wdcav1952
Activities Manager Emeritus
Many of you will remember the pen Steven (SkipRat) made me for the Australian pen swap that was in the shape of an 18th century tooth key. This link is for those who do not recall the pen. http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=57316
Naturally, I felt a bit of pressure to produce something special in turn for Steven. After realizing that I lacked the skills to do this, I had to totally revamp my plans. I practiced by ruining a few really nice blanks until I felt ready to produce a pen.
The first pen is a closed end Jr Gent rollerball using snakewood. Yes, the cap cracked, twice, and I repaired it with sanding dust and CA. In the hopes of preventing the closed end from cracking, I have only about half an inch of the Jr Gent tube in the blank. Then, I drilled the rest of the way with a 7 mm tube to make room for the refill. The spring is glued in at the end of the hole.
Knowing that snakewood can and will break hearts, I decided to make a pen stand so that the closed end portion of the pen could be used if the cap cracks again. I hope it doesn't crack since I rather like the snake wood finial with which I replaced the original finial. Stil, I decided to continue with the pen stand. The stand is a piece of wormy pecan I got from El Mostro here on the site. It is drilled to accept the cap tube of the Jr Gent so that the pen is screwed into the base.
Finally, since I wasn't sure what would happen to the snakewood on the trip across the Atlantic, I made a back up closed end pen (nib end only) out of a piece of ancient kauri. It also has a small piece or the Jr Gent tube, and a 7mm hole with a 7mm tube inserted as the first try with kauri failed due to the soft wood. Again, the spring is glued in place at the bottom of the 7mm hole.
Both pens are finished with a dip polyurethane finish. This is rather reflective, so the white spots you see are reflections rather than dust spots. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
So, Steven will have a carry pen and a desk pen if all works well.
If the snakewood cap cracks, he will have two choices for a desk pen.
If all of the snakewood cracks, at least Steven will have an ancient kauri desk pen with a wormy pecan base.
If any more disaster stricks, I will give up and change all of my contact information!!
Naturally, I felt a bit of pressure to produce something special in turn for Steven. After realizing that I lacked the skills to do this, I had to totally revamp my plans. I practiced by ruining a few really nice blanks until I felt ready to produce a pen.
The first pen is a closed end Jr Gent rollerball using snakewood. Yes, the cap cracked, twice, and I repaired it with sanding dust and CA. In the hopes of preventing the closed end from cracking, I have only about half an inch of the Jr Gent tube in the blank. Then, I drilled the rest of the way with a 7 mm tube to make room for the refill. The spring is glued in at the end of the hole.
Knowing that snakewood can and will break hearts, I decided to make a pen stand so that the closed end portion of the pen could be used if the cap cracks again. I hope it doesn't crack since I rather like the snake wood finial with which I replaced the original finial. Stil, I decided to continue with the pen stand. The stand is a piece of wormy pecan I got from El Mostro here on the site. It is drilled to accept the cap tube of the Jr Gent so that the pen is screwed into the base.
Finally, since I wasn't sure what would happen to the snakewood on the trip across the Atlantic, I made a back up closed end pen (nib end only) out of a piece of ancient kauri. It also has a small piece or the Jr Gent tube, and a 7mm hole with a 7mm tube inserted as the first try with kauri failed due to the soft wood. Again, the spring is glued in place at the bottom of the 7mm hole.
Both pens are finished with a dip polyurethane finish. This is rather reflective, so the white spots you see are reflections rather than dust spots. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
So, Steven will have a carry pen and a desk pen if all works well.
If the snakewood cap cracks, he will have two choices for a desk pen.
If all of the snakewood cracks, at least Steven will have an ancient kauri desk pen with a wormy pecan base.
If any more disaster stricks, I will give up and change all of my contact information!!
