Ken Cavers Custom Pens: September 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

Saturday, 27 September 2014

'Cenote' Cone-End Cigar - trying another new (for me) material

This material was picked out by the customer, who wanted something cool and blue-green. This 'Cenote' blank (from slabsblanksandboards.com) fits the bill perfectly. What alumilite loses in the 'gloss' factor, it more than gains in the brilliance of colours and pearlescence it can have.

As per request, I have turned these Cenote blanks into one of my Cone-Ended Cigar style pens. I have installed a 1.1mm stub for the photo shoot, and the converter is installed inside.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Friday, 26 September 2014

Today's Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen - Another Inlay

I totally forgot that I had this lovely material! I had a request for a green and black pen, so went looking through my supplies, and came across this material that I had obtained quite some time back, but had never tried turning and finishing.

So, I gave it a go on this 'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen', done in the same style as a few of my recent ones, with the black finial and the barrel-end inlay to tie the pen together visually. And what do you know - this resin is great! It has a very cool pearly look to it, and the veins of black in it make it look a lot like marble.

I have fitted this pen with a JoWo B nib for the pics, but the buyer will have a choice of nibs, which I will test, adjust and smooth (as always) prior to shipping.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Sunday, 14 September 2014

A Couple of New Pens

Hello all! Just a quick post before running off...

Here are two of my most recent pens, a two-pen order for a fellow that has been patiently waiting a terribly long time.

The first is a pen in my Classic style, created out of Charger Lava resin (which I have a few times called 'VanGogh' resin for its resemblance to the colours in his 'Starry night' painting). I have down this pen up with a two-tone medium JoWo nib along with a gold coloured clip to match.

The second is made from the Ocean Lava resin, which to me is strongly reminiscent of 'Earth' colours. This one is made in my Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen style, with black trim on the barrel end and cap finial. As always, the SPFP posts securely for comfort and convenience during writing.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Sunday, 7 September 2014

Ocean Lava ('Earth') Shirt Pocket fountain Pen

Hello folks,

Here is another one I just finished last evening for a colleague who wanted a gift for a friend entering Law School. Once again, best choice is something very practical, which is the 'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen'. This one is made using the 'Ocean Lava' alumilite resin from Bear tooth Woods, which may as well be called 'Earth' resin given the wonderfully geographical blues and greens. The pen is fitted with a medium polished steel JoWo nib and a converter for filling.

Once again, I decided to tie the barrel to the body visually with a jewel inlay of the Ocean Lava on the barrel end.

The pen is now loaded up in a pen gift box, and ready to go.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Monday, 1 September 2014

Charger Lava SPFP with Barrel-End Inlay!

Here's one that was fun to make. I had an order for another 'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen', from someone who previously ordered four of them as graduation gifts. Seems he had yet another family member or friend graduating, so came to me for another one. I figured I had better use a material that I did not use on any of the others, and this Charger Lava material (from Bear Tooth Woods) came to mind:

What I did a bit differently on this one was to add an axial inlay of Charger Lava to the end of the barrel, and then round the end. The effect is rather strikingly jewel-like, and I am quite happy with it.

Like all my 'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pens', this pen is designed to allow the cap to be securely posted onto the end of the barrel while writing, so as to make this a comfortable, totally practical daily carry writer. This pen is fitted with a medium steel JoWo nib, and a converter for filling.

Thanks for looking!

Ken