Getting brave

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rtjw

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I have not really been doing anything exciting with the pens until last night. I decided to try something new. I guess I will have to start getting braver. I know it aint much, but ya gotta start somewhere. I like baby steps and these curves and lines were baby enough for me.


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Nice start, Johnny. I've got a suggestion for you. Get a cheap piece of wood and cut it into oversized blanks. Chuck the blank between centers and carve away. It's a cheap way to really master cutting coves and beads and you don't have to think about the other aspects of pen making.
 
Johnny,
I'm in the same boat; I'm starting to get a little bored of your basic shapes, and trying to experiment a little. Looks like your experimentation has turned out better than mine! Nice job! I especially like the 2nd pen. I'll also have to take Lou's advice and start turning a few small spindles or pen blanks; a scrap 2x4 from Home Depot is going to be less expensive than even ONE of some of my pen blanks!

Again, great job!
 
Actually Johnny, there are many in this forum who prefer only slight curves or none at all (like me), so I really like your small accentuations and prefer them like that. I prefer to let the wood do the talking.

Although, there are a few artists here that can make tasteful pens with a lot of curves and style (eg. Ed D).
 
Nice job. We ues cheap wood from our shorts and scrap to learn on. The advantage I have been in high school woodshop. Always have scraps to process into pen blanks.
 
John
I have found that standard pens sell better to the overall market. There are people who want a unique pen, but most like clean lines. (The unique people will pay more for a unique pen.)
 
I agree with the idea of NOT turning a perfectly straight pen body . The fountain pens that I just turned are a perfect example of this . All the pictures and directions say that they should be turned perfectly straight from one end to the other (very bland) instead I've turned them with a slight curve to the barrels which , IMHO , gives them some depth .
As for the design of the top pen , I've been turning mine like that for a long time now . I find that with a pen that has an extremely fine finish , tends to slide up more in the hands of the user and the small "lip" on the bottom prevents this from happening without having to exert extra pressure on the pen body . When someone looks at the design of the pens , I always have a straight cut pen handy and have them try both for comfort and most agree that the lipped ones are far more comfortable to use .
 
I like the lip on the pen as well as the line and cove in the second one. Great work with a mild midification. One question I have. Is is a trick of light or does the lower section of your top tube (near the cove) not meet flush with the black insert? If that is the case you might want to check your bushing size or the trick I use is to take the sharp corner of that edge with a sharp skew like you are rolling a bead. This give a nice curve to transition into the centerband. You can look at my album to see some similar examples. Great work. I am going to try the curve you did near the grip. It looks good on the cigar.
 
Congrats on the bold step forward. I too find the straight cut a bit boring. Nice looking pens.
 
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