What did you do with the first few pens you made?

[mikeschn]

So, in the first few months of pen turning my pens got better and better...

Now I look at my first few pens, and wonder what should I do with them? They don't look good enough to sell. They don't even look good enough to give away. Should I disassemble them and start over with new blanks?

What did you guys do?

Mike...

 

[Loucurr]

Disassembled and turned some new ones.

 

[magpens]

They weren't bad ... I gave them to family !!

 

[flyitfast]

Still have the first three. From then on I have given most to friends and family. Still have a dozen or so along the way.
Keep the first one. Every year pull it out and compare to what you have made since. You will be amazed at the quality you have added over time.
Gordon

 

[Sylvanite]

I buried them, and hopefully they'll never see the light of day again, lol.

 

[mark james]

Still have it... And it still has the original refill and writes

I made it from a kit from Hut, which included a bunch of slimlines, blanks and of course Hut's wax!

I turned it on a drill press as I had no lathe - I think I sanded it from start to finish. Must have been around 1992-1993...

Sorry for the picture, but the poor quality matches the pen!

After starting again in 2012... I would dearly love to have my first 50 back and dance around the fire.

 

[Mr Vic]

Still have my first Zebra Wood slimline. Been through the wash many times and still works fine. There ae 1 0r 2 that were special and I kept. All the others I've sold. Finally sold #18 this past holiday season.

 

[Edgar]

I keep the first few that I made in a pen cup on my desk at work. It's nice to have them where I can see them on a regular basis & use them from time to time. They remind me of when I started & serve as a measuring stick to evaluate my progress.

 

[Drewboy22]

#1 is in my safe
#2 got sold
#3 I messed up the CA finish and will redo some day

I agree with the above - Keep your first one

 

[wyone]

I keep them.. to remind me how far I have come

 

[jttheclockman]

Gave them away. Sierras were my first pens. Never could figure why everyone starts with slimlines. A sierra pen is a whole lot easier to make.

 

[mikelsdo]

I agree keep the first few, use them in your shop but take care of the first. My first is on my desk at work I use it every day.

 

[mrburls]

My dad still has the first set of cigar pen and pencil set I made out of rosewood. Got to say it was pretty nice. No CA finish, a lacquer spray finish.
Keith "mrburls"

 

[MTViper]

My first several went to my mother, mother-in-law, wife, and sister-in-law. All but my wife are gone now and I have their pens back. I put them aside.

When I started getting fancier I branched out to brothers, brothers-in-law, friends. When I make a new one, the first one's usually for me. I have over 100 stuck away and use them periodically. Anything that has an imperfection becomes mine. Fortunately there are fewer of them every year.

It's good to remember where you've come from.

 

[Herb G]

I kept the very first one I ever made. I gave away about 20 or so before I started experimenting with different kits, materials, etc.
I still have a long way to go before I consider myself a pen turner.

 

[JimB]

I still have a couple of the first few and others I gave to family as I made them.

 

[BKind2Anmls]

Hid them.

 

[dankerr1968]

Make them into very interesting Christmas Tree Ornaments. I think I have enough imperfections for a very large tree.....

 

[RedBeard]

The first one I kept and use from time to time. The next ones were all given away to family and friends.

 

[Sprung]

My first one I kept. I thought about disassembling it and re-turning it down to where I normally turn pens these days, but can't bring myself to do it - it's my first one and I'll keep it for posterity. It's fun to look back and see how far you've come.

Most of my other early pens were given to family and friends. Some got disassembled and either returned and refinished or I reused the kit with a new blank.

I don't sell many pens - I give away far more than I sell - but I have some pens that I keep because I like them or they represent milestones or because the blank or kit was a gift to me from a friend.

 

[lwalper]

Sold a few, but I use them. Had one just yesterday that I disassembled and re-turned just cause I couldn't tolerate the fit. The blank was off center and not square to the center band. There was enough material left to turn between centers (it only needed a couple of thousandths shave) so it got refinished. Now I can finally carry and enjoy using it.

 

[mecompco]

My wife has my very first pen, a slim in Cocobolo. The CA finish actually came out pretty good--the fitment, however, is rather lacking. The next few were given away. Now if I'm not totally happy with my workmanship, they get turned down for another try.

 

[Marmotjr]

First one is mine. Just a simple paduak slimline, satin finish. It's not flush with the kit, it's a rough CA finish, polished. But it writes, and it's my first pen.

My second pen I made out of drift wood I found. Ended up with some pretty grain. But alas, I never hardened or stabilized it. In fact, I made it the same day I found the wood. :gasp: gave it to my girlfriend. She loves it, but it's starting to crack a bit. Had to glue it up a bit inside with CA. I have another piece of drift wood that's been sitting here, found on the same day. If that pen goes, she'll get that one, as she's the one who found the wood.

 

[leehljp]

Lost my first one, a paduak slimline, (like Marmotjr above) out on a hike. My second one was made of holly, turned it quite proud of the nib and center ring. It is Obvious. LOML took it, and she / it still reminds me to this day of my imperfections. :biggrin: Although I have made her several pens over the years, she always pulls that one out to use in front of friends and to sign things in front of people. "My husband made this!" she says and I just cringe!

 

[RobS]

My friend talked me into selling it to give to her dad for fathers day (super fat cigar pen, chrome, teak). The second I gave to my machinist at work, for saving my ass on a regualr basis (pictured as my avatar, cigar pen, molten metal). The 3rd I gave my wife for buying me my lathe for my birthday, I called her out to the garage to get her opinion on the profile/shape and she said "I CLAIM IT" turn it as thin as possible (cigar pen, chrome, green acrylic).

 

[triw51]

My first pen is in a drawer in my shop (it broke when I tried to press the parts together). It was a gold slim line with oak wood. Nothing fancy but was so excited I have made many more and gotten so much better with the help of this group, their advice and encouragement has been treasured.

 

[Edgar]

I still have my first two.

When I bought my Excelsior lathe from Rockler, they had a tub full of maple pen blanks at 10 for $1.00. Silly me, I only bought 10 of them, but I just spent over $400 for a lathe & tools with no turning experience whatsoever, so I had no idea what I was getting into or if I would really enjoy it.

Anyway, my first pen was from one of those 10 cent maple blanks. My second pen was from a piece of reclaimed oak from an old desk chair. They are both slimlines and the fit is far from perfect on either of them, but they are two of my favorite pens.

 

[butchf18a]

Still have first. Sits in desk drawer which I compare to later efforts. Wife has and still uses another early pen. Now after some 5000 pens it is fun to look back.

 

[Lawrence Of PA]

First 20 or so pens

When I saw how much better the second 20 were than the first 20, my wife put them in a drawer in the coffee table. When guests ooh and aaah," she gives them one of those. Few people seem to notice!

 

[eharri446]

Some of mine I still have, however my wife gave away over thirty that I made for with decal and all. I just finished my pens as normal and then using decals that I made myself and Walther's SOLVASET to flow the decals into the wood let that dry for twenty four hours then coated the decal with a cost of spray shellac.

Everyone who got one loved them.

 

[Repromander]

Gave it to the wife.

She is a flight attendant for United Airline. A little piece of me goes with her AND She loved it.

 

[Paul in OKC]

Everybody knew what they were getting for presents the first couple of years!

 

[DigBaddy72]

My brother has the first pen I ever made. Since then I have made over 200 and they go as gifts, sold, or are custom orders.

 

[lhowell]

My wife's great uncle gave me all of his pen stuff as he had retired from making pens. There were literally four shoe box sized boxes that showed up on my doorstep when I got my lathe. They were full of blanks, kits, mandrels, barrel trimmers, etc. probably well over $300 worth of items if bought brand new that he gave me! All that he asked in return was a pen so I sent him the very first pen I ever made! Kind of wished I would have kept the first pen and sent him a little better one but he loves it and still uses it today! If I were you, I'd keep the first few for sentimental reasons. It's also really cool to see how far you have advanced from that first pen! What is even funnier is most of turner's first pens are slimlines which in hindsight to me is one of the more difficult pens to turn due to the fact that you have two tubes to turn and the thickness of one turned is not like a Sierra or Cigar!

 

[Paul in OKC]

Some of the ones that didn't get given as gifts became purse pens...........in my wife's purse

 

[SteveG]

1st one was sub-par. Learned fast...sold the rest!

 

[bobleibo]

I sent mine to Derek. Being the genius that he is, he was able to mount it on his lathe duplicator and has been using it for years to make his own pens.
It warms my heart knowing I've helped another pen turner improve his skills.

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

Still have my first - I think it was called a "Patriot" by Rockler at the time (also called the Polaris by PSI), done with Cocobolo. Turning was fine, the finish was just "ok". When I got better at finishing, I disassembled, refinished, and reassembled, better than new