This may sound silly but .....

[Geo in Winnipeg]

my wife was looking at a pen blank and asked me which end should be the nib and which should be the cap end? I couldn't answer her [:I]- I never really thought about it before. Anyone have any opinions [?]

 

[Old Griz]

For me it is a matter of looking at the grain and deciding which part looks best where... it is all a matter of personal preference....
There are a lot of times that I cut out the center of a blank because that's where the best grain is.

 

[PenWorks]

I allways decide before I cut and drill which end will be the cap & nib. I sometimes will round the blank to see what the grain is doing before I cut & drill to.

 

[ed4copies]

I agree with both of the above. Only add one point, when you decide which is the tip end, remember that this is what people see. However, it is also what they touch. If you decide to leave a knot or other figure, fill it to make the pen comfortable to hold-that's what pens are for-to hold and write. Sometimes, we forget this.

 

[alamocdc]

I do what Tom and Anthony do, decide first based on grain, figure, etc. Sometimes I round them first and sometimes I just give them a quick sanding on my belt sander so I can get a better look at the grain. Just listen to your wood muse. Mine never misses. []

 

[Geo in Winnipeg]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds pretty much like what I do except I didn't think of rounding or sanding the blanks to expose the (maybe hidden) grain better, good idea. I thought maybe there was a set way of determining which end is which but I guess it's just what will look best.[]

 

[woodwish]

Look at it carefully- the top is the clip end and the bottom is the nib end! [][][] (OK, I apologize in advance for being a SA but isn't that basically what all of you said?)