Inspired by Gisi and Kaspar

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Parson

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Jun 10, 2009
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A while back I saw a thread by Kaspar (now closed) that said the pen he made was homage to Gisi, which I didn't understand until I googled Mark Gisi and found his web site and saw the complexity and precision of his pen making.

Some viewers of that thread stated they thought Gisi's work is too busy but I thought it was downright amazing and wanted to make similar pens immediately! I've always thought that the more complicated the project, the more satisfying it would be when I successfully completed it.

So, I set out to make a similar design to the one that Mark made and posted called "Arts and Crafts."

The pen pictured here is what I completed over the weekend with my friend Dan in his wood working shop. We did not use modeler's tools, but now see the need for them with this kind of intricate laminating and segmenting.

It's a sterling silver Sedona kit from arizona pens and the wood is amboyna burl (bought a chunk of it off eBay and ripped it down). We used three types of diamondwood (CS USA) and a mixed resin from exoticblanks.com. The white bits are from a yard sign (beware of dog) and the black segments is pick guard from a guitar supply store I found online.

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We calculated that there's about 40 man hours in this pen and the use of a table saw, ban saw, sander, chop saw, radial arm saw, vice, lathe, digital calipers, lots of sandpaper, and we finished it with boiled linseed oil and medium CA glue.

If it were not for my friend Dan and his patience and thousands in equipment and knowledge of their use, I'd still be looking at catalogs and wishing I could get into this hobby. Dan and I both turned our first pen in January 2009 by the way.
 
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TX_Planes

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May 2, 2009
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:bulgy-eyes:

I can't even began to fathom how to make such an amazing pen. You should be proud of your efforts!
 

Texatdurango

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Apr 23, 2007
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Randall, Very nice pen indeed! Starting in January, you have come a long way in a short time, congrats on your accomplishments.

I wouldn't give a moments thought to it being too busy and wouldn't be surprised to see it on the IAP cover as the featured pen of the month!
 

cnirenberg

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Jan 26, 2004
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Wow, sweet pen. I'm definitely not setup for anything that remotely looks like that, and I can't even imagine all of the 40+ hours that it took. Great job.
 

JohnU

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Jan 31, 2008
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Ottawa, Illinois
I think your execution of this pen and blank are outstanding! It is truely a work of art. Ive been wanting to try my hand at this type of pen construction since I seen Gisi's webpage too, but havent found enough time yet. You really hit a home run with this one.
 

Parson

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I wonder if Mark Gisi ever frequents this forum. I'd pay good money to spend a week in his shop and watch him work... wouldn't you?
 

Penl8the

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Jul 8, 2009
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Awesome! Absolutely amazing:good::good::good::good::good:! You are definitely in a different league of pen making. Thank you for sharing.
 

Kaspar

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Aug 1, 2006
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Ahead of the curve. Waaay ahead.
Excellent!

A fitting tribute to the Gisi style. Especially considering the scale involved. The Sedona is quite a bit narrower than the usual Gisi pen, as near as I can tell from their website pictures. I suspect you spent a lot of time finding ways to keep your fingers away from the saw blades while getting the thinner pieces for the effort.

Now learn to do closed ends, tap your own threads, learn some jeweler's skills to do your own clips and CBs and accents, ...

... and you'll be all set. :biggrin:

Mighty nice work!
 

jttheclockman

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Feb 22, 2005
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NJ, USA.
I have looked at the Gisi pens alot and they are some intense working pens.

Yours is exceptional and the time and workmanship show through. That was a well deserved undertaking. The colors match well along with the design. Job well done. First rate pen. Thanks for showing.
 

bitshird

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Aug 27, 2007
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Adamsville, TN, USA.
Your pen is above and beyond! I think that Gisi's most severe critics are people that can't begin to gather up the Cojones to try and do something like your's, Kaspar's or Mark Gisi.
 

thewishman

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Mar 9, 2006
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Reynoldsburg, Ohio, USA.
I got to meet Brian Gisi at the Columbus pen show and got to see some of his pens in person, they are fantastic (and much larger in diameter than a Sedona). My only suggestion was that he needed to add a decimal place to his prices.

You have created a great pen with beautiful workmanship. Your blank building and drilling are spot on! That is a very nice homage. Thanks for sharing!!
 
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