'Urushi Red' Bamboo Style Fountain Pen

This is another of my 'Bamboo' style fountain pens, done up in a specially ordered acrylic, which was called 'Urushi Red' for it's dark reddish brown urushi-like colour quality.  Nice looking material, and enjoyable to work with.

I was asked by the one who ordered it to make it as slim as I could while still using a #6 nib.  I shaved a fair amount off the diameter, making the cap as thin as is sound, which allowed for a somewhat smaller step between the barrel and the grip section.  Certainly quite comfortable to hold.

The pen is fitted for the photos with a polished steel JoWo broad nib.

Thanks for looking!

Cool Mint Water Cone-end Cigar Fountain Pen

Despite the enormous amount of work these transparent acrylics take, I was so taken with the last one (once I re-did it, that is) that it did not take much convincing to try it again.  So, this order came up and I jumped at it.  And, even had enough material left over to create a matching pen rest!

The transparent acrylic really is quite tricky - drilling speed need to be at a snail's pace, and the polishing of the inside is incredibly time-consuming.  That is especially true because you can't see any faults in the finish until you are completely done.  Then, 'there that blemish in the finish…gotta start over again'…  Still, I am quite pleased with this one.  I did have to do make a second barrel, as I forgot to drill super slowly the first time, resulting in a barrel that even when sanded and polished inside, had lots of tiny surface fractures (crazing).  I only had to re-polish the cap once.

This pen is fitted with a medium steel JoWo nib, as well as a colourless converter to allow showing off of ink :-)

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Black Cherry Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen

Winter again.  Sigh… Seems to happen every year!  Yep, I am once again in a cold-weather slow-down (though admittedly nowhere as bad as last year).  As much as my workspace is well above the temperatures outside, it is still pretty cool at -5 to -10 C lately.  Have had to throw on a lot of layers and suffer very cold hands to get anything done!

Here is one that I did manage to get done yesterday, a 'Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen' in a very cool alumilite resin called 'Black Cherry' at Slabs, Blanks and Boards, where I got it.  When I looked at the unturned blanks, I saw - well, basically purply silver stuff.  But, having turned blanks by this resin maker before, I knew I was in for a treat, and it was no disappointment as I saw the rich swirls of purple, red, silver and black come together in a nice gloss.

I have fitted this pen with a broad polished steel JoWo nib for the pictures, and it has a converter installed for filling.

This pen is about to embark on a long trip overseas to the UK.  Bon voyage!

Thanks for looking,

Ken

Arctic Night Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen

Yep, wanted to work with this material again, one of Jonathon Brooks' lovely alumilite resins also called 'Blue Nebula'.    I'm going with 'Arctic Night' again for this one because it is rather dark, reminiscent of those cold, dark starry winter nights up north.

This is another of my Shirt Pocket Fountain Pens, the good old workhorse pens that are just the right size, fit in the shirt pocket, and post deeply and securely for long periods of writing.  This is the style of pen that I bring to work on a regular basis.

In this case, I have ground the polished steel broad JoWo nib to a smooth stub/cursive italic that is a lot of fun to write with.

Thanks for taking a look!

Cheers,

Ken

Charger Lava Cone-End Cigar Style Fountain Pen

Seems the weather has once again plunged to deep cold, slowing down production in my shop (of course, the Christmas season, a crazy work schedule and being sick didn't help either…), but here is one that I finished off a couple of weeks ago.   

This Charger Lava is really quite popular.

Cheers,

Ken

Caramel Swirl Cigar Style Fountain Pen

I have had this material sitting in my blank box for well over a year, and have really been wanting to try it out.  So glad I did - I just loved the warm golden brown look of it, and finally landed on 'Caramel Swirl' as the name I wanted to give it.

This is another one of my Cigar Style fountain pens, decked out with a polished steel medium nib (ran out of two-tone mediums), and fitted with a converter for ink.

Well, I guess that's it for now.  Thanks for looking!

Ken

Root Beer Float Cigar Style FP

Here is another 'first go' at a material I have been waiting to use (one that is not commissioned), and finally just decided to jump in and make something with it.  This is another one of Jonathon Brooks' great alumilite blanks, with warm shimmering tan swirls in the black background.  I decided to label this one ' Root Beer Float' as it is pretty reminiscent of just that - though truth be told, it reminded me even more of the lovely black and tan of a nice Guinness stout being poured into a glass…

Here the pen is posing with its JoWo two tone steel broad nib, which I think I plan to grind to a smooth stub to add a bit of writing fun to this pen.

Thanks for looking!

Ken

Jade Pebble 'Bamboo' Style Fountain Pen

Well, I have had this lovely Jade Pebble acrylic sitting on the shelf for a long, long time while it waited out (along with the new owner of this pen) the crazy long wait list.  But, finally got to have a go at this material.  I have never used it before, but I can certainly say I will be using it again.  I really like it!

The only tricky part of this process was the diameter of the blanks, which were thin enough to make it very difficult to pull off the Bamboo style pen.  In the end I had to make the whole pen a bit slimmer to allow for the nodes.

This pen will be headed for hot and sunny Australia (yes, I am envious).

Cheers,

Ken

New Style of Fountain Pen - the 'Compact' in Charger Lava

OK, so it's really more of a modification to a previous style, the Shirt Pocket Fountain Pen.   A little smaller, no clip, and rounded ends.

The idea behind this was essentially to make a pen about as small as I could, but while still using the large #6 nib, and allowing the pen to still be able to use a long cartridge (such as a Waterman long) or the standard converter that it comes with.   Long and short of it (pun intended - sorry) is that it comes out to nice compact 130mm (a hair over 5") closed, and since like the SPFP it posts quite deeply, the posted length is only 138mm (or just under 5 1/2").  A nice carrying size for purse, backpack or briefcase.  

This one is going out to my Mum - so Mum, if you are reading this, pretend you didn't, and act surprised  :-)

Thanks for looking!

Ken

'Cool Mint Water' Cigar Style FP - (first go at using transparent acrylic)

Once in a while I get an acrylic that is relatively translucent, and as I finish off the pen, I wonder how it would look with the inside polished.  Well, here was a great opportunity to experiment with that.  I had an order for a Cigar pen using this 'Cool Mint Water' acrylic, which I have ever used before, largely because it is not just translucent, but actually quite transparent.   After talking with Renée Meeks (Scriptorium Pens), a fellow pen maker (with a much cooler website than mine) who has really done a stellar job of mastering the technique of polishing the inside of these transparent blanks, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

I must say that I am reasonably happy with the result, though I am looking forward to practicing it a bit more to work out a few kinks.

The pen is posing here with a polished steel nib in the first two pics, and with a two-tone steel nib in the  second last.  The converter can also be seen in the barrel.

Thanks for looking!  Thoughts and comments welcome.

Ken