Second Rollerball

[BassBlaster]

This is the second of the Jr Gent II's I got from Ed at Exotics. This one is also black titanium but this time I used Gaboon Ebony.

I had never worked an ebony before today and this stuff is a pain in the you know what to drill. It actually turns very nice though with freshly sharpened tools. Sanding is another story. Ever try to sand iron?

All in all, I'm fairly happy with this one except it was my last kit. Guess I'll be getting back in touch with Ed in a couple of days!!

 

[funta]

what did you use as a finish? Or is it just MM'ed?

 

[Drstrangefart]

I'm curious as well. I couldn't get a bit of CA to really take to ebony. Lord knows I tried, though.

 

[BassBlaster]

It is a CA finish. Roughly 15 coats of medium and then MM'ed to 12,000 and polished with HUT plastic polish.

I didnt know CA wasnt suppose to take to ebony, lol. I use CA on all my pens. I have yet to have any of the problems with cloudiness or adhesion that I have read about with different woods. One thing I do with all my pens that I dont see mentioned in CA tutorials is I wipe the barrels down with mineral spirits to remove any oils or left over sanding dust, etc. before the CA goes on. I apply the CA as soon as the MS has evaperated so no new oils seep out to the surface. I let the first two coats soak in and dry naturally and then every coat after gets a sprits of accellerator.

 

[funta]

Ive tried several gaboon ebony pens with a CA finish with your method and never had any luck, it just wipes right off. I'm not sure what is different, maybe the variety of ebony?

 

[crabcreekind]

Clean the wood with dna first. I dont know how you cant get a ca finish the stick. I can do a ca finish on any acrylic.

Btw, awesome pen! I just made a afr blackwood pen like yours. I know how hard it is to get the finish just perfect.

 

[BassBlaster]

Hmmmm, now I'm worried this finish is going to fail. I hope not because its allready packed up and getting ready to be shipped to a guy in AL.

Question for those of you guys who have been selling pens for awhile. Most every pen I have sold has been to friends and family and word of mouth. I sell them for a few dollars over cost and barely break even. I'd like to really start selling some pens now, wether it be on Etsy or on consignment, etc. I dont really know how to price them though. What would you list the above pen for? I was thinking in the area of $60 to $75. Am I even in the right ballpark?

The above pen was made for a guy who turns game calls who wanted to get into pen turning at some point. He never did so he sent me all his pen supplies. I in return made 2 pens for him so this one will not be sold, just curious how you would price it.

 

[BassBlaster]

Clean the wood with dna first. I dont know how you cant get a ca finish the stick. I can do a ca finish on any acrylic.

Btw, awesome pen! I just made a afr blackwood pen like yours. I know how hard it is to get the finish just perfect.

Thanks!! The guy just requested a black rollerball and it had to be wood. I almost went with african blackwood because I really like the grain. Decided on the gaboon because it was much darker and he specifically requested black!!

 

[BSea]

My experience with gaboon ebony has been hit or miss. Even in the same block of wood. But when it works it's beautiful. Kinda like your pen:wink:. I haven't used gaboon for a complete pen in awhile, so I may have to try soon.

Although DNA should work, I've since gone to accelerator since it has no water in it, where as DNA has some.

Anyway, great job. Nothing looks better than black when it's done right, and yours is.

Hmmmm, now I'm worried this finish is going to fail. I hope not because its allready packed up and getting ready to be shipped to a guy in AL.

Question for those of you guys who have been selling pens for awhile. Most every pen I have sold has been to friends and family and word of mouth. I sell them for a few dollars over cost and barely break even. I'd like to really start selling some pens now, wether it be on Etsy or on consignment, etc. I dont really know how to price them though. What would you list the above pen for? I was thinking in the area of $60 to $75. Am I even in the right ballpark?

The above pen was made for a guy who turns game calls who wanted to get into pen turning at some point. He never did so he sent me all his pen supplies. I in return made 2 pens for him so this one will not be sold, just curious how you would price it.

I think your right on the money as far as pricing (no pun intended). But it's really about your clientele. Some people have no problem with $100 for a nice pen, while others don't want to pay more than an off the shelf plastic pen.

 

[crabcreekind]

I would say your pricing is about right, for this type of pen.

 

[NYWoodturner]

This is the second of the Jr Gent II's I got from Ed at Exotics. This one is also black titanium but this time I used Gaboon Ebony.

I had never worked an ebony before today and this stuff is a pain in the you know what to drill. It actually turns very nice though with freshly sharpened tools. Sanding is another story. Ever try to sand iron?

All in all, I'm fairly happy with this one except it was my last kit. Guess I'll be getting back in touch with Ed in a couple of days!!

Very classy looking ! Great job !
Scott

 

[BassBlaster]

Thanks guys!!

 

[boxerman]

Very sharp looking pen.

 

[azamiryou]

The black titanium is an excellent pairing with the ebony. I haven't made an ebony pen in a while, but between seeing yours and working with "alternative ebony" recently, now I'm getting an itch to turn some real ebony...

 

[Dustygoose]

Clasic black is hard to do sometime. You nailed it. Beautiful job

 

[patmurris]

Black is always beautiful, and with this plating you can't go wrong. I like ebony best with a mate finish or no finish at all though - like a guitar fretboard for instance.

However, true ebony can be prone to cracking especially when constrained by a metallic part (the inside tube in this case) and i would advise you keep the pen some time before selling it or giving it away. For what i know, most experienced penturners are more comfortable using african blackwood - which is a rosewood variety.