Couple of Slimlines

[hiharry626]

Made out of KOA wood, I have a little trouble getting a even finish, i think i may need higher grit sandpaper.. my teacher only supplies 220, next pen i definitely won't make this mistake
i experimented with CA glue and the finish at first was fantastic, until i tampered with it again.. it wasn't so great
the second pen is made out of COCOBOLO and PADAUK, I cut off a segment of the cocobolo from a scrap piece i found and drilled it sideways.. I can't really explain it well, but yeah pics show it
sorry for the messy room I'm still in highschool

 

[Kalai]

Hi Harry, nice job, I like the shape of the Koa wood and yes I like the wood too
Keep trying the CA finish, you will get the hang of it. Aloha.

Chris "Kalai"

 

[hiharry626]

Yeah, I was looking at some of your pens and liked the shape as well

 

[Drstrangefart]

If you wanna compensate for difficulty, substitute extreme patience. Just do a LOT of coats of thin CA, then polish it with MicroMesh if ya got it. You can use a skew(straight edge, really sharp) as an alternate to sanding if you don't have the right sandpaper. Once you can use a skew, it does get you to a much better place. Those are still pretty nice. Good work with the cocobolo segment. Worked out pretty well.

 

[ctubbs]

Hey Harry, that is a couple of nice pens. You are going through the CA curve we most all have been through. The problem I have with CA is once I get it all figured out, oooof, something changes and there I go all over again. There are many ways to get around the sandpaper challenge. The paper is not all that expensive but do not do what I tried a bit back. When you buy it, but good name brand stuff. I tried some HF paper qand the adhesive does not hold the grit on the backing. Unless I have a bit of tearout, I start at 360 and quit at 600. Those are the old numbers, not the P numbers. Big difference. Best of luck on your pens, they are looking good.
Charels

 

[bitshird]

Nice start, it's going to be hard getting a finish on any wood with just 220 as the finest grit sandpaper, that taken into consideration, I think you'll get the hang of a CA finish,

 

[hiharry626]

My teacher only has thick ca unfortunately : (if i had thin i think it might have worked out better, I also posted up a new slimline for a customer which I made today afterschool. He bought it for 6 bucks ! My first sale :biggrin:

 

[seamus7227]

Great Job! The sky is the limit with pens! Keep up the good work!

 

[Drstrangefart]

My teacher only has thick ca unfortunately : (if i had thin i think it might have worked out better, I also posted up a new slimline for a customer which I made today afterschool. He bought it for 6 bucks ! My first sale :biggrin:

If you want easy access to thin CA, just get regular Krazy Glue. Small quantities, but it's thin CA you don't have to go hunt down. And I would have asked for $25-$30 for that pen, but that's just me. First sale's pretty sweet no matter how it gets done.

 

[hiharry626]

How well do they sell online?
He's a classmate of mine, I didn't want to charge too much just yet
hopefully I get around to selling em for a bit more
thinking about putting up an AD in my school paper haha

 

[Drstrangefart]

How well do they sell online?
He's a classmate of mine, I didn't want to charge too much just yet
hopefully I get around to selling em for a bit more
thinking about putting up an AD in my school paper haha

I'd try it. If the ad's cheap, then there's not much to lose there. I have sold some of mine way cheaper than I should have to hook friends up, so don't feel bad about it. If the paper doesn't get any hits, look into a more adult market. Workplace is usually decent.

 

[hiharry626]

Thanks! Hopefully as my pens get more nicer I can charge more to a market that would actually purchase one..
I'm going to make another slimline for another customer for 10-15 so that's not bad

 

[hiharry626]

Forgot to mention the latest slim i turned was made out of black walnut

 

[PenMan1]

Harry:
I love your pens!
They are unique and wonderful!!!

One reason that you don't see many pens like yours on the forum is because trying to put a lasting finish on a pen with this many contours is like trying to drive Jimmie Johnson's race car at full throttle over a postage stamp.

Additionally, your sanding grit is a starting point for finish....Not an end Point. (I hope you will PM me with your finish tecnique, because it's beter than mine).

NOW, since I've totally crapped on your ART (THE MOST ORIGINAL THING I'VE SEEN on this forum in some time) I'll gladly send you some abrasives to 12,000 grit if you will give me your address.

Keep up the GOOD WORK!!!!!