thompenshop
Member
We who turn pens as a hobby or small business, easily get lost in the masterpieces we create. I remember the hundreds of times I have gone to the woodpile (pen blank storage cabnit) and pulled out a stick, chucked it into the lathe, and began dreaming about what was just below the surface. I cut, gouged, scraped, sanded, and polished until the cap and barrel were finished to my satisfaction. I gathered the parts that would make it into a usable writing instrument, put them all together and then held the masterpiece at arms length and said, "damm your good"!!! I would then post pictures of the pen to my friends, or pack it up and take it to a pen show and hope that someone would offer me enough $$ for me to part with my work of art. Frequently, I would just give one away to a friend and hope that they would enjoy my labor and creativity.
In this whole process of turning pens, it was easy to lose site of the fact that most of the time the person who purchased my masterpiece, altho they were attracted to the pen enough to purchase it, were also interested in the function of the pen. They may have been awed with my ability to put material and components together but once they were past that and were ready to pull the thing out of their pocket and write with it,were they still awed? With the ball point pen there are not many options beyond ball diameter and ink color. The roller ball has added a lot to line width and quality of inked line. But it is the fountain pen nib and point that has historically given the widest range of options to the scribe. This being said, as a pen turner, I believe the time must come in the experience of turning pens, when we divide our attention to detail, across beauty and function. Most of the pens I sell today must go beyond "the eye candy" test to putting a line on paper that pleases the senses of the scribe and his/her reader.
All this said, for those of use who have turned our attention to the fountain pen in particular, the nib must meet the expectations of the intended user. Frequently, this issue become a major consideration for those of us who turn writing instruments. About two years ago I wrote an article on the subject in which I explored some of the major issues of nib choice. If you are interested in the subject, I would reference you to that article on my website. The article is based on my experience and is certainly not the final word on the subject. Read it and allow it to be food for thought. If thoughts come to mind out of your experience with the same subject you might like to share them on this forum. I for one would covet your insight. Reference the article titled: "Nib and Point Considerations" by going to: http://www.thompsonpens.com and on the openning page click on Vintage Pen Collecting and the article is one of the options.
In this whole process of turning pens, it was easy to lose site of the fact that most of the time the person who purchased my masterpiece, altho they were attracted to the pen enough to purchase it, were also interested in the function of the pen. They may have been awed with my ability to put material and components together but once they were past that and were ready to pull the thing out of their pocket and write with it,were they still awed? With the ball point pen there are not many options beyond ball diameter and ink color. The roller ball has added a lot to line width and quality of inked line. But it is the fountain pen nib and point that has historically given the widest range of options to the scribe. This being said, as a pen turner, I believe the time must come in the experience of turning pens, when we divide our attention to detail, across beauty and function. Most of the pens I sell today must go beyond "the eye candy" test to putting a line on paper that pleases the senses of the scribe and his/her reader.
All this said, for those of use who have turned our attention to the fountain pen in particular, the nib must meet the expectations of the intended user. Frequently, this issue become a major consideration for those of us who turn writing instruments. About two years ago I wrote an article on the subject in which I explored some of the major issues of nib choice. If you are interested in the subject, I would reference you to that article on my website. The article is based on my experience and is certainly not the final word on the subject. Read it and allow it to be food for thought. If thoughts come to mind out of your experience with the same subject you might like to share them on this forum. I for one would covet your insight. Reference the article titled: "Nib and Point Considerations" by going to: http://www.thompsonpens.com and on the openning page click on Vintage Pen Collecting and the article is one of the options.
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