Ken Cavers Custom Pens: November 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

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

'Susutake' Bamboo Fountain Pen with Garnet Thread Wrap, Ruby Inlay, and 18K Nib

Hello folks,

Here is my latest 'Susutake' style bamboo fountain pen, and I think my best one so far.

Technically, 'sustake' refers to bamboo darkened by smoke over many years, but hey - I don't have many years to work on a pen, nor a lot of smoke to apply to it. So instead, I use a technique adapted from my bamboo fly fishing rod making days, in which the cane (bamboo) is darkened and caramelized by the judicious use of flame. The process here involves several rounds of flame treatment, followed by sanding off and buffing the outer layer, and repeating. The final finish is not applied and treated until after the pen is mostly done.

Taking another design cue from my cane fly rod making days, I have given both the cap and the barrel a wrap of garnet thread, accenting the darkened bamboo. The ruby end jewels are meant to match the thread wrap, bringing the whole piece together.

The nib on this pen is (in the pictures) a fine JoWo 18K nib, though I will be swapping it out for a juicy B nib which will be tested, tuned and smoothed for the new owner before shipping. The ink filling system is cartridge/converter.

Thanks for looking!

Ken