Frost Opal FX.

[ChrisN]

This thing looks amazing!:good: It's a Gentleman's fountain pen with a Frost Opal FX from Mike Shue. Pics cannot show it all! Depending on the lighting, it looks anywhere from blue to purple to teal, with flashes of those colors plus red showing at times. It's also the most expensive and most brittle/chippy pen blank I've turned. Needless to say, the pucker factor was quite high!

I thought I had ruined the lower barrel once - my chisel dug in, there were LARGE chipouts at the end. Fortunately it happened early in the process when there was enough material to keep the chipouts from going to the bushing.

 

[Charlie_W]

Another nice pen!

 

[Russianwolf]

Good show.

 

[OZturner]

Outstanding Pen.
Congratulations,
Brian

 

[MikeL]

Looks super! I don't know how expensive that blank is but I have experienced the p. factor on HRB before. I actually have a PC blank that I have not touched yet for the same reason.

 

[PR_Princess]

Pen looks super! You did a great job Chis!

 

[ChrisN]

Thanks, all!

I did say it's the most chippy blank I've ever turned. Let me expand on that. It chips easily and dramatically if not cut right. But, on the other hand, I had 30+ foot shavings after I got the hang of cutting it... Quite annoying when they wrap around the piece and start spinning!:wink: I used a round carbide cutter to remove most of the blank, and then a radius square cutter to put the finishing touches on it.

 

[Russianwolf]

Thanks, all!

I did say it's the most chippy blank I've ever turned. Let me expand on that. It chips easily and dramatically if not cut right. But, on the other hand, I had 30+ foot shavings after I got the hang of cutting it... Quite annoying when they wrap around the piece and start spinning!:wink: I used a round carbide cutter to remove most of the blank, and then a radius square cutter to put the finishing touches on it.

One of the suggestions Ed has received is offering "practice blanks" for the different Resins. I've already started collecting 2nds to send him that will be basically at resin cost ($1 or 2). And May still make a decent pen, just not quite up to my standards.

 

[hobbyist2013]

That is a gorgeous pen! I like the color. I'm very impressed with the execution. An absolute job!

 

[LagniappeRob]

Think I found the next color I want...

 

[Fishinbo]

That's one stunning pen, like the striking blue color of the blank.