Show off your USED pens

[kovalcik]

There always seem to be threads asking about the durability of different platings and whether particular finishes are durable, so I thought it would be nice to get some actual data. Use this thread to post pictured of your used pens. Let us see how different plating and finishes stand up to daily use.

Post your picture with the following details (examples given) :

1) Kit, finish, and source if known. ( 24kt Gold Slimline from PSI )
2) Type of blank. ( Walnut burl )
3) Finish used. ( CA finish, approx 10 coats of EZ Bond medium, polished with MM)
4) How long it has been in use and how it is used. ( 6 months of daily office use, generally treated well. )
5) Any other relevant info. ( My dog chews on it regularly. The clip is now loose. Still writes great. )

No cheating now. Simply wipe off the finger prints with a soft cloth and take the picture. No polishing or touch ups. Highlight any signs of excessive wear and tear. Also, the purpose of this thread is to get a fair picture of how the pens wear, not just the extremes, so post any long used pen you can access, not just the pristine or excessively beat-up. A couple follow up comments to clarify details are okay, but lets let the pictures speak for themselves and move any dicussions to a new thread.

 

[toddlajoie]

Wish I could put my hand on my unfinished Stablilized Buckeye Burl Sketch Pencil that spent a New England Winter outside under our picnic table. It is solid evidence against those who say that stabilized blanks still need a finish... Have to look around. Otherwise I've got a bunch that I used regularly that I can take some shots of and upload...

 

[mansfieldpen]

Here are a couple of pics of pens I made back in 2005. One is a cigar-style rollerball and is my main everyday pen. No CA finish, just a hit of Crystal Coat after sanding down to 12,000. I love the natural feel of the Cocobolo and the hardware finish has not faded at all. It has some scratches and what-not, but the hardware finish has kept up. I "believe" that this was a PSI kit, but I was getting a lot of kits from Rockler when I first started. I think it was the titanium-gold finish or an upgraded gold finish.

The second pen is from the same period and is a Jr. Gentleman's Rollerball from Craft Supplies made from wormy maple with the standard 24kt gold finish. It's a little hard to see from the lighting but the finish is really worn on the clip and nib. I still use it a lot, but it looks really used The wood finish is CA with Crystal Coat wax.