Playing with fire

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skiprat

skiprat

Passed Away Mar 22, 2022
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It's been ages since my last pen so I decided that I needed to try something new....... for me, anyway. :biggrin:

Titanium barrels with stainless steel bits. And a chrome slimline clip.

I used a blow torch on the ends to get the colour. For a first attempt, I'm pretty happy with it. It's not flawless but passable. :rolleyes:

Hope you like it too. :biggrin:
 

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Have not made a pen in so long and this is what you come up with. You have not lost your touch sir. Still got that imagination. Missed this. I like it. Wonder if that process could be done with other materials and what the look would be say on aluminum or even stainless or copper.
 
Thanks guys:wink:

JT, apparently the heat colouring process only works on ferrous metals, so no to aluminium , copper and brass etc.

It does work on stainless but in my very limited experience, it needs more effort and care than titanium.

All the research on the web banged on about cleanliness of the metal.....well, they weren't kidding !!

Here's a practice run I did on an old stainless pen. Not so good, but it worked...

I think I may play around with 'masking' areas and tricks like that. :biggrin:
 

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I haven't messed with titanium, I've heard it's pretty difficult to work with.

I do know that the rainbow color can be achieved with heat on copper, but it's an oxidation layer and probably wouldn't hold up to handling. I've applied CA to it in hopes to seal it, but it seems to alter the rainbow effect to the point of no more rainbow.

Have you tried getting the effect the full length of the barrels, rather than just the ends? I've seen something similar in catalogs and it might look appealing.
 
jttheclockman said:
This kind of work reminds me of another real talent we have here and that is Bruce. You two have similar thoughts in various pens you both make.
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C'mon John...there's light years between me and Bruce Boone..but thanks anyway:wink:

Terredax said:
I do know that the rainbow color can be achieved with heat on copper, but it's an oxidation layer and probably wouldn't hold up to handling. I've applied CA to it in hopes to seal it, but it seems to alter the rainbow effect to the point of no more rainbow.

Have you tried getting the effect the full length of the barrels, rather than just the ends? I've seen something similar in catalogs and it might look appealing.
Click to expand...

John, I'll give it a go on copper when I get a chance. I remember when I was an apprentice, we burned off cuts of cable and the copper gave off amazing coloured flames.....greens and gold. Pretty cool

I'm not sure about doing the whole length because I think its the the contrast in the colour change that makes it more interesting. On the steel pen, it has about two inches all the same but it seems to lose interest.

However....if I could get a perfectly even purple or blue shade then I'd certainly try. I think I'd need an electric kiln to control the heat as it's kinda like using a paintbrush when using the flame. :wink:

Thanks again for the comments, folks. Always appreciated:wink:
 
Pete, I expect it would, but like I said, I'm very much a newbie with this process. I did see a vid on You Tube where a guy use a stove ring to colour the spacers of a custom knife. Could make an interesting design. :smile:
 
FWIW: The color gradients on both the Titanium and Stainless Steel are very attractive to me. It would be interesting if you could "draw out" the colors, expanding some over the blank.

I also will vote for the gradients with some of the natural color in the middle. But I will also vote for a solid color on the complete blank. (guess I like to vote; uh, maybe not this year).

This was said from someone with a purely visual appreciation! I have no experience with most of the skills involved, but I do appreciate the results.

I see many promising experiments. Have FUN!

EDIT: The "practice" on the Stainless in my opinion came out beautiful.
 
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The heat coloring on stainless and carbon steel will wear off in time. It is much more permanent with Titanium. The oxides formed with the titanium are harder than tool steel. The colors with titanium can also be done with electricity. This is done in a simple electrolyte bath using DC voltage. Change the voltage and you get different colors. You could do this to get a variety of colors along the full length. Or consistent color for the entire pen. The approximate relation between voltage and color is below:

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Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

Very cool effects when you materials that color differently at the same heat.

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Welcome Back, Steven.
In particular, with your Latest Offering.
What a Magnificent Concept, and Execution, Those Colours are Superb.
As is the Pen that Carries them.
Congratulations, Look forward to see your Further Experimentation's.
Brian.
 
Why does that image of a beautiful pen immediately convert in my mind to one of you holding a blowtorch to it , with flames shooting out the end , because you forgot to take the refill out ???
 
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