I have looked over your website and found your castings to be fantastic! The other items you have are orignal and very well done. As for the two feather pens you are showing, I have several suggestions for you on the next casting. 1- drop the string. It takes away from the beauty of the feathers and interupts the flow and lines of the pen. You don't need string to hold the feathers down if you use the following method. Take a scrap piece of wood and drill the size hole you need for the kit you are going to use. Turn this down to a little less than your finished size. Allow for feathers and several coats of CA. Paint your blank a color that would best show off your feathers. Cut off the quill end and anything that doesn't have the pattern or color you want. Add your feathers to the blank with any glue that will dry clear. With the feathers wet, you can arrange them in any design that looks good. They will all lay flat and stay where you put them. Since feathers are hollow, this seals them and keeps them from off-gassing air bubbles if you choose to cast them. Let them dry good. Now apply several coats of CA. Do not use excellorater!! Sand lightly to even out the surface, add a few more coats of CA and finish. 2- Feathers usually do not look good on small barreled pens, ones with 7MM fittings. 3- That black rubber end on the comfort pen picks up dust as soon as you put in on the pen and you can never get it shiney again. Turn the full lower barrel. I don't know what you used on the top half of the lower barrel, but it seem like to many textures and colors for the pen. I don't mean to be harsh on you, only give you some insite I have learned the hard way. I liked the pen with the shamrock on it. Jim S
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