Pen Blank Creation Contest

[Ed McDonnell]

Voting - Pen Blank Creation Contest Voting​

Many were afraid to try. Some tried, failed and fell by the wayside. A few fought almost to the finish but ran out of time and / or luck. In the end, 9 fearsome competitors stepped up and dared to be great. As you review the creations of these amazing blank makers below, note the entry number of those that you think are most worthy of being one of the top three. Take your time and really consider each entry.

This year the voting will be different than prior years. You may vote for as many or as few of the entries as you wish. Voting will last for 72 hours (3 days) from the time I get the poll created.

Good luck to all the entrants. Many deserve to win, but only three will walk with prizes and only 1 with the title "BEST BLANK MAKER IN THE WORLD". The prizes for this contest are:

First Place
Constant Laubscher Lazerlinez - Gift Certificate #3 $125

Second Place
Dougs Wood Working - 3/8" tool and handle $100

Third Place
Lee Valley - Gift Certificate $50
Jim Mahan (jimm1) - Jack Daniels Blanks #1 $30​

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #1

Artist Statement

Length of blank: 2.1"; Max diameter of blank: 0.478"

This geometric design was patterned after a leather scabbard seen in an exhibit if ancient Chinese swords. I thought it would look good on a pen. A blue blank was first cast with polyester resin, turned round, carved on a CNC, and subsequently filled with white pigmented epoxy before final turning. The CNC code is all written by hand in Excel after adjusting the dimensions of each element in order to have a continuous 360 degree pattern and full elements for the length of the blank. The adjusting and alignment of code usually takes a few days and several trial blanks.

Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #2

Artist Statement

The blank is 2 1/8 inch long and at the maximum it is 9/16 thick. It has not been turned to final dimensions as I am making a custom nib and end cap.

I created this blank because I am an electrician. All components are used in my electrical trade. It is made from the outer casing of 3/8 inch MC Cable, wrapped with #10 bare copper wire. I inserted a tube inside and cast the entire blank using PR Resin


Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #3

Artist Statement

This is a 16 stave pen blank for a PSI steampunk. It has 2 accent rings offset 1 stave. It is made from walnut and oak, fairly humble woods that combine beautifully. This is actually one of my quickest builds, glued up all 16 staves in one shot.


Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #4

Artist Statement

I am a hobbyist pen maker and a craftsman at blank making. I make more blanks than pens. This was constructed using different materials and grain patterns for contrast.

The blank is 2.5" tall (exposed) and about a 1/2" in diameter. It began with a piece of Composite Parallel Strand Lumber (cross cut) that I stabilized with clear cactus juice to keep the natural green and cream color in the end grain. Next I cut and planed down a strip of Brazilian Cherry about 1.5" wide that I cut and used for inserts to create the window look. They were sandwiched with a thin layer of brass sheeting and epoxied in place, in the grooves cut down each corner of the composite lumber. Next I poured an Alumilite blank using green and orange mica pearl powders. This was sliced and epoxied between two pieces of Brazilian Cherry, sandwiched between two brass sheets. The top and bottom were then capped with a cross cut piece of bamboo. After turning round, the end grain windows were decorated with small quail feathers. The entire blank was sealed and then finished with a CA finish, polished and buffed.

Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #5

Artist Statement

Blank size: 2 inches long by 0.525 inch diameter (undrilled).
Target finished barrel size: 1.9 inches long by 0.475 inch diameter (tubed and assembled).

This blank was made from Alumilite White and RC3 Black resins, with red, blue, and yellow dyes. After making a solid color blank, I repeatedly turned it round, engraved the desired image, and poured the next color – for a total of 4 colors.


Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #6

Artist Statement

Blank length is 2.045" and max diameter is .679"/.795" with the roll stopper.

I have created a closed end, tube in cast blank. I have never seen this done before. I used watch parts in the creation of this blank and combined tube in casting with closed end turning techniques. I also added a watch crown to serve as a roll stopper and love the dimension it adds. The blank is not perfect due to weather but serves as a proof of concept and for that I decided to enter it and hope you like it as much as I do.

Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #7

Artist Statement

Length of show section of blank: 2.5"
Max diameter: .565"

This blank represents the "Man of Steel", Superman.

Alumilte was used as the resin. Head pins that have been cut and measured, and evenly spaced and attached adorn both end caps with a background of layered and successive riveted "boiler plates" that have been weathered and aged. The special embossing process allows for the embossed pattern to show through the Superman insignia for a realistic "steel" look. All of this was sealed and cured before the actual pour was done. A Ptownsubbies mold was used (Thanks to Fred Wissen for a great product!) to make the blank and went into a pressure pot for three hours, to eliminate any air bubbles. Caution was called for when turning the blank due to the close proximity of the under-lying materials, but was successful without any breaches occurring!

The finish was applied by wet sanding with Micro-Mesh™ 1,500 – 12,000 grits. I used Stick Fast CA Gloss Polish, Step Four to add a hard surface layer and the blank is sized to fit a CSUSA "Zen" Magnetic Cap pen kit. It turned out exactly as I had imagined it would.


Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #8

Artist Statement

This was a tube in casting utilizing a Sierra/Wall Stree II tube so, the length is 2 & 3/16 inches and the final diameter was 0.5".

I am an amateur pen turner and this is my second attempt at casting. Materials shown in the last picture are pretty standard casting products as I followed tutorials here on the IAP website. I used a casting mold for the Sierra/Wall Street II from PTownSubbie. I know many use Alumalite for their blanks but, I found this product, Clear-Lite Casting Resin at our local TAP Plastics store about two miles from my home. TAP also makes EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy which I have seen at many of the craft stores. However, the folks at TAP were quick to point out that EasyCast tends to "yellow" over time and the Clear-Lite stays crystal clear forever.

Back in June of 2014, I met Sue Coleman at a local art festival. She is a Canadian wildlife artist from Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island. I was really impressed with her work especially the hummingbirds. She incorporates native art into her work and since I love hummingbirds and I am part Blackfoot, I had to buy the artcards. They were too nice to send out, so I framed them to hang on our wall. I contacted her about using one of the images (titled: Calliope) in a pen blank for this contest and she graciously gave her ok. I explained that I don't sell any of my pens (yet) but, if that changes, we could definitely talk royalties for using her work. I did promise to send here a completed pen after the contest is over. Check out her art at Sue Coleman... it's amazing work!! I plan to go back to this year's art festival and buy more.

Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Blank #9

Artist Statement

L = 2.20" max diameter = 0.567"

I call this first attempt at polymer clay "Smurf & Barney in a blender." Very simply, I smooshed and mooshed polymer clay colors, blended them, rolled them through the pasta roller, and wrapped it around a tube. The pearlescent specks don't show well in my photographs, nor does the shine that was left behind after sanding smooth, applying a few coats of CA for a top finish, and then polishing.

Pictures (Click / hover on the thumbnails to see larger pictures):

 

[alankulwicki7]

FYI, the results are showing. Not sure if you wanted that or not.

BTW These are all great looking blanks!

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Hi Doug - The results are supposed to be hidden. Not sure why they are showing. I've asked a moderator to look into it.

Ed

 

[jeff]

Should be hidden now.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Thanks Jeff!!

Ed

 

[seamus7227]

I got my vote in!

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Thanks Seamus. If only you could have voted for your own....maybe next year.

Ed

 

[THarvey]

Tough choice. They all look great.

My vote is in.

Good luck to all.

 

[Cmiles1985]

Fantastic work! Congratulations to all the entrants on a job well done! Now I must decide which ones I like best

 

[Edward Cypher]

voted

 

[jttheclockman]

Nice job done by all. These are the contests that really interest me. It shows the creativeness in one's minds. As with these designs and basically any others that are created many variations can be done which makes this hobby a perpetual creation thing. Good to see. Great job all the way around. Look forward to seeing the winner. It will be a tough choice and bet there is ties. Good luck to all.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

It's a real horse race. Based on the number of people who have voted so far and the total number I expect to vote, anybody could win. It is that close right now. So every vote counts. Make sure your vote is counted.

Vote Now!!!

Ed

 

[tbroye]

Please send all blanks to me so my old eyes can inspect them further. Really all I can say is WOW what talent. I am going to have really look and read about further

 

[jimofsanston]

I only see 4 blanks! Where are the rest? Just the first 4 are showing on here.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

I only see 4 blanks! Where are the rest? Just the first 4 are showing on here.

Did you scroll down? The blanks are in posts 2 thru 10.

Ed

 

[Dale Lynch]

Finally! I'll get to vote for the ones I like best and I'll get to make sure I get at least 1 vote

 

[Ed McDonnell]

We've had a good first day of voting. Still plenty of time for those who are struggling to decide which of the 9 great blanks to vote for, but why wait? Go ahead, make a decision and vote.

It should be no surprise that every single blank has gotten a respectable number of votes. They are all worthy competitors. Leadership positions have changed throughout the day, but a handful of favorites seem to be emerging. Who will claim victory? It's all up to you.

Ed

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Less than 48 hours left. It's not like we are asking you to make a blank or anything. There is virtually no physical effort involved here. All you have to do is look at the blanks that were entered and then click on one or more checkboxes. Sure, it's a bit tough to choose between all these great entries. But you can do it.

Join the hundreds of your fellow members that voted yesterday and get your vote in today! Why wait?

Ed

 

[tjseagrove]

All the blanks are amazing and worthy of any pen. BUT, to make a choice, I voted for 4 of them and chose ones that I have not seen before and appeared unique. That was the only criteria to put one above the other as any of them are worthy of adorning my pen!!

Will they be for sale afterwards? Maybe a 50/50 split between creator and IAP?? Up for an auction?? :biggrin:

 

[Ed McDonnell]

All the blanks are amazing and worthy of any pen. BUT, to make a choice, I voted for 4 of them and chose ones that I have not seen before and appeared unique. That was the only criteria to put one above the other as any of them are worthy of adorning my pen!!

Will they be for sale afterwards? Maybe a 50/50 split between creator and IAP?? Up for an auction?? :biggrin:

When results are announced you can always contact the blank makers through IAP (PM or email if they have agreed to accept them) to see what they might have for sale, if anything. Not all the entrants make blanks for sale.

Ed

 

[Ed McDonnell]

A little over 24 hours left to vote in the Blank Creation Contest. 150 of your fellow members have already voted. Why not you?

It doesn't matter if you joined IAP 11 years ago of if you joined yesterday. Everyone is qualified to vote in this contest and your vote counts. Don't miss the opportunity.

Ed