My Dirty LIttle Secret

I really don't want to like these kits as much as I do. Liking a pen with a plastic section and nib, and without a finished bottom on the cap, does make me feel just a little dirty. Overall, they are just nice looking pens with all that barrel to show off your blank. I would love to see what some of you segmenting experts would do with all that space. Sorry for so many pictures all at once. Some are finished differently so I'll label them individually with wood and finish.

I have learned that the caps are a little tricky as the tubes included for them are a little too long to snap on properly without being trimmed. 53mm is the sweet spot, so I sand them down to that when squaring them. If you cut too short, then you are in for even more tricky stuff. The section/nib parts are easy to swap between the rollerball and FP, but another discovery I made is that the fountain pen version needs the full tube length for the cap or it sits too loosely. I guess they must just throw in same FP cap length tubes for both?

The one on the left isn't pictured below, but is just plain old walnut with Mahoney's Oil Wax on it. It's drying out some already, but I've been using that one for a little while now. I really like the Pilot Precise V7 refill in it.



This is not in the other picture as I already gave it away, but this is olive with a GluBoost CA finish, satin sheen.


Of course you can see this one is purpleheart, but it has perhaps the most interesting finishing technique. GluBoost with the lathe off. 2 coats of medium, then 2 coats of thin. I did absolutely nothing else to it but buff it off with a piece of cotton flannel that was sitting nearby. It retained the feel of natural wood pretty well and I'm quite happy with the finish. This one is going to my neighbor for her 91st BD!


Chakte Viga with a Celtic knot in tortoise shell nylon (guitar pick material). It would have looked better at a longer angle, but I'm very happy with how well it came out just the same. Finish is GluBoost, the usual MM pad progression to a medium gloss.


Jobillo/Goncalo Alves with a medium gloss GluBoost finish


Granadillo, GluBoost, MM progression, then plastic polish.


Tambooti. This stuff smells amazing. Finished with several layers of Aussie Oil friction polish


Curly Myrtle, GluBoost, MM progression through to plastic polish.

Forgive my ignorance but what kit is that? I like the look of those and wouldn't mind giving one a try, especially if they're cheap.

They look like the Conservative rollerball pens from Turners Warehouse correct? I really like the way the look too especially how they really feature the blank with all of the wood, but I haven't ordered any yet. I just can't seem to get over not having a postable cap. They sure are attractive pens though and I love your choice of woods. I might just have to break down and order some when I get my allowance later this week. - Dave

I love how perfectly straight those are! You have some skill there...been trying all weekend to get truly strait blanks, and its not been going well. Sometimes simple looks really good!

What kits are these?

Simple design with a lot of style I like them a lot.

qquake said:

I think I remember that kit from years and years ago. Woodcraft used to sell them, I believe. TW does have them.

Conservative Rollerball / Fountain Pen Kit

***Mix and Match any Group A Kits for the Quantity Discounts*** Conservative Rollerball & Fountain Pen KitSpecs-Tube Length Upper: 2.11"Tube Length Lower: 3.23"1.5 oz (approximate)Drill needed, 10 mmBrad point Drill Bit / Twist Drill BitSingle Kit Includes--Pen Kit-Tube-Standard Rollerball Ink...

turnerswarehouse.com

Click to expand...

egnald said:

They look like the Conservative rollerball pens from Turners Warehouse correct?

Click to expand...

Stubach said:

Forgive my ignorance but what kit is that? I like the look of those and wouldn't mind giving one a try, especially if they're cheap.

Click to expand...

jrista said:

What kits are these?

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Yes, this is the conservative kit. EB had them for a short while, and even cheaper. Wonder if Ed plans on getting more? I'm sure they are all from Rizheng and are available on the cheap directly from their site (penkitsmall). Also, here's a link from Alibaba. Rizheng makes the Panache and a few others pretty cheap, but shipping from China is pretty high, so you have to factor that in to the cost. Might as well add the cost of a decent ink cartridge on them, too.

jrista said:

I love how perfectly straight those are! You have some skill there...been trying all weekend to get truly strait blanks, and its not been going well. Sometimes simple looks really good!

Click to expand...

Thanks. It seems a lot harder to get them straight. The slightest bow may not show on the lathe, but sure does once you get them assembled.


Here's a pic of the exposed tube and endgrain on the cap that I mentioned above.

Very nice. The lack of tacky ornamentation means that the beauty of the wood is what is on display. Simple is always better, at least in my opinion.

Sadly, what I don't care for is that the center band is one piece that is part of the barrel - so when the cap is removed, the endgrain edge of the cap turning is exposed. I think that could be fixed (by the kit manufacturer - not the turner) by dividing the center band into two pieces, one that is part of the body, and the other that is part of the cap. Since the band would appear thicker when the cap is in place, that design might necessitate making the cap and body finials a bit thicker to retain balance - would like to see what that would look like.

I never post the cap - so the fact that the cap won't post doesn't concern me.

PSI used to sell this kit (gold plating only)- I think that they called it the 'Traditional'. I have a couple of the fountain pen versions sitting on my desk that I use periodically - they write well (and that does matter). An interesting variation is to throw away the barrel finial and make a closed-end barrel instead. That said, I really like the simplicity Todd's design.

sorcerertd said:

I really don't want to like these kits as much as I do. Liking a pen with a plastic section and nib, and without a finished bottom on the cap, does make me feel just a little dirty. Overall, they are just nice looking pens with all that barrel to show off your blank. I would love to see what some of you segmenting experts would do with all that space. Sorry for so many pictures all at once. Some are finished differently so I'll label them individually with wood and finish.

I have learned that the caps are a little tricky as the tubes included for them are a little too long to snap on properly without being trimmed. 53mm is the sweet spot, so I sand them down to that when squaring them. If you cut too short, then you are in for even more tricky stuff. The section/nib parts are easy to swap between the rollerball and FP, but another discovery I made is that the fountain pen version needs the full tube length for the cap or it sits too loosely. I guess they must just throw in same FP cap length tubes for both?

The one on the left isn't pictured below, but is just plain old walnut with Mahoney's Oil Wax on it. It's drying out some already, but I've been using that one for a little while now. I really like the Pilot Precise V7 refill in it.

View attachment 315863

This is not in the other picture as I already gave it away, but this is olive with a GluBoost CA finish, satin sheen.
View attachment 315864

Of course you can see this one is purpleheart, but it has perhaps the most interesting finishing technique. GluBoost with the lathe off. 2 coats of medium, then 2 coats of thin. I did absolutely nothing else to it but buff it off with a piece of cotton flannel that was sitting nearby. It retained the feel of natural wood pretty well and I'm quite happy with the finish. This one is going to my neighbor for her 91st BD!
View attachment 315875 View attachment 315865 View attachment 315866

Chakte Viga with a Celtic knot in tortoise shell nylon (guitar pick material). It would have looked better at a longer angle, but I'm very happy with how well it came out just the same. Finish is GluBoost, the usual MM pad progression to a medium gloss.
View attachment 315868

Jobillo/Goncalo Alves with a medium gloss GluBoost finish
View attachment 315869

Granadillo, GluBoost, MM progression, then plastic polish.
View attachment 315871 View attachment 315872

Tambooti. This stuff smells amazing. Finished with several layers of Aussie Oil friction polish
View attachment 315873

Curly Myrtle, GluBoost, MM progression through to plastic polish.
View attachment 315874

Click to expand...

Excellent lines on these pens. I love the simplicity of the components because it lets you work stand out not yhe kit..

monophoto said:

Sadly, what I don't care for is that the center band is one piece that is part of the barrel - so when the cap is removed, the endgrain edge of the cap turning is exposed. I think that could be fixed (by the kit manufacturer - not the turner) by dividing the center band into two pieces, one that is part of the body, and the other that is part of the cap. Since the band would appear thicker when the cap is in place, that design might necessitate making the cap and body finials a bit thicker to retain balance - would like to see what that would look like.

Click to expand...

I did think it would look a lot better to split that center band into one ring on the barrel and one on the cap, but am not sure how it would be done without sacrificing the slender overall look, which I really like. The only thing I can think of is to cut a tenon at the bottom of the cap down to the tube, then have the cap press into the band. I'm sure that would need some epoxy in order to trust it to stay on. Here's a really crude scribbling from my phone screen about what I mean. A flat bottom with the ID matching the tube ID. The ring would be flat against the tube instead of round, but again, crude drawing.

If they would fix this and make the section/nib metal, then I would really love these.