Ken Cavers Custom Pens: March 2017

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

Sunday, 12 March 2017

A Whole Lot of Amboyna

Hi everyone,

Here are the first two pens of a four-pen order, all in amboyna burl wood. Definitely one of my favourite woods to work with. Despite the fact that it is a pain to drill (the crazy grain makes it hard to maintain a straight drill), the smell is wonderful! Has a lovely pungent spicy smell to it. Which of course, you can't tell from these pens because they are completely sealed. But trust me, it's nice.

The two pen styles here are the 'Simplicity II' (the flat, bevelled ends), and the 'Purity' (spherically rounded ends). Both are very comfortable to use, thought they do not post.

Like all my current wood pens the cap of this one is completely line with acrylic to maintain a good seal and keep the pens from drying out quickly. The threading and grip section are all made out of black acrylic.

Both pens are fitted with fine two-tone steel JoWo nibs.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Saturday, 11 March 2017

'Purity' Style Fountain Pen in Tibaldi Impero Celluloid With Inlay and 18K Nib

Hi folks,

Here is one I just finished today, a custom order for which the customer sent me this lovely celluloid and asked me to turn it into a pen.

The material is a very cool grey-in-blue-matrix which gives it an awesome effect. And, celluloid! Love that stuff - turns my workshop into one giant cough drop with all that awesome camphor. Hard to find, though. Since the nib that was chosen for this was a two-tone nib, I thought I would add a warm accent inlay into the mix to tie it all together.

Anyhow, this style is a relatively new one, a bit of a take on my 'Simplicity' style (the simple cylinder), but with different diameter cap and barrel and spherically rounded ends. Makes for a comfortable pen for long writing sessions.

The pen is fitted with an 18K JoWo double broad nib. The fill system is cartridge/ converter.

Thanks for looking!

Ken