Ken Cavers Custom Pens: January 2014

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

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Clipless 'Classic' Style in Charger Lava

Just finished this one this afternoon - nice having a bit of time away from work. Still, the garage could be warmer...

This is another example of one of my 'Classic' style pens, clipless, and as the title suggests, made from a piece of Charger Lava resin. Beautiful stuff, but sometimes the little voids in it can be a pain to fill in while finishing. Given the amazing glowing swirls, pretty much worth the effort, I think!

This pen is fitted with a fine nib, a steel JoWo, which I will tune and smooth prior to shipping. The pen is cartridge/converter filler, and comes with the converter pictured.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Friday, 10 January 2014

Something Completely Different - a Walnut Nib Holder for Glass Nibs!

Hello folks,

It has been a while since I have had opportunity to post one of my pens. Over the Christmas Holiday, we needed the room where I usually keep my photo gear set up, so away it went - which meant no decent pics of the pens of recent pens. Mind you, since we were hit by a serious deep freeze here in Manitoba through December, my workshop was crazy cold, and not a lot of projects got done during that time...

In any case, here is a special order I got some time back. The one who ordered this nib holder sent me the glass nibs so that I could ensure a decent fit. We settled on a darker wood colour, and since I have a good stock of walnut, walnut it is.

The holder is long - around 7 1/2 inches, but very light. Feels good in the hand. The nib itself fits by friction into an acrylic sleeve which is inset about 3/4" into the wood, sealing the nib off from the wood itself completely. The walnut is finished on the outside with several layers of thin CA, nicely soaked in to seal the wood against ink spills.

This was an enjoyable project, as it is something I have not tried before. I may actually pick up some more of these glass nibs and try another at some point...

Thanks for looking!

Ken