First Pens

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jacobrts

Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2025
Messages
5
Location
California
I wouldn't say that I am showing these off - but I did want to share the first pens I made.
  • Top one is snakewood - was fun to work with but got about 6 tiny cracks at the ends. I think they just doubled in length after polishing it just now. Haven't assembled it yet because I wanted to get some feedback :( I think I know the answer to this, but wondering if finishing it with CA glue may hide the cracks more than polish? I don't
  • Next one down is magnetic graduate kit with pink ivory -I kind of liked how it gets real narrow on the bottom section - but it was not intentional - just gouged it and had to clean it up. I also took off too much wood on the top part of the cap - and just noticed that it also as a small hairline crack. :(
  • Slimline using Sipo blank. Love the weird digital texture like effect of that wood. Felt pretty good about how this one turned out. Seemed a shame to go from a 5/8" blank down to such a tiny cylinder.
  • Carpenter pencil with Gaboon Ebony. I'm going to try another one with that type of ebony - thinking I should have been able to get it a lot more smooth as I can still see some slight texture from the wood grain. Was excited that I got the edges to match the bushings.
  • Then a magnetic graduate kit with Rhodonite/Tourmaline. Came out kind of clumsy and a bit heavier than I think many would like. Not easy working with stone. Finished the cap with CA glue to clean up the edges, thought I'd do the same to the lower section that I had already assembled, but not seeing a way to do that without taking it apart.
  • Then last one at the bottom is another pencil kit using yellow opalus quartz. Was the first time i did a CA finish. Wished I checked it more thoroughly before assembling because there was some cracking in the finish near the edges that got a little worse.
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Very Cool and an amazing start compared to many entering the craft. I am a big fan of the Magnetic Graduate kit. I have also thought about getting some of those Carpenter Pencil kits. Your choice of materials is impressive, with a couple of problematic ones (as you noted) like the Snakewood and Ebony - both of which are prone to cracking.

Thanks for sharing and we will be looking forward to see more.

Dave
 
Good variety of fine looking pens. I noticed that one of them is a Carpenter pencil. I bought one for my grandson's teacher but cannot find a source for the 2mm lead in an "H" or "2H" grade. Any recommendations would be very helpful.
 
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