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








Monday 30 June 2014

Ruby Fire Cigar


Every once in a while, I try turning a new blank just to see how it looks turned.  And, every once in a while, I am just stunned by the beauty of the material discover as I turn and polish it.  This is definitely one of those cases.  Here is a pen that I created from one of a collection of alumilite blanks that I purchased from the person who made them - Jonathan Brooks, a fellow pen maker (and a very accomplished one at that).


I decided to make a Cigar style pen out of this blank, as the Cigar style is one of the ones that best shows off a beautiful material.  The bland initially just looked red with a hint or iridescence, but as I tool the diameter down, I could see some beautiful shapes in the resin's colouring begin to emerge.  As I took the pen through the 11-step polishing process, the shapes resolved into breathtaking ruby coloured flames.  Yes, this resin is a keeper!



The pen itself is currently fitted with a polished steel silver coloured JoWo Fine nib.  But while I prefer the silver coloured nib on this pen, I suspect that the gold - coloured nib would look good too.  The pen is c/c fill.


Thanks for looking!

Ken
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2 comments:

  1. mtnbiker624 November 2014 at 14:11

    I'm loving the pen, Ken...thanks a lot. I was wondering about experimenting with some other nibs, though. What nib unit do you use in your pens?

    ReplyDelete
  2. kcavers4 November 2014 at 14:44

    Glad you are enjoying it!

    The nibs are German nibs made by JoWo. They are #6 size, and can be bought at meisternibs.com

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

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