Hi,



I usually make pens in my shop up until the winter cold keeps me in the house, today I had a window of heat in the shop and used my time to turn these to completion today.







They are El Toro fountain pens (Arizona Silhouette) on celluloids from Craft Supply. I selected titanium gold and rhodium for the hardware.







This design is my best selling fountain pen.



Comments and critiques are all welcomed.

Nice plating choices Jim. I can see why they're so popular with your customers. They look great!

You know that I've always been jealous of your work with acrylics, and how you keep them opaque.

When we get together someday, I want a lesson!

Great stuff, bud!

No Need to be jealous Brian, You know I share anything I have learnt with people, nothing to be gained by isolating information and any techniques that can make others better pen makers. I hope to get some time in Feb or Mar, we can chat about it in time.

I have discovered that my pens that sell best in the local gallery are celluloids and then some ebonite's. The owner says the customers really don't ask what the pens are made of, they buy on looks and features.

Thanks Tom,

I also make this design in other materials, highly figured woods, polyerized stone and laminated cactus, but celluloids are my best sellers in this design...it's remarkable how light it is, I have never weighed them, but they are very well balanced and write nicely even with the stock steel nib.

Are the Toro's popular?
I've never had a short/fatter FP -- so I don't know how well people repsond to them.

I do like the looks of that red one, though :-)

-- joe

Hi Joe,

These pens are full length when the cap is reversed on the pen portion of the body. Despite it's appearant size the pen is nice and light, very balanced. The cap design allows the large space to aid in balance and compliment the look. I have sold these to men and women alike, they like the feel of the pen when writing and also the compactness of the pen when it is closed.

Very nice pens.
I was wondering is the stuff at CS really celluloid? Or is it an acrylic? If it is celluloid does it turn like other plastics?
Thanks,
Mary

Hi Mary,

CS indeed does advertise it as celluloid and I turn a lot of it. I find that it does have a different apperance than most acrylics I turn, I can feel a texture in some of the celluloids after I polish them, I think it's the combination of plastics in the celluloid, I think that acrylics are more homogenous...maybe it's all in my mind, but I prefer celluloids over acrylics, they both turn the same for me.
:-)

I finished these this week and thought these were worth adding to the post as well, prickly pear cactus pen bodies.

Jim, Those prickly pear pens are stunning! Are they stained to get the colour?

- Stuart

Thanks Stuart,

The resins are coloured and I also colour the tube inside the pen, in this case I actually used colour matched nail polish and epoxy, it works very well to give depth and capture light as you rotate the pen in hand.

Not to my taste Jim - I go for rather plain pens.

I can, however, recognise damned fine workmanship when I see it
Lovely work!

Regards,
Ruaidhrí

Thanks Ruaidhri,

I appreciate the comments.


My Irish decendant wife has given me the same feedback, lol, I wonder, maybe I should make a Green one.. everything else in her life is green!



The coloured pens sell well in my display in a local gallery, customer knows best.

Yep - putting your hand in your pocket is the most believable compliment

BTW - if you think having an 'Irish decendant wife' is bad - mine is completely Irish

Cheers,
R

Prickly Pear !!! LOL

Those are really nice...and I love that they are made from that wonderful Cactus....

I am only 200 miles south of you...if you run out of them let me know.... LOL

There was an article in Texas Highways about jelly made from the tunas ... the fruits ...of Prickly Pear .. the most beautiful red you have ever seen... hum...wonder if that could be used to make ink ?

I wonder if finger cactus remains would work on this... I have seen other types of cactus remains which look like braided rope but a little more open.. and might could be found exactly the diameter you need for a pen....

Do you make those prickly pear plastics yourself ?

later,
Greg