Ken Cavers Custom Pens: March 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

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Flat-End Cigar FP in Blue Cowrie with Black Trim

So, I had a nice piece of this Blue Cowrie acrylic left over from one of the pens in my recent four-pen SFP order. Such a beautiful material! I kept looking at it, wanting do play with it some more. Finally, since I had a nib section ready to go anyway, I caved an started working on a new 'whim' pen.

I thought I might try some good old black trim, but with a twist - set it inside a second trim in the original material.

Anyhow, here is the result - a Cigar style fountain pen (c/c fill) with flat ends, an inset black trim on each end. The pen is fitted with a broad steel JoWo nib, and feels might nice in the hand.

Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed making this one. I am placing it on the 'Available for Purchase' page of my blog.

Thanks for looking. Comments welcome.

Ken

Saturday, 15 March 2014

'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pens' - a Four-Pen Order

Well, it finally started to warm up a bit here. Mostly still well below zero (Celcius), but at least it is trending in the right direction. My workshop is actually useable now, so to kick off the long-awaited warmer temperatures, I spent the last several days working on an order placed by a colleague to give as gifts to graduating family members.

The desired pen style was not specified, nor the material to be used, so I figured that my most practical fountain pen style, the 'Shirt pocket Fountain Pen' (SPFP), would probably be the best option. It is sized, as the name suggests, to fit well in a typical shirt pocket, and has a tapered barrel to allow the cap to be posted very securely. I have fitted each with a fine steel nib for now.

Just for a bit of fun, I gave each of these pens a different end shape - one flat, another coned, another domed, and one rounded.

Pictures are always fun to look at, so I will just load up a bunch below.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Saturday, 1 March 2014

At the Mercy of the Season...

Hello all.

I thought I had better post an update on my work of late (or actually, the lack thereof). Generally, winter tends to slow down my pen production to some extent thanks to the effect of the cold on my equipment (and my hands!). My workshop is, sadly, unheated - and while it usually a good deal warmer than outside, it is still nowhere near room temperature. However, I can usually fit in some productivity on the warmer days.

This winter, on the other hand, is a completely different matter. We have had almost completely unwavering bitter cold for over three months now, with temperatures below -20 C being the norm. In fact, we celebrated March 1st today with a morning temperature of -32 C (and a wind chill of -43C)! This has unfortunately meant very, very few workable days in the shop over the past several weeks. In fact, I can probably count them on one hand.

So while it is still bitterly cold here right now, Spring is officially only three weeks away, so it has to warm up soon. Right? I hope?

Anyhow, many apologies for delays in completing orders --- please stand by and please think very warm thoughts!

Kind regards,

Ken Cavers