My first polymer clay pens

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patmurris

patmurris

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Hi all. This is something i wanted to try for a while so i finally ordered two dozen Staetdler FIMO clay blocks and started modeling a few blanks. Here are the first three:

Stylos%20FIMO%2001_800.jpg



...and the pens:

Chrome cigar - i was thinking of marble and stone:
Stylos%20FIMO%2002_800.jpg



Gold european twist - for this blanks i tried to mimic some sort of rosewood...
Stylos%20FIMO%2006_800.jpg



A gun metal euro:
Stylos%20FIMO%2007_800.jpg



The three together:
Stylos%20FIMO%2009_800.jpg



I didn't run into any major problem during this first batch. It turns rather well although it requires a bit of care. Did a 10 coats CA/BLO finish + MM12k + polishing.

There are endless possibilities with PC. I love the 'Effect' ones - translucent, glittery, textured or even glowing in the dark. I'll certainly do more! :biggrin:
 
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Great job! I like the third one especially. Looks like a deep space shot with stars and the whole bit. Didn't care for the glitter in the first one, but like the patterns that you achieved. The second one has grain similar to wood, but I don't care for the color. Do the costs for the clay work out to be about the same as an acrylic blank? Just curious about a cost comparison. Thanks for sharing these - I think you're on to something.

Martin

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Thank you all for the enthusiasm and nice words! :smile:

I hadn't touched modeling clay since childhood and even then i don't remember playing that much with it, but making pen blanks with this material is really child play. All you need is what you see in the first picture: a non porous board to work on (wood is probably not the best actually but that's what i had handy), some sort of cylinder to flatten layers and a sharp knife to cut the clay.

The challenge is to 'visualize' what you expect the turned blank to look like and devise a way to build up the material accordingly. It's not obvious as you work your way back through the pen turning process to the 3D pen blank to the individual clay blocks. You may as well not even try and just be surprised at the final pen.

For this batch i wanted stripes and knots like real wood, but with unusual colors, so i mainly assembled different clay layers and laminated them a number of times before shaping the blank. To add a couple knots i rolled a small cylinder of clay with one color inside and a different one outside, and randomly inserted short sections of it in the middle before the final blank shaping. The 'black hole' in the third 'space age' blank comes from such an 'inside worm'. At times i punch a thumb here and twist the clay there to add some chaos to the otherwise even laminate.

Here is how i made the wood like blank which i laminated too many times IMO - no knots in this one. Layer colors, flatten, cut in half, stack and repeat a couple times:

Stylos%20FIMO%2003_800.jpg


Stylos%20FIMO%2004_800.jpg


A few basic advice:

- Don't mix too many colors. Three in equal or different proportions is a safe approach.
- Use the knife to cut what you need from each selected color block right off the wrapped pack, it's much easier then trying to neatly unwrap the clay and then cut it.
- Work each color separately to make them smooth and fluid before starting to assemble the compound. You want to avoid bubbles and cracks inside the blank.
- Precisely follow cooking instructions.

Regarding the cost, it takes about one block and a half for a regular blank, so depending how much you paid for the clay, the blank comes out at a few dollars more or less. It's neither dirt cheap nor expensive.

I can't tell much about resilience over time... From what i've read a PC pen can survive a drop on a hard floor. My guess is that it needs a rather thick CA or lacquer finish for a reliable and lasting protection.

Compared with PR casting equipment cost, relative complexity and toxicity, polymer clay is really a piece of cake to try. :wink:
 
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