2012 Best of IAP Contest - Discussion Thread

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Grateful

Thanks for all the work you put into this to make it happen. I would hope the competition would continue and that more people would enter. I have seen some custom pens posted this week that I thought were really impressive and the custom (formely called kitless - but I'm changing my lingo :wink: ) pen craftsmanship in this forum has really exploded over the past couple years.

I think it's important to have a "best of" competition to inspire us to push the envelope, try something new or increase our level of craftsmanship.

Thanks again, Scott and all the others who are helping with this contest.

Martin
 
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Gilrock said:
I tired of people thinking they can't use the word kitless to describe a pen anymore.
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The term "Kitless" caused me more problems in last year's contest than the rest of the contest put together! It should be simple, "contains no kit parts". But lots of Kitless pens have parts from kits in them. And what if you source a part from someplace other than a kit, such as from a commercial pen or a parts supplier? That's hardly "Kitless!". So, you notice there is no "Kitless" category in this year's contest! :cool:

Scott.
 
Yeah I wasn't really referring to contest categories and this would be better suited for another thread. I just know when I joined IAP late last year I read a lot of posts encouraging people to try making Kitless pens and it prompted me to try it. Then this thread came out http://www.penturners.org/forum/f14/has-kitless-outlived-its-usefulness-99298/#post1418949 and I saw some folks immediately start using the word Custom instead which is completely useless because we all make custom pens. It's one thing to want to hide from the public where your parts come from but theres no reason to avoid the term on this forum.
 
I agree! Custom is a very generic and imprecise term. It sounds like a case of political correctness to me. I make custom pens every time I step up to the lathe, and some of them look like crap! ;-)

Scott.
 
In the fountain pen section of the rules, here is the part that threw me off. I need help interpreting this:

"Some purchased hardware is allowed, such as clips, nibs, feeds, etc"

Now that I look back on it I can see that i may have misinterpreted it. I use components but alter them and embed them in the pen. So does the etc... mean that I can use a nib coupler? How does one distinguish what the etc... means. etc... purchased hardware could potentially mean any part that comes in a kit. : )

OK, now I'm jumping in the deep end with some thoughts on categories.

The term kitless is helpful here on the forum (to me) when describing a pen that is made in which there are no parts from a kit (nibs, feeds, clips being the exception) The threads are from a tap and die and all parts are turned or created by the turner. I would call them "Custom Kitless Fountain Pens" because the word "custom" on its own can be true of so many different pens. And there are some spectacular pens being made here on this forum in that way! I hope to go in that direction someday.

But there are also ways of creating a pen with various kit parts or altered parts or embedded parts.... and I hope some distinction is made in some category for that. We could distinguish between the two with the labels... "Custom Kitless Fountain Pens" and "Custom Fountain Pens." There would need to be an understanding that nibs, feeds and clips could be used in either category. So it would look like this:

Custom Kitless Fountain Pens - Nib, Feed and Clip allowed. Everything else must be made by hand. (this allows for handmade silver parts)

Custom Fountain Pens - Any fountain pen using parts of any kind.

I think the two deserve to be separated because making a "Custom Kitless Fountain Pen" involves a new skill set and IMHO a new level of created pen.

So there you have it. Get out your guns and blast away!! I had fun sharing my thoughts and opinions. : )

Martin

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Why not just call it a hybrid and restrict the number of or % of purchased parts used.
Purchased parts being ANYTHING that you did not make yourself. That includes the nib and feed,
 
Although the contest could be divided that way I think a better approach is to let the judges weigh the over all design, the amount of kit parts used, and to what effect, and lump them all together. A completely custom handmade clip that is so ugly and not a part of the design, would be worse than a manufactured clip that fit the design of the pen. It may come to be in the future competitions that in order to win you will have to make all but the feed assembly and nib. As the competitions continue we should see the amount of contestants that can compete at that level continue to grow with them.
 
I don't see a fountain pen using kit parts competing with one that is handmade apart from nib, feed and possibly clip. But I guess that could be a new goal of mine. : )

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MartinPens said:
I don't see a fountain pen using kit parts competing with one that is handmade apart from nib, feed and possibly clip. But I guess that could be a new goal of mine. : )

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Making a blank and making a pen require 2 different skill sets and I can see where a really unique blank on a kit pen could easily come out on top when compared to a kitless pen. In addition, different things appeal to different judges, which is why there is seldom one judge in a contest. The same pens in front of one set of judges may yield different results in different contests. One thing for sure, if you don't enter, you can't win.
 
BRobbins629 said:
Making a blank and making a pen require 2 different skill sets and I can see where a really unique blank on a kit pen could easily come out on top when compared to a kitless pen. In addition, different things appeal to different judges, which is why there is seldom one judge in a contest. The same pens in front of one set of judges may yield different results in different contests. One thing for sure, if you don't enter, you can't win.
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:frown: Ain't that the truth! I wanted to enter this one so badly! Had the blanks already cast and ready to turn. Just keep having bad timing for these contests. Darn back surgery!

I'm still gonna make the pens though. Just gonna have to keep them to myself for next year (Scott please let there be a next year!!!!).
 
Ok on a less serious note,While out with a friend and her "new" husband my wife and I found him to quite arrogant, ya know the type of guy who was left a barrel of money
and if his father wasn't born first he wouldn't have a pot.
Well when the conversation got around to what I do my wife jumped in and told him that I'm a high end pen maker and it appears that I will finish somewhere in the top 30
in an international competition!
When I told her that there were only 27 pens involved (she already knew this) she said
"well, chances are pretty good that you'll make that top 30 than,right?
I think that she likes this guy even less than I do.
Mark
 
Jjartwood said:
Ok on a less serious note,While out with a friend and her "new" husband my wife and I found him to quite arrogant, ya know the type of guy who was left a barrel of money
and if his father wasn't born first he wouldn't have a pot.
Well when the conversation got around to what I do my wife jumped in and told him that I'm a high end pen maker and it appears that I will finish somewhere in the top 30
in an international competition!
When I told her that there were only 27 pens involved (she already knew this) she said
"well, chances are pretty good that you'll make that top 30 than,right?
I think that she likes this guy even less than I do.
Mark
Click to expand...
Congrads on making the "top 30" :tongue:
 
The pens are being reviewed by the judges at this time. I think they may reach a decision as early as next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

Scott.
 
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