JohnU
Member
I've anxiously been waiting for my PITH partner, Jontello, to receive his new pen and be the first to see. Now that it has safely arrived at its new home in Italy I can relax and share my story.
I've been making feather blanks for many years now so I haven't gotten nervous making or turning a feather pen in a long time. This one made me sweat the entire time.
Macaw feathers are one of the most beautiful but also one of the most difficult to work with. I don't get many macaw feathers in but for the past few years I've been sorting out one here and there that has unique color or mixture of colors on a single feather. My thoughts were to save up until I had enough to make myself that special pen. Well, this year I decided to put my name in the PITH drawing. I've had lots of fun in the past and received beautiful works of art. So then it sets in... you read who you are paired up with and search his work here to see what he's made and shared. That added a higher level of stress. An Artist ! really ? I just take what mother nature made and cast it in resin. This man actually creates art! To say I was nervous is an understatement. I had to come up with something but felt it should be a feather pen, just not my typical feather pen. Something different or unique. That's when that little baggie of rare gems popped into my head. It was time to bring these little babies to life. I spent several hours arranging them on the tubes. After a couple days of drying they were cast in polyresin and set to cure for 18 hours. That's a long time to continuously hope they turn out. Turning them was no usual task either. I felt like it was the first pen I made, taking light touches, sharpening the skew every few minutes, and praying I didn't blow it up. lol
Thankfully the blanks survived and were paired up on a Rhodium Jr Fountain pen. I chose to remove the center band and finial and replaced them with custom turned parts from an alumilite pour. I wanted this pen to be as colorful as possible, especially after reading that my PITH partner loves bright colors. I know I still have a lot to learn but I feel very happy with the end results. It was one of the hardest to let go (not to mention how much I worried about the postal care it might not receive while being shipped for days to Italy. I can relax now knowing it safely arrived at its new home.
Jontello I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy my friend!
I've been making feather blanks for many years now so I haven't gotten nervous making or turning a feather pen in a long time. This one made me sweat the entire time.
Macaw feathers are one of the most beautiful but also one of the most difficult to work with. I don't get many macaw feathers in but for the past few years I've been sorting out one here and there that has unique color or mixture of colors on a single feather. My thoughts were to save up until I had enough to make myself that special pen. Well, this year I decided to put my name in the PITH drawing. I've had lots of fun in the past and received beautiful works of art. So then it sets in... you read who you are paired up with and search his work here to see what he's made and shared. That added a higher level of stress. An Artist ! really ? I just take what mother nature made and cast it in resin. This man actually creates art! To say I was nervous is an understatement. I had to come up with something but felt it should be a feather pen, just not my typical feather pen. Something different or unique. That's when that little baggie of rare gems popped into my head. It was time to bring these little babies to life. I spent several hours arranging them on the tubes. After a couple days of drying they were cast in polyresin and set to cure for 18 hours. That's a long time to continuously hope they turn out. Turning them was no usual task either. I felt like it was the first pen I made, taking light touches, sharpening the skew every few minutes, and praying I didn't blow it up. lol
Thankfully the blanks survived and were paired up on a Rhodium Jr Fountain pen. I chose to remove the center band and finial and replaced them with custom turned parts from an alumilite pour. I wanted this pen to be as colorful as possible, especially after reading that my PITH partner loves bright colors. I know I still have a lot to learn but I feel very happy with the end results. It was one of the hardest to let go (not to mention how much I worried about the postal care it might not receive while being shipped for days to Italy. I can relax now knowing it safely arrived at its new home.
Jontello I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy my friend!