Clicker with brass wire and ebony burl

[PatrickR]

Here is a recent casting I completed. Ebony burl cut thin with wire inlay. Cut straight and bigger than normal.
C&C welcome.
Question - can the black on this clip be taken off with acetone? I think it would look better without it.

 

[Dieseldoc]

Patrick: Really like your pen with the wire, very nice set up. Wonder how it would look with end caps of Ebony with pins installed, it would go with the black on the clip. Now for the clip, Yes I have removed the black with acetone and buffed it out, got to be careful not to buff away the plating.

 

[PatrickR]

Patrick: Really like your pen with the wire, very nice set up. Wonder how it would look with end caps of Ebony with pins installed, it would go with the black on the clip. Now for the clip, Yes I have removed the black with acetone and buffed it out, got to be careful not to buff away the plating.

Thanks! I had originally used the same wood as the body trying for a one piece look but that went south.
I'll try the acetone.

 

[KMCloonan]

I really like the dots (brass?) in the end caps. Very precise placement, and interesting to the eye. Are they a different diameter than the wire inlays, or is that an optical illusion?

 

[PatrickR]

I really like the dots (brass?) in the end caps. Very precise placement, and interesting to the eye. Are they a different diameter than the wire inlays, or is that an optical illusion?

Thanks! Brass, yes. They are 1/6" and on the body they are 1/32. There is not enough room for 1/16 on the body and I think the 1/32 is a little too small for the dots.

 

[sorcerertd]

Love the brass in there. You've been busy lately.

I have removed the black with acetone and buffed it out

That's how you get rid of that stuff, huh? Good to know.

 

[jttheclockman]

Like the entire concept and well executed. Nice job. Thanks for showing. That is a WOW pen.

 

[mark james]

This is simply wonderful. Dots, wire, burl, ... quite a compliment of elements. The clip? Not sure. I think the Timberbits Blingless Roman Harvest Kit had the clip insert as an element - very difficult, but well worth the effort.

Well done! Thanks for sharing.

 

[leehljp]

I have long thought about the brass wire lengthwise in a blank, but never got around to doing one. That looks absolutely great!

I agree with Charlie (Dieseldoc) on the plating. I have over buffed a few trying to get the right sheen and the plating came off too. Be careful, but it can be done.

 

[TDahl]

Very nice design and craftsmanship.

 

[Bats]

I agree with Charlie (Dieseldoc) on the plating. I have over buffed a few trying to get the right sheen and the plating came off too. Be careful, but it can be done.

Also be aware that some kits/manufacturers/platings use a clear lacquer or epoxy coating of some sort to protect the plating and give it more longevity than it would otherwise have (my memory's a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember Berea talking about this on at least some of their gold platings), which you'll likely end up taking off before you get to the black stripe. Not a problem if it's destined for a desk pen, but something to think about if it's going to be a pocket/purse pen.

 

[PatrickR]

Also be aware that some kits/manufacturers/platings use a clear lacquer or epoxy coating of some sort to protect the plating and give it more longevity than it would otherwise have (my memory's a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember Berea talking about this on at least some of their gold platings), which you'll likely end up taking off before you get to the black stripe. Not a problem if it's destined for a desk pen, but something to think about if it's going to be a pocket/purse pen.

I found a spare and tried wiping with acetone and then with MEK. Nothing, it must be powder coating. I have it soaking in acetone now. If that wont do it, I will try stripper.

 

[KenB259]

Perfection.

 

[PatrickR]

A little update. I had a chrome spare clip and tried to remove the black paint. The only thing that worked was paint stripper. Turned out fine, a little Flitz hand buffing and it looked great. So I went ahead and did the clip while on the pen. Not great though on the 24 k plating. There is definitely some kind of clear coat and it either has some color to it or the plating was so thin that the plating thinned out with the same treatment as the chrome. It's not so bad that I am going to do anything more to the pen. Lesson learned. In the second pic you can see where the coating was stripped and the difference in color.