It is made of black polished ebonite with aluminium bands and chrome clip and finial cap with triple thread cap. It is a first run. All constructive criticism is most welcome.
Capped length 175mm, uncapped 140mm diameter 14mm.
Thanks
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a few photos and ask you about colours.
The first photos show the anodising in Burgundy, close to Tawny Port (19-1725 TCX Pantone). The images don’t really do the colour justice, as there is quite a lot of contrast going on.
Anodising is fun but also a bit of an alchemy and the colours can vary slightly from batch to batch. The colour intensity can change as the bath is used, and the dye tank gradually depletes over time. That is a manufacturing issue for us to worry about, though!
I am thinking about introducing some lighter colours as well to let the material itself shine through and do some of the heavy lifting here.
Are there any colours you would particularly like to see with this pen? We will run a small batches of different colours (around 6) as a test.
There is a small selection of colour options in the last image. I would love to hear what you think!
This has quickly become my most popular model! It's a real joy to make! Main body wood is Brazilian King Cocobolo and the shoulders are Wenge from Africa. The finish is Troubadour's "Heritage" finish - shellac and a carnauba/beeswax blend. All built on a raw, uncoated brass hardware set. Lines are burned in, as always, with a D'Addario Chrome wound "G" electric guitar string - same ones I use on my ES-335!
I wanted to try something a bit more interesting than the simple barley or diamond-machined patterns. Small repetitive patterns works best. This one will be etched.
The prototype will be laser-etched, as it’s relatively cheap and easy to produce a single sample this way.
If we decide to take this into a small production run, we will use chemical etching. That should give us better resolution and a cleaner look.
Those etched lines are deliberately kept fine but the pattern should still provide a reasonably good grip when writing.
Is this pattern too much for you? Would you go smaller?
As promised please find some photos of the prototype for the slim pocket pen.
The body is made of steel with a brushed finish. The cap is made of aluminium and will be anodised in a nice rich looking colour. This meant to be a colourful one!
The finish will be most likely satin finish to give it a nice contrast with steel. I expect the finished pieces to look very different once the final materials and finishes are applied.
I am also working on some textures for the grip section which I will share shortly.
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share some updated photos of the slim pocket pen. This version is somehow shorter than the previous print. Which makes it look thicker, but that is just an illusion. The grey resin is definitely killing the vibe.. I hope to anodise the cap in nice rich colour (the cap will be made of aluminium)
This pen will use nitrile rings instead of a screw thread and should be a more affordable small pen. Nitrile rings will also seal it perfectly. When folded, it will be just under 10 cm long. It will became full size pen when capped.
I am hoping to have a metal prototype made in a few days. We will be showing that prototype at the Top Drawer show in September - to get some more feedback.
(That black Tangier pen is there just to give you a better idea of the scale. You may notice the engraved texture on the cap - that was just a test to see what is possible in PMMA)
update: CAD models are here
Hi everyone,
I use SolidWorks to check all the tolerances and details before moving on to physical 3D prints or prototypes. This allows me to get the tolerances as close as possible to the desired level.
This is then followed by an engineer reviewing the model to make sure it is suitable for manufacture. Tolerances, wall thicknesses and machining steps all come into play when determining what is possible and at what cost to make it work.
Using a CNC lathe with a sliding head helps quite a lot with this. I hope to show you some metal prototypes tomorrow (no textures or colours yet)
First up, we have some Omas Caramel Swirl acrylate, which has been paired with some aluminum accent bands, stainless steel clip (still needs a final polish), and bi-color Pelikan M800 (M) nib! Fills via Pilot CON-70 converter.
Second is in some GORGEOUS Aurora Opal imitation opal (ty u/SincerelySpicy for the discussion on my previous post!), which has been paired with a nice crispy 14k Omas (EF) nib. This one also fills via Pilot CON-70 converter.
Thanks for taking the time to check them out!
I made it this week for another lovely customer of mine! My workshop is really ramping up as of late with this becoming my most popular model! This particular Nocturne Slim is made from Katalox with Maple shoulders on top of raw brass hardware that I purchase and then custom-machine to suit my needs - in this case - grinding off the brass shoulders to slim the body down to a svelte 11mm OD. My six-line maker’s mark is burned in with a D’Addario Chrome wound G - the same strings I use on my ES-335. Finish is, as always, Troubadour’s Heritage Finish - Shellac with a carnauba/beeswax blend applied in several coats at high friction on the lathe. I already have another order for one of these in Cocobolo and Wenge due out next week. I’ll post when it’s done! May your chisels be sharp and your lathe spinning like the wind!
Hi everyone.
Quick weekend project - I was playing around with some ideas for a simple display stand. This is just a rough sketch for now, so the proportions aren't quite there yet. Possibly in brass or steel.
But does this convey the idea of good balance?
Some of the Ballpoint pen drawings serious currently