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What GORDI has been up to lately... Wooden Pens!
#21
(08-14-2021, 11:43 AM)gordi Wrote: THAT sir, is your heritage calling you!
It's a Celtic fancy slimline pen in Olivewood with 24ct gold hardware.

I added the bulge/finger rest shape as a wee experiment, because I'm a clumsy big lump and tend to lean a little bit heavy on my writing instruments... the bulge assists with preventing having to grip too tight to minimise slipping down the pen shaft (ooer!)
I'm still very much learning my craft, I have now sold a few pens to people who've seen them and demanded to pay me for them, but I don't yet have any plans for a store.... quite yet! LOL

I totally agree that it's better to make money from something that you'd choose to do as a hobby anyway, absolutely!

Cheers,
G

Another question: is there a choice of innards in the pens? For example, I'm partial to 0.5mm gel ink roller ball pens.

.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’


#22
(08-15-2021, 01:41 AM)Ninurta Wrote: Another question: is there a choice of innards in the pens? For example, I'm partial to 0.5mm gel ink roller ball pens.

Hi Nin,

There are lots of different pen kits and styles available.
Each "type" of kit takes a different (but standard) ink refill. (Slimline/fancy slimline take standard slimline refills, Sierra style pens take Parker refills as do Atom style pens, Keyring pens take a short 70mm crystal style pen refill etc)


The "Rollerball" style pens take standard rollerball refills, which can be changed for any standard size rollerball refill that you can source. The ones that I've done so far come supplied with top quality black SCHMIDT 888F (0.6mm) rollerball ink refills in them, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't replace that with a 0.5mm gel ink one.

For reference - The Rollerball ones that I've done so far are:
The pen on the left in Image 1 (Very first pen that I made and the one which I use myself now - Rollester Rollerball in Beech with Gold hardware). This same pen is also pictured on the far right in Image 2.
And:
On the Far Left in Image 3, Rollester Rollerball in Zebrano (zebrawood) with Gun Metal hardware.

cheers,
G
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#23
Very nice end results! Using the local wood is fantastic. I mean the wood is there right? Might as well put it to good use. Also I like your thinking about creating something utilitarian.
ALL OUR HEROES ARE WHORES

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#24
(08-13-2021, 06:37 PM)guohua Wrote: Red ink.

Red ink.  Red ink??

Ehrmagawd ... red ink is for dead people.
'Cause if they catch you in the back seat trying to pick her locks
They're gonna send you back to Mother in a cardboard box
You better run!
#25
(03-22-2022, 09:31 PM)Snarl Wrote:
(08-13-2021, 06:37 PM)guohua Wrote: Red ink.

Red ink.  Red ink??

Ehrmagawd ... red ink is for deep people.

Could just use the blood.....  tinyhuh
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#26
(03-22-2022, 10:15 PM)gordi Wrote:
(03-22-2022, 09:31 PM)Snarl Wrote:
(08-13-2021, 06:37 PM)guohua Wrote: Red ink.

Red ink.  Red ink??

Ehrmagawd ... red ink is for deep people.

Could just use the blood.....  tinyhuh

This could lead to difficult questions such as: Whose blood is this and where did you get it? Just sayin'
#27
My old pal "Moses" Jackson recently gave me some lovely spalted (beech?) wooden pen-blanks to experiment with.

Spalted wood, has amazing colourisation, graining & lines through it.
The spalting process happens naturally by the action of various fungi on the wood/tree, and by the actions of the tree trying to protect itself.

*Here's an example of Spalted Wood:

[Image: 99932485-spalting-lumber_01-main.jpg]

It was my intention to make "Moses" a wooden pen in exchange for the wood-blanks, but before I had started that project...
My wife (Chrissie) works in Forest School, and her immediate boss gave her a wee "challenge" for me to solve.

The Forest School takes groups of children into the woods, to teach them about the great outdoors. It is mainly play & craft based learning and involves situational awareness & safety, mindfulness, socialising & team-building, using craft tools, safe fire-building techniques, basic camp-fire cooking and getting them AWAY from their darned phones & computer screens!!

Some of the children are less-able than others, either through physical / mental disability or learning difficulties and they sometimes find it difficult to operate the fiddly standard kit (like fire-starting tools) that is out there, but the Forest School aims to be as inclusive as possible, so my challenge was to come up with a new handle design for larger-than-normal Ferro Rods (which are used in Fire-Steels) for creating sparks to light camp fires!

*Here's an example of a standard Fire Steel

[Image: LMFBFSA-RO_01_firesteel]

So, they sent me a couple of Large Ferro Rods and I set to work, using the first of the wood-blanks from "Moses"....

And here is my first attempt:

[Image: attachment.php?aid=11820]

The larger size, chunkier handle with concave finger grips should really help the less-able kids to have a chance of making those all-important sparks!

Here is the 2nd one, same type of wood - but containing more staining/graining/spalting than the first:

[Image: attachment.php?aid=11822]

Another view:

[Image: attachment.php?aid=11821]


The Forest School boss was really pleased and thinks that it will make a huge difference to her students, so I'm super-happy too - Job Done!

Oh, and you'll no doubt be pleased to hear that my old pal "Moses" did indeed eventually get a pen, made from his own wood!

[Image: attachment.php?aid=11823]


... and a big thank you letter for helping me to help the Forest School kids!

minusculebeercheers

G


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#28
There's not a lot I can comment on here without sounding obvious!
They're fantastic!
tinybiggrin
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe. 
#29
Those look great, and appear to be just the ticket - I might have to order one for myself! My old ferro rod has gone missing.

Another handle design you might consider is the Ek knife handle. It looks wonky and awkward as hell, but I've never owned a knife with a more secure grip, and I've had two Ek knives.

In WWII, John Ek started making knives for commando units. They were each hand made, and most had a double-edged dagger-like blade, but with NO finger guard.  That concerned the War department, as they felt that a fighting knife without a finger guard was a tragedy waiting to happen.

So John set up a demonstration for some of the War Department honchos. He took a guardless Ek knife, which was always his preference as he felt that finger guards were just something else to snag on the draw, and he greased his hand with lard right there in front of the honchos, grasped the knife, and proceeded to drive it so far into the oak floor boards with a single stroke that no one present could pull it back out of the floor... and his hand never slipped on the handle at all. The honchos were convinced, and approved the design for commandos. You could not get an original Ek knife without paperwork from DoD stating that you were in a Special Unit, such as Rangers or SOS.

The secret to the Ek knife handle was it's simple, but unconventional, design. There are 8 deep scallops along the handle,  4 on each side's handle scale, and it's a very secure grip. This is what it looks like:

[Image: kaek13.jpg]

[Image: KnivesMain.jpg]

My own personal Ek knife is the one on the far right end of that last image, made by K-Bar after they bought the Ek Commando Knife Company which was originally in Richmond, Virginia. The other one that I used to carry was very like the 4th knife from the left, which combines the scallops with transverse engraved notches.

Those scallops look wonky, but they provide the securest grip of any knife I've ever owned.

.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’


#30
(09-05-2022, 08:32 PM)Ninurta Wrote: Those look great, and appear to be just the ticket - I might have to order one for myself! My old ferro rod has gone missing.

Another handle design you might consider is the Ek knife handle. It looks wonky and awkward as hell, but I've never owned a knife with a more secure grip, and I've had two Ek knives.

In WWII, John Ek started making knives for commando units. They were each hand made, and most had a double-edged dagger-like blade, but with NO finger guard.  That concerned the War department, as they felt that a fighting knife without a finger guard was a tragedy waiting to happen.

So John set up a demonstration for some of the War Department honchos. He took a guardless Ek knife, which was always his preference as he felt that finger guards were just something else to snag on the draw, and he greased his hand with lard right there in front of the honchos, grasped the knife, and proceeded to drive it so far into the oak floor boards with a single stroke that no one present could pull it back out of the floor... and his hand never slipped on the handle at all. The honchos were convinced, and approved the design for commandos. You could not get an original Ek knife without paperwork from DoD stating that you were in a Special Unit, such as Rangers or SOS.

The secret to the Ek knife handle was it's simple, but unconventional, design. There are 8 deep scallops along the handle,  4 on each side's handle scale, and it's a very secure grip. This is what it looks like:

[Image: kaek13.jpg]

[Image: KnivesMain.jpg]

My own personal Ek knife is the one on the far right end of that last image, made by K-Bar after they bought the Ek Commando Knife Company which was originally in Richmond, Virginia. The other one that I used to carry was very like the 4th knife from the left, which combines the scallops with transverse engraved notches.

Those scallops look wonky, but they provide the securest grip of any knife I've ever owned.

.

ooooh, I like that! Cool as a cool thing!
G
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