Ken Cavers Custom Pens: October 2016

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, 31 October 2016

Large Curvy Style Mocha Swirl Fountain Pen

So here is another one of my Curvy style fountain pens, but this time in the larger sizing. Unlike my standard sizing, which is worked around a cap thread of 12.7mm (for a max grip diameter of 11.5mm), the larger sizing is worked around a cap thread of 14mm, allowing a grip diameter of 12.7mm max. Whatever - it's a nice, big pen.

The request was to use one of Jonathon Brooks' nice Mocha Swirl blanks, which I have been wanting to use. I can see the appeal - a very warm, welcoming colour combo. Just have to be careful to avoid the temptation to eat it.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Thursday, 13 October 2016

Earth Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen

Hi all,

Here is my latest commission off the bench - using this very cool 'Ocean Lava' alumilite from Bear Tooth Woods. But of course, like before, I'm going with 'Earth' resin, since the blues and greens remind me so much of the globe - water and green land...

This pen is done in my Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen style, a personal favourite for practicality. The black trim was added to highlight the Earth resin.

The pen is fitted with a fine steel JoWo nib and is a cartridge/converter fill.

Thanks for looking,

Ken