Sharpie Marker refill skin

[ldb2000]

This is a housing to hold a Sharpie marker refill . It was made from some Alternative Ivory from Ed and Dawn at exotic blanks and Homebrew Black PR with a Cigar clip .
I modeled this Skin after a 1930s Parker Streamline Duofold using the technique used in making the pen for the Penmakers Challenge . No saws were used to cut the pen blank sized Alt Ivory and Black PR , all cutting was done on the lathe using a thin parting tool .
The photos don't show the subtle markings in the Alt Ivory that make this material a perfect replacement for real Ivory . I love working with this stuff , it turns so nicely and is very opaque so you don't need to paint the tubes or the blank .





As always , comments are welcome .

 

[David Keller]

That looks great. I'd love to make one of these, but I'm stuck trying to figure out how to do it without a tap. I like the ultra fine sharpies and use them fairly often.

I'm not sure how the cap works either... Is the original cap inside the custom cap? If not, how do you make sure that the custom cap locks onto the sharpie?

Perhaps if I continue with the challenge, some of those questions will be answered.

 

[ldb2000]

The tap for the refill I made on my metal lathe . The refill cap is fit into a very tight hole and glued inside the cap so it seals the marker tightly .

 

[el_d]

Very sweet Butch. Great Shape. Looks nothing like a sharpie.

How did you do the cap part. Did you use the small cap that comes with the refill or did you use a full cap off another sharpie?

How did you use glue the cap?

 

[el_d]

woops!, sorry your too quick Butch,

CA glue, 5 min epoxy?

 

[ldb2000]

I use 5 min gel epoxy , I was using med CA but the epoxy sticks to the sharpie refill cap better .

 

[el_d]

Thanks Butch, Great sharpie.

May not want to use that one in the shop.

 

[ldb2000]

Thanks Lupe . I'm still using my Green and Red Christmas one in the shop and everywhere else as well . I carry 3 pens with me at all times , my Parker Falcon FP , one of my click ballpoints and my Christmas sharpie marker .

 

[cnirenberg]

Butch,
Love the shape and styling of the pen, I'm a big fan of the Alt Ivory. I liked the Sherpa pens I saw in the Fountain Pen Hospital catalog a while back and figured I would give it a try. I didn't realize the sharpies had theaded refills, but that is a story in itself...

 

[RIPPIN45]

Butch; Great looking pen, very clean. I had a request from a customer who said that they used a particular Sharpie and would like me to make a pen out of it. I bought a 3-pack and dismantled one and the tip is connected to a plastic sleeve (straw) with some material inside holding the ink. I was able to make a pen and fit the nib in good but I don't have any threading tools. So when I get some tap & dies, I will have another go at it. Here is the pen I was referring to for reference in case someone else wants a go at it! Nice looking pen.

 

[ldb2000]

Thanks guys . Yes Cris the Sharpies have a thread on the body that fits into the the original sharpie SS body. This thread is a special size (of course) , I don't remember what it is but it's in a sharpie thread in the advanced forum last year . They had some taps made but they were a little to expensive for me at the time so I made one , it took a couple of tries but it seems to work well .
The Sherpa skins are a little different , they use regular Sharpies and several other brands and use a cover to hold the marker in the body .
Randy , Appleman has made a few skins for markers like those , Bics I think . Next time I go to staples I will get a few and see what I can come up with .

 

[PaulDoug]

Very nice!

 

[johncrane]

Very nice Butch!

 

[creativewriting]

Looks great Butch!

 

[BRobbins629]

That's a sharp sharpie Butch. I like it.

 

[Rfturner]

I love the look it has a nice retro look that is v ery simple but at the same time very professional

 

[Caden_Hrabak]

Butch

I used these before i got into turning if you can send me some schematics of how you made it that would be really nice

Also I really like the Ivory in your pen i think it looks very nice and would like to know how that one is also made. I kinda have a collection of sharpies

 

[ldb2000]

Thanks for the kind words everyone .
Caden , I wish I could send you a diagram for these but there really isn't one , I just design them on the fly . I have an idea in my head and then build to that idea . This one was built around a 1930s Parker Duofold Fountain pen design .
The sharpie markers are threaded refills that are made to go into a stainless steel casing that the sharpie company makes . They cost about $2 each , the hard part is the refills are threaded with an oddball size thread , the thread size is .450X26 which isn't an off the shelf tap size so they have to be custom ordered at about $50 each for 6 pcs or you need a metal lathe to make your own tap which is what I did .

 

[mbroberg]

Another fine job Butch!!

 

[phillywood]

Butch, It looks great. It has a very elegant look to it between the white and the balck contrast. I love those fine lines you created.

 

[Ligget]

Excellent work Butch, a super cool Sharpie that anyone would treasure!

 

[angboy]

Wow! The sharpie in my desk drawer doesn't look that good! The sharpie people should be quite pleased with your work, you really made their marker much more classy!