9th Pen

[D.Oliver]

I know it customary for newbies to post their first pen, unfortunatly my skew and first pen didn't get along. The next seven were given away with the understanding that they wouldn't tell where they came from (they all had problems-finish, underturned, overturned, and anything else you can think of). So here's my ninth pen. Russian-Olive, Friction polish. Critisim is welcome.

 

[ctubbs]

Derek, your fit is spot on and your timber is beautiful. The contrast between the wood and the hardware is striking. Good job. I, however am not a great fan of a friction polish. Many others do like it so that is just my opinion. I find that they do not have the staying power of other finishes. I wish my ninth pen was that good. Congratulations and keep up the good work.
Charles

 

[bobjackson]

That is a great looking pen. Be proud of this one. Nice job.

 

[D.Oliver]

Thanks for the kind words fellas. I must be a slow learner though. Took me nine tries to get a decent pen and then three attempts at posting it. I really wish those attempts in the testing 1-2-3 forum wouldn't have showed up on the front page. Charles, I made this pen about 6 months ago and at the time, I hadn't learned the CA finish yet. I agree with you that I'm not a huge fan of the friction polish. I do like the feel of it over the feel of a CA finish, but the CA finish looks so much better.

 

[Drstrangefart]

That looks almost spot-on to my Western Redbud slimline in a different color of plating. Wife freaked out a little at how much it looked like my own work.

 

[azamiryou]

I do like the feel of it over the feel of a CA finish, but the CA finish looks so much better.

I have read (haven't tried it though) that a CA finish left at a lower gloss (satin) "feels" like the wood but has the durability of CA.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Something else you can do is just use a few coats of thin CA and minimal wet polish. I don't like the natural feel, but at least I know how to achieve it. And it's still apparently pretty durable according to my earliest work.