Thanksgiving penmaking marathon

[jalbert]

This past long Thanksgiving weekend ended up being somewhat of a penmaking marathon. Here are the fruits of my labor:
1. A commissioned piece in a resin that Jonathon Brooks cast, and the customer sent me. It's a three sided sculpted pen, and is fitted for a Pelikan M800 nib. I fabricated the clip from stainless steel.

2. This is another sculpted pen, which I made on a whim because I really like this material. It's "lilac water" acrylic that I bought from Beartooth Woods. It is fitted with a Jowo #6 nib. The clip on this one is stainless steel as well.

3. This pen caused me a whole lot of grief--mainly because it uses a piston filling system that I had been working on, and finally got the chance to build. After three iterations, I finally got the mechanism right. It is made from a strata gem acrylic, and "milk chocolate" acrylic. The nib is a Pelikan M800 (I really like this nib), and the cap band and clip are bronze. I had some serious vintage European vibes running around my head while building this, and I feel like they really came through. I feel that this pen is quintessentially "me," as it embodies all the design aspects that I love.

 

[TonyL]

Outstanding. I still can't get the inside of the barrel and transparent and scratch-free as you. I wish you would share the technique. Awesome work!

 

[jalbert]

Outstanding. I still can't get the inside of the barrel and transparent and scratch-free as you. I wish you would share the technique. Awesome work!

Thank you Tony. I don't really have any secret or special technique for internal sanding. I use an aluminum rod with a slit cut in the end to hold a folded up piece of sandpaper, which is chucked in my lathe. I have a little container of water on the lathe bed under the mandrel so I can wet sand and not get water all over the place, and I just use that setup to cycle through all the grits.

 

[Jim15]

Those are awesome.

 

[jalbert]

Those are awesome.

Thanks Jim

 

[mark james]

G'Day John. I am a big fan of many of your previous works.

I have far to little experience with fountain pens, so in that aspect I'm Ill informed.

But for form, profile, colors, hues and general appearance, the third pen is very appealing. I have little exact variables to point to other than it simply looks "like a pen that is comfortable to use, and is visually distinct from most others."

All are wonderful, but the "Milk Chocolate" is a winner for me.

Cheers, Mark

 

[jalbert]

G'Day John. I am a big fan of many of your previous works.

I have far to little experience with fountain pens, so in that aspect I'm Ill informed.

But for form, profile, colors, hues and general appearance, the third pen is very appealing. I have little exact variables to point to other than it simply looks "like a pen that is comfortable to use, and is visually distinct from most others."

All are wonderful, but the "Milk Chocolate" is a winner for me.

Cheers, Mark

Thank you Mark. That last pen is my favorite too. It's the perfect length/diameter for me, and I've been using it all week at work.

 

[ajollydds]

Fabulous craftsmanship! Love your work.

 

[Curly]

Always look forward to opening your threads.

The knurling on the last pen. Did you actually run a knurling tool against the part or did you index it and cut it in some fashion?

 

[SteveJ]

I agree, that third pen is great. Love the color and the detail. Well done.

 

[Mintman]

All beautiful work but that 3rd one is really phenomenal! I'd love to see how you made the piston.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[jalbert]

Always look forward to opening your threads.

The knurling on the last pen. Did you actually run a knurling tool against the part or did you index it and cut it in some fashion?

Thanks Pete. I used a cheap knurling tool I had, however I ruined the first blind cap I made because I didn't go about it in an intelligent manner. I wish I'd had a wheel for my tool with a finer, sharper knurl, so that's probably going to be a future purchase.

 

[wolf creek knives]

Very nice selection of pens. Like the others, I really like the third pen. Nicely done!

 

[skiprat]

You know I love your work too. But it's the uber cool Acme threads that do it for me. :biggrin:

 

[RobS]

Top notch work as usual.

 

[Penultimate]

They look great. The third pen is my fave. I enjoy viewing your work.


Sent from my iPad using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[magpens]

Very beautiful work, John !! . Thanks for sharing !!

 

[thewishman]

Love the pens - the purple is my favorite. Like Skip, I love the threading.

 

[Bob in SF]

Beauties!

 

[toddlf]

These are as nice as I have seen. Congrats!

 

[Bryguy]

That chocolate button filler is to die for!