My First Production Model Fountain Pen!

[TheTroubadourPensmith]

Not my first kitless fountain pen, by far, but the first one I feel confident selling! The Troubadour "Lyric!"

It's made of Black Walnut with Hard Maple accents. It will also be available in the reverse - Hard Maple with Walnut accents. It is ALL wood INCLUDING the clip. The only exceptions are the nib assembly and ink converter. All press fit as well. No threads! The lines behind the nib section are burned in with strings from my own guitars. The nib itself is a Jinhao 82 - sport tuned by me. The body's maximum OD is 11.5 mm and the entire thing, full of ink weighs in at about a quarter ounce. I am going for a very old craftsman like vibe with this one. Sanding is only down to 400 grit and finish is handrubbed shellawax so that you FEEL the wood. It will patina with the user's hands over the years. I'm very proud of it and want to know what the community thinks as I very must respect the opinions of the experts here!

Peace, Love, and All the Good Things to you all!

Happy Turnings, All!

 

[floatslow]

Wood pen clip… very cool

Nice work

 

[its_virgil]

Nice going. Not saying I'm a fan but that does not take away feom or diminish your craftsmanship nor your penmaking ability. No threads is interesting.
Did you sleeve the cap with a non wood material?

 

[mark james]

Interesting, unique and some awesome features. I embrace uniqueness and I love the extent of wooden elements. Well done.

 

[DaveH]

Great job! I do very difficult pens myself, but I've never done a kitless one yet. Let alone all wood with a clip. The pocket clip looks like it would not hold up very long. However, since I've never done one, I don't know anything about it. I need to look around and see if this is common and maybe give it try.

 

[TheTroubadourPensmith]

Great job! I do very difficult pens myself, but I've never done a kitless one yet. Let alone all wood with a clip. The pocket clip looks like it would not hold up very long. However, since I've never done one, I don't know anything about it. I need to look around and see if this is common and maybe give it try.

I've definitely busted a wooden clip or two…haha! This one's plenty strong. The point where it meets the top of the cap is slightly rounded and secured only to the dowel, not the body of the cap itself so that it rocks slightly as needed. Easily springs forward to tightly clip over the thickness of a pocket protector with no worries. I walk around with it all day taking it out to use and show people and then right back into my pocket protected. Is it more delicate than a metal or plastic clip? Sure. But not by much. Just don't do anything that you wouldn't do with any other pen clip and it holds up just fine! Took me several tries to get it right. But it works like a charm and it's a nice feature to be able to say that except for the absolute necessities, Your pen is entirely made of wood. It should be a nice conversation piece for customers!

 

[ruadh80]

While that wooden clip is really cool, I would be concerned with selling them. People are stupid when it comes to clips and abuse them in ways they are not intended to be used. You are going to have people who break the clip and then demand you replace it. At the very least, I would make it very clear that the clip is for aesthetic purposes only and not covered under any warranty (even if it is usable).

My concern with the friction fit is that the wood will compress over time and eventually not hold. Also, after being compressed over time, a real humid summer could cause it to swell back and the whole thing be stuck together. For the cap, you might be able to solve this by simply making it a little longer and providing it room to slip on further over time. That isn't really an option for the section to barrel connection. You might consider adding a couple silicone O-rings on the section that friction fit into the barrel. That should get you a nice tight fit and the o-rings will prevent the wood from compressing.