Meteorite clip pen

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btboone

btboone

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Here's a couple pens I made that have a Gibeon Meteorite as the clip. The meteorite is around 4.5 billion years old and has a special crystalline structure where the metal cooled over millions of years while hurtling through space. It fell to Earth in prehistory, and was found in Namibia in south Africa. The clip was laser welded to the stainless steel cap and acid etched to bring out the unique Widmanstatten lines. The centerband is titanium and the body is acrylic. The nib is 18K gold.
 

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After the complex pens I've done that price themselves right out of the market, I decided to try something a little simpler to make. No casting, no complex orienting of parts, no 3D CAD surface modeling, no master model and molds to be made, no long drilled titanium or zirconium bars, no anodizing and masking, etc. Just a simple design that should be about 30 times more efficient to make. The meteorite is the hook needed to set it apart.

Should they want it, the customer could also get a matching ring! :biggrin:
 
btboone said:
After the complex pens I've done that price themselves right out of the market, I decided to try something a little simpler to make. No casting, no complex orienting of parts, no 3D CAD surface modeling, no master model and molds to be made, no long drilled titanium or zirconium bars, no anodizing and masking, etc. Just a simple design that should be about 30 times more efficient to make. The meteorite is the hook needed to set it apart.

Should they want it, the customer could also get a matching ring! :biggrin:
Click to expand...

I think you have achieved your goal. Outstanding work. Again :).
 
The big meteorite from Argentina would be the Campo Del Cielo (field of the sky) meteorite. It has a different pattern from the Gibeon one, which was named for the town in Namibia, Africa it was found near. Each meteorite has slightly different patterns because they cooled at different rates and have different metals that make them up.

I have about a baseball sized rock of the Campo meteorite and need to cut it up to use it in something. They are pretty tough on tools!
 
Now there is a story to sell with a pen. How many people will be able to say they have a pen that has a meteorite on it.
 
Beautiful Bruce! I love the Gibeon Meteorite clip. What a classy, clean, and uncomplicated design!! The art really shines through!:tongue:

I would love to see the pens in person. You will be at the at the Chicago show with them, I hope? Maybe we can even meet up there -swap a few stories...:biggrin::wink:
 
Nice work, as usual, Bruce! Very nicely executed. Wonderful history to the pen, but perhaps MY favorite part of the pen is the VERY small and simple but very elegant threadwork. Very understated, VERY, VERY elegant. This pen should bring a premium price...In today's Atlanta economy, who knows?
 
Very cool. I agree that the threading is immaculate, might not sell a pen to a non-maker, but speaks volumes to those who know. Is the meteorite material strong enough on it's own for the clip blade, or is it bonded onto something? Did you seal it to prevent oxidation?
Inquiring minds want to know :)

James
 
Thanks guys. The meteorite actually works well as the clip. As I get the material, it was way too thick and stiff, but I found that I could roll it out, and doing that gave it the unique side to side wavy look and it made the material more springy while still keeping the Widmanstatten lines. It is not sealed. The iron meteorite has chromium and nickel, so the properties are somewhat similar to stainless steel. There is a special technique that I came upon to keep it from rusting after the etching, but in normal use, it stays bright without rust. Surprisingly, the weld is strong enough to hold even if the clip is pulled straight out to 90 degrees and yanked with pliers.

The threading is a 2 lead thread that I put very close to the body to prevent your hand from feeling them when the pen is held. It's not a standard diameter or pitch, just something that worked with the dimensions of material that I wanted to work within, and with the drills that I used to drill the cap. No boring is done to the cap, so that is a bit more efficient to make. The dimensions I used also allow turning the whole front section, including two different sets of external threads and one set of internal threads, in one operation from the front.
 
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Sorry Bruce, just one more question... What the hell do you use to roll a billion year old metorite? A little help here... We ain't rocket scientists :)
 
I have rolling dies that are made for jewelers. You take a lump of gold or something and roll it out to become flat wire or sheet. Just metal cylinders powered by a hand crank and geared adjusting screws so both sides tighten the same amount at once.
 
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