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








Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Bamboo Forest!



Some time back, I was contacted by a customer in Singapore who was interested in pursuing a group order of my 'Bamboo' style fountain pens.  After sorting out all the various preferences for the pens, there was a bit of a wait to get through the already existing order list (and to get past Christmas etc), but at long last I managed to get started on this small collection...

The first to be finished was the pen done in blue crush acrylic (a personal favourite):


The second one to be produced was the matte black acrylic.  I had not done a matte finish in acrylic before, and found it a little more challenging to do a finish like this on acrylic than on ebonite (hard rubber):


Next up was the 'Bamboo' style pen made of wood.  The customer requested that the wood be of one piece, so that the cap and barrel grain would match, and so that the whole pen would clearly be of one piece of wood.  Eventually, we settled on black walnut as the wood of choice.  This pen involved some significant challenges, as the threaded components could not be made out of wood.  Not wanting to use any parts from a 'pen kit', I had to create an acrylic insert in the cap, and also in the barrel, which I could then drill to size and thread just as I would one of my acrylic pens.  Required some very precise measurements and turning, but it was an interesting and enjoyable exercise:


After this was the jade green swirl acrylic Bamboo.  I was quite pleasantly surprised at how nicely the jade colour suited the Bamboo motif:


Finally, the order was finished off with a pen done up in the handsome, woodgrain-like cumberland ebonite.


Now, to contact the customer, and start packing up some pens!



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6 comments:

  1. Unknown12 February 2013 at 22:56

    Very handsome collection Ken. I like 'em all, but the cumberland and the black matte are especially nice. Curious on the walnut, how thin did the wall end up on the wood? I suppose no problem once the insert is glued in, but any problems drilling the walnut?

    Dave

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    Replies
    1. kcavers13 February 2013 at 11:30

      Thanks very much, Dave.

      Drilling the walnut didn't really pose a problem, although have to be careful to stay perfectly centred, as wood is not uniform the way resin is. The wall is not thick, but really can't be on this sort of thing. It is, as you suggested, bolstered by the insert, and by the CA around it.

      Ken

      Delete
  2. GourmetPens13 February 2013 at 11:54

    These are amazing. I am CRAZY about my cigar pen but... well... these are so awesome too. I know how this will end. You're not planning to quit this hobby any time soon, I hope.

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    Replies
    1. kcavers13 February 2013 at 12:41

      Nah. Too many cool projects in the works. Still loving it.

      Thanks for the compliment!

      Delete
  3. Anonymous13 February 2013 at 14:54

    Oooh I always see things here that I like. These are wonderful pieces also. Will you be adding these to ones people can choose to buy in the future? I better start saving up my pennies.

    Lesley

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  4. Terry Murray14 February 2013 at 10:28

    Nice to see more of your "signature" bamboo pieces!

    ReplyDelete

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