WELCOME!

Welcome to my Custom Fountain Pen website/blog. I put this site together a while ago so that I could let some of my fellow pen enthusiasts and penmakers, as well as my customers, see what I have been up to lately in the workshop. I don't publish all of my pens here, but good percentage of them.

A Little About My Pens: I love doing fine work on the lathe, which is what got me into this work. That is, I enjoy the focus on the details of a project - the material and colour selection, the form, the fit and finish of the pen. I also test all of the my nibs before shipping. I fill the converter, run ink through the nib and feed, and write with it. I spend a significant amount of time smoothing and adjusting the nib of every pen that I sell. My goal, with each pen that I make, is to create a writing piece whose fit and finish will impress you when you first pull it out of the packing, and that will serve you well as a great writer when you fill it up with your favourite ink.

Have a look at my posts to see some of the work I am doing lately, or see my pricing guide in the link below to the right, or check the link to my current inventory of already-made pens (usually small, as most of my work is by commissions/orders).

Or, if you are interested, you can see some of the work I have done previously in my Custom Pen Gallery on Photobucket!

If you have a Twitter account, I am @drgoretex

If any of my posts generate particular interest, I will pin them as links on the right (eg 'Basic Nib Adjusting 101').

* ORDERS: Please contact me at kencavers@gmail.com to place an order.

* PRICES: Please see the link on the right side of the screen 'Pricing Guide' for an idea as to the cost of a pen.

* REVIEWS:
Have a look at the bottom of this page for some reviews done by previous buyers!

* HOW LONG WILL MY ORDER TAKE?:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I am happily overwhelmed with pen orders. This gives me great joy in that my work is so well received, but saddens me that I cannot fill orders anywhere near as quickly as I would like. I am still trying to work through back orders, but if you have ordered from me and heard nothing for some time, feel free to email me and ask how things are going.
I still only make these pens in my spare time, when work and family time permit, and even then the productivity slows down during the coldest winter months thanks to my unheated workshop.
Given that I make these pens primarily as a hobby, I also reserve the right to pursue some other interesting pen projects in between filling orders.
I apologize for long delays in order fulfillment, which may in some case be over a year and a half. In the meantime, you are welcome to contact me to inquire about new pen orders, or to check up on a previously submitted order.

-Ken Cavers








Saturday 26 October 2013

Introducing The 'Lau Cigar' in Blue Mosaic and Black Acrylic!


This pen (number one of a two-pen order) is one that I just finished today.  What is most interesting to me about this one is that it represents both a new style and a new acrylic for me.

The shape of this pen was largely steered by the fellow who ordered it, and resulted from a long series of email exchanges in which we tried to sort out what he was looking for in his custom pen.  He wanted lines somewhat like my Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen, but not quite as slim, and did not need to be postable; the cap and barrel were also to have matched diameters where they meet, like a cigar pen; the finial was to be rounded, while the barrel end simply convex; the material was to be the blue mosaic acrylic, but the nib section in black acrylic.  The pen was also to have a clip.  As this is unlike my other pen styles, I decided to name the shape after the one who ordered it.


I have had a batch of this lovely blue mosaic in stock for some time now, but have not had a chance to make anything out of it until I received this order.  I like it!  I think I will have to order some more of this material...


The black nib section I think was a good choice - it works very well with the mosaic, suiting it perfectly, and breaks up the pattern a little.



This pen is fitted with a polished steel JoWo medium nib, as well as an excellent quality converter.

Thanks for looking!

Now on to pen #2...

Ken



Wednesday 16 October 2013

Large Cumberland Ebonite Cigar with Clip


Hello folks.  Here is an example of a clipped Cigar style pen.  I don't often put clips on my Cigar pens, but it was requested.  In this case, I think the clip suited the pen quite well!  The pen is done in my larger sizing (12.7mm diameter nib section), and has a capped length of 153mm, and 135mm uncapped.  The diameter is 16mm.



The material is cumberland ebonite, a very nice looking hard rubber, and good quality stuff.  Smells a bit sulphurous and like burning rubber while turning, but fortunately this famous 'ebonite smell' fades after a few weeks.



The nib is a good old medium JoWo steel nib, no special grind.  I'll be packing this one to ship to Korea shortly.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Monday 7 October 2013

Cone-Ended Cigar in Charger Lava with 1.1mm Stub Nib


Another excuse to use this lovely resin from Bear Tooth Woods!  Charger Lava is one of my favourites (yes, I say that a lot) with its amazing swirls of glowing colour.  Here is have just finished a Cone-ended Cigar style fountain pen in this resin, and will now have to decide whether to part with it, or to keep it myself :-)



I have a few JoWo steel 1.1mm stub nibs, and have fitted one onto this pen for the pictures.  It is of course a cartridge/converter filler, with converter installed.



Well, then.  Not much else to say about this one.  The pictures pretty much say it all.

Thanks for looking.  Comments welcome!

Ken