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, 15 September 2012

Cumberland Ebonite 'Bamboo'



Well, it seems these 'Bamboo' style pens are just taking over all my production.  This one is a special order headed for Beijing, made (as requested) out of red and black ebonite.

I actually started out making this one from a slightly different material, which the fellow commissioning the pen had picked out.  That ebonite was also red and black, but more of a marbled pattern rather than the 'wood-grain' look of Cumberland.   In any case, when I got to turning it on the lathe I found it to be really quite soft and surprisingly porous.  In other words, it was a cheap material that doesn't polish to a shine very well.  So, I made the decision to switch to a different material, the Cumberland ebonite.  This  stuff, which is made in Germany, is wonderful material - dense, hard, beautifully grained, and takes on a glossy shine when polished.   By far and away my favourite ebonite.





So, now it's finished and tested out, the nib adjusted and smoothed, and ready to head to China.  Of course, I hope the buyer likes the ebonite that I used as much as I do!  ;-))



Thanks for looking.  Comments welcome.

Ken
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2 comments:

  1. Kite Chong18 September 2012 at 16:40

    I realized, from a couple of other pen makers, that the best ebonites come from Germany, although it's also true that they cost more. I have a pen made out of black matte German ebonite. It's really awesome to feel and hold.

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  2. kcavers18 September 2012 at 18:34

    Hi Kite! Yes, the ebonites are a bit different alright, but I find the biggest difference is in the polished finish. In a matte finish, I'm not sure it makes much difference. Now, the marbled red and black ebonite is a different story. I was quite unimpressed with the non-German stuff, and won't be buying any more of that.

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