Gold-Veined Marble Fountain Pen

Hello folks,

A while back I was sent this cool material by a customer who asked that I turn it into a pen.  I discovered that this material (a marble white with real gold foil embedded in it) is made of polyresin, which I had some time ago sworn off using because of brittle nature and its tendency to shatter - while turning, and when dropped on a hard surface.

Fortunately I happened to have a piece of pearly white alumilite on hand, which has none of those nasty tendencies, so I used that for the grip section, and for an insert into the barrel from which to cut the threaded tenon.  The gold-marble still managed to split a couple of times along the gold foil while turning, but nothing a bit of handy CA couldn't deal with.

In the end, I am quite happy with how it came out.  I had planned to make one of my 'purity' style pens (cap all one diameter, barrel all one slightly smaller diameter, rounded ends), but the recurrent cap splits forced me to finish it off with a slightly different shape.  In fact, I kind of like it, and will probably make more of these.  But I don't have a name for this style yet.  Will have to think of something.

With the little bit of remaining gold-marble, I made a little pen rest so that this pen can studiously avoid tumbling onto hard surfaces and shattering.

The pen is here posing with what seemed like a very appropriate nib - an 18K fine, to match the gold veining.

The fill system is as cartridge/converter as usual.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Green and Purple Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen

Just got this pair of odd blanks in with a recent order.   Not enough of either to make a pen, but they looked like they might go together, and it just happened that I needed a break from some studying I was doing, so off to the workshop, and this pen was born.

in fact, the green material looked more like it belonged with the purple before I started turning it, as there was a fair bit of purple in it.  Sadly, once I turned it down to size, the purple was mostly gone.  Still, they seem to go together fairly well.

The pen is done in my Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen style, which is super-handy for the workplace with the fact that it has the clip and posts securely.

The filling system is cartridge/converter as usual.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

A Whole Lot of Amboyna

Hi everyone,

Here are the first two pens of a four-pen order, all in amboyna burl wood.   Definitely one of my favourite woods to work with.   Despite the fact that it is a pain to drill (the crazy grain makes it hard to maintain a straight drill), the smell is wonderful!  Has a lovely pungent spicy smell to it.  Which of course, you can't tell from these pens because they are completely sealed.  But trust me, it's nice.

The two pen styles here are the 'Simplicity II' (the flat, bevelled ends), and the 'Purity' (spherically rounded ends).  Both are very comfortable to use, thought they do not post.

Like all my current wood pens the cap of this one is completely line with acrylic to maintain a good seal and keep the pens from drying out quickly.  The threading and grip section are all made out of black acrylic.

Both pens are fitted with fine two-tone steel JoWo nibs.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

'Purity' Style Fountain Pen in Tibaldi Impero Celluloid With Inlay and 18K Nib

Hi folks,

Here is one I just finished today, a custom order for which the customer sent me this lovely celluloid and asked me to turn it into a pen.

The material is a very cool grey-in-blue-matrix which gives it an awesome effect.  And, celluloid!  Love that stuff - turns my workshop into one giant cough drop with all that awesome camphor.  Hard to find, though.   Since the nib that was chosen for this was a two-tone nib, I thought I would add a warm accent inlay into the mix to tie it all together.

Anyhow, this style is a relatively new one, a bit of a take on my 'Simplicity' style (the simple cylinder), but with different diameter cap and barrel and spherically rounded ends.  Makes for a comfortable pen for long writing sessions.

The pen is fitted with an 18K JoWo double broad nib.  The fill system is cartridge/ converter.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Guiness (Mirkwood?) Cigar Style Fountain Pen

Finally, we come to this Cigar style pen which is done up in what I initially thought was a Mirkwood alumilite blank (from Jonathon Brooks), - which is what the customer ordered - but as I turned it, and saw no green, I realized that it was actually a Guiness (or Root Beer, depending on your drinking habits) alumilite.   But now, as I take  a few pictures of it in good lighting, I see a few hints of green, and am starting to wonder if this may in fact be Mirkwood, but with very, very little green.  Honestly, I don't know.  Here too, I will let the customer decide if it fits the bill in terms of taste.  if not, it will be up for sale.

Anyhow, it is my usual Cigar style of pen, and is fitted with a broad steel JoWo nib, and is a cartridge/convterter filler.

Cheers,

Ken

'Mirkwood' Compact Style Fountain Pen

OK, so this order was actually supposed to be a Cigar style pen, but somewhere along the way while making this, the picture I had in my head of a Cigar pen turned into a Compact style pen.  No idea why, but just as I was finishing it, I realized that I had made the wrong style (*facepalm*).   So, I will check with the one who ordered it, but you may see this one go up for sale soon...

Anyhow, the 'Mirkwood' alumilite, another of Jonathon Brooks' blanks, is a cool mix of brown and green.  The actual ratio, is of course impossible to know until the pen is actually turned.  In this case, as you can see, it is mostly brown, with just a bit of brilliant green poking through.

My Compact style is nice in that it posts quite securely for convenience while writing, and is not a super large pen, so reasonably portable.

The nib on this one is medium two tone steel JoWo, ready for my write-testing, smoothing and flow adjusting prior to shipping.

Thanks for looking,

Ken

Purple Haze Cigar

Hey all,

Just a quick post with one of my recent Cigar pen orders.

This alumilite material, originally Ghost Koi purple - made by Jonathon Brooks - got renamed somewhere along the line with one of my previous pens, and 'Purple Haze' has kind of stuck.

The pen is a converter/cartridge filler, and is fitted with an EF steel JoWo nib that will be write-tested, smoothed, and flow-adjusted as desired prior to departure.

Cheers,

Ken

'Fall Foliage' Cigar Style Fountain Pen

Hello everyone,

Finally got some time in my workshop this week.  As usual, the cold winter is making it hard to use what little time I have free to get work done, but things came together this last few days for some pen making.

Here is a pen in the good old Cigar style, done up in 'Fall Foliage' alumilite, a very cool material.

The nib is a steel JoWo medium, and the pen is cartridge/converter fill.

Not much else to say, really - going to write-test and smooth the nib, and get it all packed up to ship!

Thanks for looking!

Ken