The Lizard

[Gilrock]

I took a break from penmaking over the summer. Just got back into it and have been working on my PITH pen. I decided to take a break from that and make something I could show. I'm really happy with the pen...not so happy with the photos....even with a photo tent and lights I still don't like the lighting I get and it takes a bit of Photoshop work to make them decent. In person I think it looks awesome but I don't feel I captured what I see.

I made the pen start to finish all in one sitting yesterday...took me 5 hours which is a reduction in my time to make a kitless if you can believe that. This was my first try at using one of the larger diameter clip rings so I tried to match the diameter of the cap to the ring. The nib is a #5 Bock. Cap/body threads are 12mm x 0.8mm triple start and the other threads are 9mm x 0.75mm. Oh and the blank is called Lizard Skin...got it from Indy Pen Dance months ago...I have a box full of nice blanks waiting to be used.

Hope you enjoy!

 

[Mike D]

Nicely done Gil. I eventually want to go kitless but need to get a collet chuck first, gota sell a few pens first. Thanks for posting.

 

[IPD_Mr]

Actually it looks more like stained glass than lizard skin it shines so well. One thing that stands out to me is the transition from the cap to the body when the cap is screwed on. Many times you see such a large step off from the cap to the body and you have kept that to a minimum. Very nicely done.

 

[Bowl Slinger]

Very unique!

 

[Twissy]

Super cool! Nice job on the cap finial, and I love the material, looks classic.

 

[kena]

This is a test.

I am trying to figure out how to post a photo. If this works, the wood is macassar ebony and the inlays are genuine ivory from reclaimed piano keys.

 

[cnirenberg]

What a great looking pen. I really like the material. Nice touch on the exposed clip ring, while that is not something I personally do, it works nicely with this design.

 

[SDB777]

The photo's are great, most of us that get overly critical with the photo's know that we never even get close to getting it perfect....

The pen is awesome!! And thanks for including the size taps and such.





Scott (stained glass window) B

 

[LL Woodworks]

Very nice Gil, that material turned and polished great. - I made one from the same blank last week (which I didn't post) - I went with gold clip and 6mm gilded bock triple, but you would think the two came from the same mold. I like the slim transition from cap to barrel. Well done!

 

[Gilrock]

Nicely done Gil. I eventually want to go kitless but need to get a collet chuck first, gota sell a few pens first. Thanks for posting.

Thanks....yeah I know what you mean. I keep spending money but I'm not even trying to sell pens yet. I'm just addicted to making them.

Actually it looks more like stained glass than lizard skin it shines so well. One thing that stands out to me is the transition from the cap to the body when the cap is screwed on. Many times you see such a large step off from the cap to the body and you have kept that to a minimum. Very nicely done.

Thanks Mike...funny you mention the cap transition. That is the spot my wife complained about because I put a slight curve on the cap tapering to the body but the edge on the body is a sharp 90. You gotta look really close to see it. So every since her comment I'm tempted to go knock down the edge on the body but I wanted to photograph it before risking messing it up.

Very nice Gil, that material turned and polished great. - I made one from the same blank last week (which I didn't post) - I went with gold clip and 6mm gilded bock triple, but you would think the two came from the same mold. I like the slim transition from cap to barrel. Well done!

Nice...yeah they do look almost the same. I've been wanting to start making larger ones with #6 nibs...just ordered new taps/dies and a few nibs to do that.

The photo's are great, most of us that get overly critical with the photo's know that we never even get close to getting it perfect....

The pen is awesome!! And thanks for including the size taps and such.

Thanks...yeah the final photo's don't look that bad but I spent a lot of time taking and retaking and processing. I guess I was frustrated because I spent 90 minutes trying to post them. They kept coming out blurry when I would do a preview post. I finally figured out the forum doesn't like it if you post a portrait shape of 600x800. So I had to reprocess the images again and crop them to 800x600 instead.

What a great looking pen. I really like the material. Nice touch on the exposed clip ring, while that is not something I personally do, it works nicely with this design.

Thanks...I think I would hide the clip if I made a larger pen with #6 nibs but for this size pen this seemed like the thing to do for this clip. The roller ball clips I've used are better sized for hiding the clip but I wanted to try this clip because it looks so much like the nice Jr Stateman clips.

Again thanks for all the responses from everyone...