..!
Wow! I can understand why no one is making new stocks of celluloids.
Wow
Volcanic rock next, let’s check out how that resin is applied 😂
Oddly satisfying
well, now we know.
Where is the writing sample?
How flammable is culluloid? Yes
So it's true that the pen makers have a bucket of water beside them when they are shaping a celluloid pen?
I don't know about pens, but working celluloid while its submerged was the recommended way of handling cellulose pre-WW2.
No writing sample!?
That was interesting. How does that compare with the flammability of other resins?
Not comparable at all; celluloid isn't a resin.
@@edzejandehaan9265 You know what he meant..
@@eczajnik I know what he wrote. And resins are completely different materials. Celluloid is highly combustable, and well known for that property. Ever try to light a pingpong ball? So you shouldn't have to worry about how flammable other pens are because of how this celluloid one behaves. I hope I cleared up your confusion.
@@edzejandehaan9265 I am not confused at all. Instead of skipping his question entirely and only picking at the fact that celluloid is not resin you could have been helpful instead and write: "Resins are completely different materials. Celluloid is highly combustable, and well known for that property. Ever try to light a pingpong ball? So you shouldn't have to worry about how flammable other pens are because of how this celluloid one behaves."
@@eczajnik You have not much going on at the moment have you....🤣
I had always hear of this, too. That is also the reason so many early films have been transferred to digital of other film medium.
I do have a few celluloid pens from Visconti and Tomas. I am grateful that no functioning pen was harmed 😉.
I hope that wasn't an expensive pen
Huh...good to know I guess. Supposing you had your celluloid pen in your pocket, you'd have bigger problems if it were subjected to an open flame. Any pen material for that matter....thank you David 🙏❤️
For science. Nice. What did that smell like?
Not sure. Made sure to keep upwind. The fumes can be toxic.
celluloid is pretty much nitrocellulose, which is gun cotton. Celluloid is a Thermoplastic made from camphor and nitrocellulose.
Same thing guitar picks are made from as well..
Probably writes a little dry now.
Do I have to like the video to enter the giveaway? :D Fantastic video and thanks for taking the hit for science.
Wow! What did it smell like?
Sadness...
@@FigbootonPens Hope you stepped back from the fumes! 😵
I remember when Peter (aka Peter Draws) joked with you about this!
wow, that´s pretty hot and melting so fast. Nice experiment.
Interesting, so in cases where modern plastic pens would just melt, celluloid actually causes a greater fire. I guess I won't be journaling with my old Esties while grilling steaks on the BBQ!
this feels like the type of video to randomly get recommended by the 3 am algorithm and then get like a million views.
Wait some of yall didn't know this? The stuff is basically napalm
Hahahaha Answer: VERY! But, better than having wardrobe malfunctions with celluloid collars, etc. that they had back in the day. Yikes!
Hope nobody watching is looking for a replacement cap.
Let's ditch all pen cases and buy a freezer.. 10 pens like this, it'll burn the whole block
HOLD ON! shouldn't be any ink in there to prevent burning to some degree? Even celluloid pen should be inked. I am joking.
Alexa, play Lacrimosa by Mozart... and that clip from Red Dragon
This is why i hate overpriced luxury celluloid… verybad fire resistance for such luxury item.
Yikes!
You COULD have explained that a pingpong ball is made of celluloid.... Yes impressive but slightly painful to look at... :-)
Watching this while holding a celluloid pen in my hand, was not good for my heart. Definitely not trying this at home.
Gulp.
I wonder if ebonite pens are the same?
No! Celluloid is that flammable because the molecules themselves come with their own oxygen to burn. Ebonite is nothing like that.
In fact, celluloid is mainly made out of nitrocellulose, which is the same material gun cotton and flash paper are made. Nitrocellulose is a common propeller in bullets: it is a proper explosive!
@@AelwynMr It doesn't actually explode, it burns *very* fast. This burning "merely" leads to the resulting gas not fitting in the chamber causing it to push the bullet out of the chamber as it tries to escape (as the resistance of the bullet is deliberately lower than the rest of the action)