The Perfect Finish

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Joined
Jul 19, 2014
Messages
10
Location
Norfolk, VA
Dear fellow penturners,
I've been turning pens for 10 years and have tried every type of finish and every new product that guarantees the best finish ever. After retiring from a career in science I want to objectively answer the question, what yields the best finish? Specifically I am looking at the best finish for casted pens and those wood pens with a ca finish. my end point is simple. I'll be using a high quality stereo microscope to quantify the amount and type of scratches seen when one variable is changed. For example wet vs dry sanding, type of ca or sandpaper, different polishing compound, etc. Mark Dryer has been kind enough to put me on the program at the Midwest Penturner Gathering next month To discuss some of the preliminary findings. To that end I'm trying to collect as much information that I can from you guys as to what is important to you and how do you do it. This will give me a lot of background info and point me in further directions for study. If you would click on the following link to access a brief questionnaire I'd be most appreciativ. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Well Steve I won't fill out the questionnaire because there are too many variables with most your questions. but will give some of my thoughts here and these are just my thoughts and what I strive for and I have been making pens for over 15 years and sell them at shows and give away quite a few over the years. Just thought I would start with that statement to give a little background of what I am about to say. Would also like to point out that finishing is just one part of making and producing "A" quality pens. Other factors are fit, blank selection, kit chosen and matching of blank and kit and so forth.

To me there is no such thing as a perfect finish to an item that gets handled as much as it does.

This is nice that you want to do your own studies and using a microscope will probably answer a few things but will it really. ??? I say this because of a few factors and the biggest one is YOU. You are the only one conducting this study under the circumstances that you layed out. So it is your method to conduct the trials and your control such as how many strokes per sanding, what paper used, what MM brand used, what polish or wax, how long do you buff and what type buffing wheels used and the list goes on and on. There is basically no way to control all the different aspects that goes into finishing a simple pen. Just isn't. Sorry. What lacquers are used or polys used. how long do you wait till cured and so on. What CA used and again do you use catalyst to help set it. What resins were used to make blank and how much parts were mixed and how much time and how much heat and how much pressure used. More examples of what I am getting at. You did not even include one of the top finishes that must be mastered and that is Urushi (Japanese type lacquer finish that involves many steps). OK enough with the examples.

Here is my thought on a finish. Because these finishing questions come up all the time here and everyone explains their methods and products they use and they work well for themselves but as I said not a finish for all materials including all woods and such. We should all strive for the best product we put out no matter if you are selling or just giving away. I look at my finishes and this goes for whatever one I choose for that particular pen, and I am looking to get all swirl marks out of it and give it a high shine polishing if that is what is called for(satin pens not). I am from the school in that if I can not see it with my naked eye under good lighting I have achieved my goal. Now if selling at top pen shows and true pen buyers are there they may carry a loop with them and if it passes that test then they may buy. There are some here that put their pens under that scrutiny when they finish every pen and I give them alot of credit to be that dedicated. But a huge thing to remember is unless that pen never gets used and is placed under glass then it will stay pristine. But pens are made to be used and every and I mean every finish out there will scratch. Some more than others yes. But that is the nature of the beast. This is why I do not kill myself trying to get that ever so perfect finish. I have never done one and never will. It is a hand made device made by human hands.

I salute those still striving for that perfect finish and maybe with your studies and experiments you can get a step closer and maybe convince a few others to try. Good luck.
 
I agree with John here. Finish is a very, very subjective thing. I think this goes for any wood piece, not just pens. I'm still a fairly new turner, and I've experimented with a lot of finishes. I'm still experimenting, but the pool of un-tried finishes has shrunk considerably (mostly water-based, and my foray into that so far has left me very disappointed.)

I think there is definitely a personal aspect to finish. Not just how it looks, or how durable it is...but also how it applies, how easy it is to deal with, whether it brings out the underlying wood the way you want it to, etc. I have tried CA finishes, but have had a hard time with them myself. First and foremost, I have such a hard time, personally, turning my beautiful wood pens, into plastic pens. In the end, effectively that's what CA does, coats the wood in a plastic. Never liked that. Secondary to that, I have health issues with CA fumes and dust, and its pretty severe, so I don't like to use CA for that reason as well. I learned how to manage the risk, but, there is still a risk, and small exposure can mean fairly big health (breathing) problems. CA can be challenging to apply and finish properly as well, and can have other little issues (separation, bubbles, blushing, sand-through, etc. etc.) It scratches a certain way as well...scratches like plastic.

I started out with CA, then went to friction polishes. I really liked how they looked, how they brought the chatoyance of the wood out, and how they left the feel of the grain, even though they were still coating the wood. Eventually found out first hand what some people had warned me about...that shellac (the basis of most friction polishes) will ultimately dissolve in the presence of sweat, and is not that durable to start with, so will wear out fairly quickly. I have tried wipe on lacquers, which I still use for specific types of pens (pretty much always with holly wood, as the lacquer imparts the least color cast of any finish), but they dry out so fast that sometimes they can be hard to do right.

I've explored other finishes...including just oils, spray lacquers, poly and polycrylic, as well as something called Pens Plus. I've pretty much settled on Pens Plus as my go-to finish for pens, but I really like the simple wipe on poly as well. Both deliver an exceptional finish, that preserves the natural look and feel of the wood (you can both see and feel the nature of the grain, something CA obscures). I personally find that to be a huge factor with wood pens. The Pens Plus is a friction polish, but it has the added ingredient of a synthetic wax (cosmolloid 80h, same stuff that is in Renaissance Wax) that delivers an exceptional shine and much, much greater durability than any other friction polish for pens, and it really brings out the chatoyance (especially with oil wet sanding). The Pens Plus used to take a fair bit of effort, but over time I've found that with the right technique, its actually pretty easy to apply and once dried, is very durable, resists fingerprints, doesn't scratch quite like CA does (it more dents than scratches, but under normal daily desk use I haven't yet introduced any scratches, dents or other blemishes in about...6-8 months I guess on the pen I use daily?)

Wipe on oil-based poly is another really simple but beautiful finish. This is a classic wood finish, and of all finishes I think I like how this brings out the characteristics of the wood most. It just seems to make the wood grain pop and shimmer like nothing else, although Pens Plus is a very, very close second. It does have a slight yellowing or warming effect, but on most woods it is actually welcome. The few cases where haven't loved this warming is purple heart and holly and maybe a few of the lighter colored maples, otherwise its actually a welcome trait. This is probably the easiest finish to apply of all...although it requires some longer drying times between coats (I just have a little drying rack set up where I can drop blanks that need to dry).

I share all of this, because this is just my personal experience. I've found what I like, and there are many factors in what I like. Durability is of course a factor, but it turned out it wasn't the singular most important factor to me. I feel I've found durable-enough finishes, but I also really prefer to let wood remain wood, and exhibit its beautiful woody traits without having a layer of plastic on top. I want my finishes to be relatively easy to apply, and with the right sanding technique, the two I've settled on are. There is some drying time, which means the overall time to finish a pen start to finish, even though my actual time invested may be a few hours, that might span over days. That ended up being fine for me as well. A critical factor for me personally was also the toxicity of the finish. CA is very toxic to me, but pens plus is non toxic, and wipe on poly fumes are easily dealt with using a respirator and gloves and I've had no ill side effects.

Its a very subjective thing, finish. You could probably collate all the various traits and characteristics of each finish, and in fact that has largely been done with the book "Understanding Wood Finishing" (if you want a solid reference for everything about finish...its effectively the finish bible!) In the end, such a collation would still likely result in each individual choosing different finishes for different reasons, and no real consensus on what finish is "best". In fact, even though I've largely settled on two particular finishes...I still use others at times. There are subjective reasons for me to deviate as well...such as with holly and lacquer (which I'll be trying with some lacquer thinner in the near future here, to see if that improves the application of wipe on lacquer). Best is subjective...and contextual.
 
Steve

First and foremost I am excited about the project. Having significant experience in multi variate analysis I understand that to control and improve a process you need to stabilize first then shift. You realize during the stabilization process a 10 factor issue may actually be a 3 factor issue. Just the nature of applying science to anything. Once stabilized you can focus on the three. I look at the study as getting it down to the three (not literally).

Good luck and I cannot wait to see the results. And I did fill out the survey. Thanks. See you in April.
 
IF you are looking for the finish as it comes off the lathe and before it is handled, I applaud the study. But it should be limited to that because as the others have said in so many words - once a pen becomes used, the scratches will occur.

My smart phone has a "nearly diamond hard" cover plate on it to protect the face plate of glass. It is scratch resistant with the key word being "resistant" up to a point. IF hardened gorilla glass protection plates will scratch over a years time, and that is with a cover of leather on both sides, no finish outside of maybe space re-entry ceramics will stay perfect. My phone is now in need of a new protective glass cover as the year old one is scratched in places.

I think you will do something that I like to do, though am not listened to very often, and that is to drive new turners to strive towards - as close to the most perfect finish as possible. Far too often, people settle for a so so finish. It takes trial and error, trial and adjustment, and pure determination. I approached this early on by forgetting that I was making a pen and concentrated on the steps needed. I spent a couple of hours in drilling, a couple of hours of turning throw-a-way blanks to get the feel and feedback of the blank, the tool and the different lathe speeds. I spent a couple of hours of sanding with different grits at different speeds to get the feel. And lastly, I spent a couple of hours (actually much more) in applying CA. In the learning experience, I brought the blank to size with sandpaper, now, I bring it to finished size with the lathe tool itself. The vast majority of time, I can get baby's behind smooth on hard wood with the tool itself and don't have to used sandpaper at all. And then as I apply CA, I do it on the lathe with it turning at 600 rpm and apply with the an applicator that does not soak up the majority of CA. I can smooth it with the applicator.

I do NOT apply it with the grain. I do not sand with the grain as there is no need once a good layer finish/CA is on the wood. Going back 13 -14 years, I have been interested in obtaining a finish as you describe. Even back in 2008 & 2009, I was using 5000K LED lights over the lathe to view the finish. I took the pens outside in daylight and on cloudy days to view them. It was there that I could visually inspect for scratches that I could not see in the shop. Polish and forms of carnuba wax brought the best shines for me with the least scratches. But eventually, I got to the point that I could bring the finish itself to that kind of shine

I quit using sandpaper overall on the wood itself back then. I had a problem with one segmented pen design that created tremendous sanding dust. After several trial and errors, I discovered that my scraper (or a skew layer flat on the tool rest) IF SHARPENED Razor sharp - will produce a super smooth finish on hard wood and on CA or other cured but layered finish over wood. AND it does not smear metallic dust or smear one wood over another wood such as blood wood and holly. I DO use micron grit sandpaper on the finish, but NOT on the wood.

Buffing is an area that does enhance the finish for many. I rarely use this but it is helpful for many.

The one group of pen aficionados that would benefit from your study would be high end fountain pen procurers. Many of these folks will spend $500 - $1000 - $5000 on pens and they will take care of them. They will clean them regularly, some almost daily. It is not unusual for a few of these people to pull out a small loupe and inspect the fit and finish on a high end fountain pen before purchasing. I think this is where your work will be appreciated the most.

Go for it.

EDIT IN: I almost forgot - There are times that a good protective finish is wanted or needed but not the shine. I did one comparison about 13 -14 years ago on CA with shine and CA without shine. I took the CA shine to 12000 MM and then backed down to 3600 MM for a flat finish. Flat/matt finish can be accomplished in two ways - 1. with lower grit SP (3600 MM) or steel wool, and 2. some finishes (not CA) have chemical additives that produce the matt/satin/flat finishes. In the second case, a microscope may show a smooth finish without scratches, but in the first case, it is the "scratches" that produce the matt/flat/satin finish.

Looking forward to seeing the results and your input!
 
Last edited:
I think it's a great idea Steve and look forward to seeing your findings. I've never felt the need to master all of the finishes out there, just the ones I'm using. Any facts differentiating one finish from another is valuable learning information we can all use. Even if we don't all apply them exactly the same, knowing their strengths and weaknesses can help guide us with selecting the proper finish for our projects.

We all have our own view of perfection but how we all get there is based on facts and learning from seeing demos like yours and trying them ourselves. When I make a pen, I have a goal I want to see when I'm finished. I make it to my own level of perfection that I am happy with, since I can't control how the future user will treat or abuse it.

I really appreciate all of your efforts and time on this! I filled out the questionnaire. I hope it helps you out.
 
Last edited:
I really appreciate the comments and the potential issues with the study. There are a number of points I'd like to make to respond.
First and foremost I agree 100% that type of finish is purely subjective. Having said that, in my readings and results of my survey the overwhelming choice of finish is CA glue, and that is what I am focusing on as that is also what I do. Also with the rapid growth of casting, a smooth scratch free surface is desired.I agree that achieving a scratch free finish at a magnification of 4-5 times normal vision is foolhardy. Part of my study is to evaluate different grits of sandpaper to find out how high do we really need to go to achieve the scratch free surface at 1.5 to 2 power.
In response to jttheclockman I agree there are an infinite number of variables at play but I am the one constant which is important. If there are 15 steps to finish a pen and I do 14 the exact same way and only alter one variable at a time then I can feel comfortable ascribing any difference seen under magnification as resulting from that one variable. With this methodology I do think I can control all of the variables with the exception of the one I am testing. I realize that this may be a simplistic way of looking at things but I have to start somewhere.
Once I get some very basic preliminary data then the fun can begin at looking at thing such as which method of polishing is best for which brand of CA glue, etc, etc.
In response to jrista, I agree 100% the Flexner's book on finishing is the bible but there is no mention of CA glue or Resin finishing in his any of his editions including the 3rd which was published in March, 2021.
I encourage everyone to pick at my study and tell me where there are flaws. I have absolutely no perceived notions nor do I have any financial ties to any company or product. I'm just trying to make some objective sense out of a myriad of subjective opinions
 
I really appreciate the comments and the potential issues with the study. There are a number of points I'd like to make to respond.
First and foremost I agree 100% that type of finish is purely subjective. Having said that, in my readings and results of my survey the overwhelming choice of finish is CA glue, and that is what I am focusing on as that is also what I do. Also with the rapid growth of casting, a smooth scratch free surface is desired.I agree that achieving a scratch free finish at a magnification of 4-5 times normal vision is foolhardy. Part of my study is to evaluate different grits of sandpaper to find out how high do we really need to go to achieve the scratch free surface at 1.5 to 2 power.
In response to jttheclockman I agree there are an infinite number of variables at play but I am the one constant which is important. If there are 15 steps to finish a pen and I do 14 the exact same way and only alter one variable at a time then I can feel comfortable ascribing any difference seen under magnification as resulting from that one variable. With this methodology I do think I can control all of the variables with the exception of the one I am testing. I realize that this may be a simplistic way of looking at things but I have to start somewhere.
Once I get some very basic preliminary data then the fun can begin at looking at thing such as which method of polishing is best for which brand of CA glue, etc, etc.
In response to jrista, I agree 100% the Flexner's book on finishing is the bible but there is no mention of CA glue or Resin finishing in his any of his editions including the 3rd which was published in March, 2021.
I encourage everyone to pick at my study and tell me where there are flaws. I have absolutely no perceived notions nor do I have any financial ties to any company or product. I'm just trying to make some objective sense out of a myriad of subjective opinions
Again Steve not trying to discourage you from your testing. I wish you all the luck. I am just pointing out when you use the words Perfect Finish, there is no such thing. Yes you are the one constant but to make true comparisons you need to include all products to make anything close to that statement. Over the years here and you can punch up a search, it has been talked about in many threads as to what is the best CA, what is the best method to get top quality shine by many members here. You have so many brands of CA and they can be no smell, flexable Ca or thin, med or heavy versions. And lately Glu-Boost. Are you prepared to buy all of them? Same goes for casting blanks, different resins, different pours, different temps and conditions mean alot. Polishing and using sandpaper as opposed to MM or even abernet. Are you going to buy all these products and look at them under a microscope? Or are you going to pick and choose what seems to be the most popular. Again though you are just another operator that is giving his opinion. Yes some science will be behind it when you magnify these but just not buying it. Maybe I am reading too much into your plan and you are looking to do basic generic testing such a sanding grits and how high is necessary (but again subjective), how many coats of CA to use and what viscosity is best (but again subjective). I am just not sure but will follow along as you go and hope you keep us informed as you test. Hope this has an outcome that is printable to be included in our library. Good luck. Here are a few threads that may interest you.

https://www.penturners.org/threads/sanding-polishing-basics.173522/

https://www.penturners.org/threads/high-end-finish-for-a-high-end-pen.172866/

https://www.penturners.org/threads/how-to-create-a-flawless-high-gloss-finish-on-resin-pens.171674/

https://www.penturners.org/threads/finishing-casein-to-a-fairly-high-gloss.151457/
 
Maybe you can define the perfect finish:
1. A single Perfect Technique and Medium (CA/Lacquer/Urushii/Polyurethane) for everyone?
Or
2. A particular or specific pen with a perfect finish?

1A. IMHO - There is no ONE perfect finish for everyone, because most everyone has their own techniques and experiences. Climatic conditions and locations play into this considerably and force individuals to adapt or adopt a different technique as opposed to someone in another different climate.

2A. IMHO There are "perfect finishes" on some pens fresh off the lathe, or fresh from the finishing techniques. Some who use Urushi finishes take a month or more to finish and most of those pens have flawless (perfect) finishes.

What determines the Perfect Finish on a specific Pen? IIRC, John T in the past (some years ago) wrote some wisdom along the lines of - "perfection is limited to what the eyes can see." Again IIRC, this was written in context of using jeweler's loupe to inspect the finish because most people do not do this.

As far as a perfect finish on a single individual pen, YES, there are, and it can be consistent. For this to happen, experience, experience, experience with equal amount of patience, touch and feel of the tools and lathe, and feed back from the cutting or sanding or buffing (both feel and sound in each situation).

3. Is this what you are wanting to accomplish?
What finish and what techniques are more likely to produce the best finish (perfect finish) consistently. Or in other words, What techniques and finish produce the most consistently perfect finish?
 
Last edited:
It seems like there is a misunderstanding of what Steve is trying to do here. Everyone agrees that there is no "perfect finish" and once out of the bottle, everyone's techniques will alter the final outcome. However, at least trying to establish a baseline understanding of finish adhesion, polishing, and durability provides a great starting point to evaluate both chemistry and technique. This is how its done in industry, always. Pontificating questions doesn't solve anything, sufficient data and analysis can.
Let's contribute what we can and benefit if anything can be discovered!
Keep going Steve!
 
It seems like there is a misunderstanding of what Steve is trying to do here. Everyone agrees that there is no "perfect finish" and once out of the bottle, everyone's techniques will alter the final outcome. However, at least trying to establish a baseline understanding of finish adhesion, polishing, and durability provides a great starting point to evaluate both chemistry and technique. This is how its done in industry, always. Pontificating questions doesn't solve anything, sufficient data and analysis can.
Let's contribute what we can and benefit if anything can be discovered!
Keep going Steve!
Well I guess this is directed at me so I will back off and have at it. As I said hope it helps and he can do a tutorial for the library.
 
Dear fellow penturners,
I've been turning pens for 10 years and have tried every type of finish and every new product that guarantees the best finish ever. After retiring from a career in science I want to objectively answer the question, what yields the best finish? Specifically I am looking at the best finish for casted pens and those wood pens with a ca finish. my end point is simple. I'll be using a high quality stereo microscope to quantify the amount and type of scratches seen when one variable is changed. For example wet vs dry sanding, type of ca or sandpaper, different polishing compound, etc. Mark Dryer has been kind enough to put me on the program at the Midwest Penturner Gathering next month To discuss some of the preliminary findings. To that end I'm trying to collect as much information that I can from you guys as to what is important to you and how do you do it. This will give me a lot of background info and point me in further directions for study. If you would click on the following link to access a brief questionnaire I'd be most appreciativ. Thanks in advance for your help.

Steve, I've taken the questionnaire. Provided a lot of my own thoughts on finish, particularly the concept of durability. Hope the answers help. I suspect I have an unusual take on it all. ;)

I mentioned this in my previous post, but I had a lot of other stuff in there and maybe this bit won't be seen there. If you REALLY want to get a deeper understanding of finishes, the book "Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner is probably the best resource around. He's already got a bunch of tables of traits and characteristics and all that in there, that might be valuable to helping you construct your own study of finishes.
 
I responded and look forward to the results. Looks to me like you have already stated what you are looking for with scratch free finish under 1.5-2x magnification.

Experimenting is fun and informative.
 
Sized and price puts making pens in a special category.
The only other turners that compare to pen turners are the cue makers .

At one time I bought, made and sold customs pool cues around the world .
The very first thing I was taught was how to check the finish on a pool cue.
You learn quickly , you jam your thumbnail into the finish to see if you left a dent into the finish.
If so does the dent come out on its own because some finishes are flexible .
Also somewhat a pool cue collector and worked/trained in a custom pool cue makers shop .

My first thought on what makes perfect finish on wood is it will not scratch or dent or shatter or shatter/crack in a cargo hold of a jetliner at 30,000 feet when they don't turn the cargo hold heaters on because there are no animals being shipped that day.
That statement pretty much cancels out 95% of all clear glass like finishes.
Then to throw in toxic fumes and a paint both and machines to rotate a pen for 3 to 7 days in climate controlled shop allot hobby pen makers cant afford .
Plus most finishes will attract dust so the rest your shop is shut down .

The only way I can see any turner to make any kind of profit is to put/apply a finish on like 20 or 30 pens at the same time when the all the pen rotating and do a spray finish that is buffed out in 2 or 3 minutes .
I cannot rotate 20 of anything ! Pens or pool cues or anything else I make .
Some of you might want see if you could contract a auto body shop to spray on a clear finish like Emron which is illegal to sale or use in Cali.
Emron is about the best finish i have seen on a pool cue.
But to do that you need some kind of portable machine that can rotate 20 pens at the same time .
The next best I think is a UV finish but again there is a learning curve .
My all around back up is a epoxy finish but the temperature and humidity plus I have to rotate a pool cue for about a week at 50 rpm.
At the same time nothing else can be done in my shop so I do all my finish work in the spare bed room .
The truth is if your making high end pens then you are in competition with everyone else who making high end pens and the finish they use.
My question is what kind of finish is on the most collectable custom made pens ?
 
My question is what kind of finish is on the most collectable custom made pens ?
My guess is none, as most are made of plastics and metals.
Urushi is the hot finish currently For high end pens. Often used over ebonite. A very long specialized process with a lot of decorative possibilities. Also very durable. All leading to very high prices.
 
The truth is if your making high end pens then you are in competition with everyone else who making high end pens and the finish they use.
My question is what kind of finish is on the most collectable custom made pens ?
AS Patrick wrote - Urushi. In addition to the finish itself, the technique is difficult by American standards. I don't think Urushi can be finished in a week, - more like a month.
 
AS Patrick wrote - Urushi. In addition to the finish itself, the technique is difficult by American standards. I don't think Urushi can be finished in a week, - more like a month.
I have never seen anyone reference actual hours taken to do a urushi pen finish, only time in the shop. There seems to be a lot of waiting involved.
 
I completed the questionnaire, but I use several different finishes on pens. In addition, I may use more than one technique with a given finish, depending on the final result that I want.

In my opinion, the problem and objectives are not sufficiently well defined or stated yet. If you are going to do a study, the first thing that is needed is to write a clear, unambiguous statement of the problem that you are studying. I would narrow the question to CA finishes only. At that point, you can refine it to your satisfaction.

This is like the search for the perfect pizza. We will all get fat before we know the answer.
 
I have never seen anyone reference actual hours taken to do a urushi pen finish, only time in the shop. There seems to be a lot of waiting involved.
I am not the expert on Urushi from a use perspective, but I have read and observed others use. Urushi is applied, allowed to cure at least 24 hours and then another coating is applied, 24+ hours again and so on. On wood and bowls often 3 to 5 coats for general usage. For very fine and expensive ones, double that at the least, and even more in many cases.

It is not uncommon to spend 30 days for finishing a pen. Urushi oils are highly allergenic as in poison oak resin, but cures to a very hard and high temp resistant coating without any allergenic residuals, similar to cashew nuts once dried/cured.

Martin (manupropria) of Switzerland has had numerous ones of his for sale in the Ginza and it seems like I read where he usually spends about 30 days finishing and curing a pen. I am not sure if he puts a coat a day on it or not. Many times finishes are put on as one coat a day for a few days, and then a cure plus very fine sanding, then other coats, curing, and fine sanding. Something like this process continues for weeks.

YES, other pens are done during the process and if pen making is the primary work, a penmaker can have 10 to 20 or more a day working on in various stages.

For 14 years, I lived in the general Osaka area, not too far from (Wakayama) where the Urushi lacquer was developed and became well known in Japan. It was also used in China and Korea, IF I remember correctly. I didn't give it much thought until I was getting ready to return to the States. I lived for the final 7 years in Toyota City and traveled often across Nagoya to where most of the Samurai swords were made (Seki City). I did get into that, but I wish I had spent some time learning the Urushi techniques. I did see the resulting use of Urushi almost daily.
 
AS Patrick wrote - Urushi. In addition to the finish itself, the technique is difficult by American standards. I don't think Urushi can be finished in a week, - more like a month.
Good.
I believe Taylor guitars does a lacquer finish, but they have a robotic paint booth/system.
If you have a paint booth or know someone that paints cars , you might give Emron a try .

If that is the case then everyone should be using Urushi or some kind of automotive clear coat on there pens.
Now all everyone needs to do is run out and make them self's a paint booth .
 
I am not the expert on Urushi from a use perspective, but I have read and observed others use. Urushi is applied, allowed to cure at least 24 hours and then another coating is applied, 24+ hours again and so on. On wood and bowls often 3 to 5 coats for general usage. For very fine and expensive ones, double that at the least, and even more in many cases.

It is not uncommon to spend 30 days for finishing a pen. Urushi oils are highly allergenic as in poison oak resin, but cures to a very hard and high temp resistant coating without any allergenic residuals, similar to cashew nuts once dried/cured.

Martin (manupropria) of Switzerland has had numerous ones of his for sale in the Ginza and it seems like I read where he usually spends about 30 days finishing and curing a pen. I am not sure if he puts a coat a day on it or not. Many times finishes are put on as one coat a day for a few days, and then a cure plus very fine sanding, then other coats, curing, and fine sanding. Something like this process continues for weeks.

YES, other pens are done during the process and if pen making is the primary work, a penmaker can have 10 to 20 or more a day working on in various stages.

For 14 years, I lived in the general Osaka area, not too far from (Wakayama) where the Urushi lacquer was developed and became well known in Japan. It was also used in China and Korea, IF I remember correctly. I didn't give it much thought until I was getting ready to return to the States. I lived for the final 7 years in Toyota City and traveled often across Nagoya to where most of the Samurai swords were made (Seki City). I did get into that, but I wish I had spent some time learning the Urushi techniques. I did see the resulting use of Urushi almost daily.
Been to Japan allot, so many times I lost count, most when I was in the US Navy .
I was in Yokosuka and Sasebo for the navy and then in Hitachi Japan working at the Hitachi mining equipment factory.
They have a lathe in Yokosuka used for making drive lines for the ships , you actually ride/sit in a cage that is on the tool post.
The cutter shears off strips of steel like steel banding 1 inches wide .
The lathe was about 100 ft long, It was a monster
Hitachi have used several of my modifications on they're Hydraulic shovels .
The mine I worked for had the highest availability on any hydraulic shovel in the world .
We had four ex3500 dash 2's and 3's .
This is the EX 8000
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom