I have been experimenting with acrylics and ebonite lately.
I also found a beautiful piece of cocobolo that needed to be made into a pen.
Enjoy and as always all comments, critiques and questions are welcome.
Cheers
Dan Symonds
Cocobolo with celtic knot theme.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Celuloid Acrylic with floral theme on cap.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Ebonite and alternate ivory.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Black dyed Box Elder burl and TruStone #40 Turquoise
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Full Version: A few new pens.
Congratulations, beautifull works of art!
Is the carving done by hand?
Is the carving done by hand?
Very impressive! The celtic knot theme is fantastic.
What beautiful heirloom pieces!
Okay, now that we have seen the carrot, and smelled it, you can break out the stick. How much for one of these beauties? They are some of the most gorgeous pens i have seen. They are so beautiful I could forgive an M or B nib on one. 
Thank you for sharing, but my wife won't thank you if I am not able to resist.
Donnie
Thank you for sharing, but my wife won't thank you if I am not able to resist.Donnie
They are beautiful. Completely amazing. Stunning.
I cannot imagine anyone having the skill to do that by hand. Equally well, the carving doesn't look possible by CNC either.
I am simply gobsmacked.
With the multicoloured carving, did you make your own material as a monolithic lump & then carve it, or did you machine a layer, glue plastic of a different colour onto it and then machine again?
I cannot imagine anyone having the skill to do that by hand. Equally well, the carving doesn't look possible by CNC either.
I am simply gobsmacked.
With the multicoloured carving, did you make your own material as a monolithic lump & then carve it, or did you machine a layer, glue plastic of a different colour onto it and then machine again?
Beautiful!
Those pens are awesome, excellent work on all! 
Mark
Mark
Beautiful workmanship! I believe any one of those pens would be the center-piece anyone's collection.
Paul
Paul
My thanks to all for the comments.
I am truly pleased that they appeal to such a discriminating group.
The carving on the pens is done with a cnc. I use a very fine cutter and many passes to achieve the depth of detail and the surface finish I desire. It's a fairly time consuming process but rewarding for me.
The multicolored pieces are done by turning a barrel to a small diameter then turning an additional barrel that is bored to a very fine fit over the first barrel. Then they are bonded togather. The entire pen is finished except for the carving. Once the pen is done and the finish is to my liking, I then put it on the cnc to finish the carving detail. I carve down through the outside color layer and expose the inner layer. In the process I create the 3D detail in the outer material. Hope this makes sense. It's not really that complicated but doing the carving after completely finishing the pen means that I have some very pretty "failures" that show up on occasion but that's just the breaks of the game.
All of the pens are for sale and I will be in the Dallas pen show. I will be attending the DC show next month and hope to find a good audience for my work there.
I have not updated my web site in a while due to my day work and my pen work seeming to take up all my spare time.
I hope to do update the site this weekend and all of these pens will be posted with prices.
Again, thanks for the comments and anyone going to DC or Dallas please look me up.
Cheers
Dan
I am truly pleased that they appeal to such a discriminating group.
The carving on the pens is done with a cnc. I use a very fine cutter and many passes to achieve the depth of detail and the surface finish I desire. It's a fairly time consuming process but rewarding for me.
The multicolored pieces are done by turning a barrel to a small diameter then turning an additional barrel that is bored to a very fine fit over the first barrel. Then they are bonded togather. The entire pen is finished except for the carving. Once the pen is done and the finish is to my liking, I then put it on the cnc to finish the carving detail. I carve down through the outside color layer and expose the inner layer. In the process I create the 3D detail in the outer material. Hope this makes sense. It's not really that complicated but doing the carving after completely finishing the pen means that I have some very pretty "failures" that show up on occasion but that's just the breaks of the game.
All of the pens are for sale and I will be in the Dallas pen show. I will be attending the DC show next month and hope to find a good audience for my work there.
I have not updated my web site in a while due to my day work and my pen work seeming to take up all my spare time.
I hope to do update the site this weekend and all of these pens will be posted with prices.
Again, thanks for the comments and anyone going to DC or Dallas please look me up.
Cheers
Dan
I love the Celtic knot design.
Is that truly Cocobolo, or simply ebonite that looks like it?
How much will you be selling it for?
If you sell that one, would you be willing to produce another one (even if in a different material)?
Is that truly Cocobolo, or simply ebonite that looks like it?
How much will you be selling it for?
If you sell that one, would you be willing to produce another one (even if in a different material)?
QUOTE (griffin2020 @ Jul 16 2008, 01:20 PM) 
I love the Celtic knot design.
Is that truly Cocobolo, or simply ebonite that looks like it?
How much will you be selling it for?
If you sell that one, would you be willing to produce another one (even if in a different material)?
Is that truly Cocobolo, or simply ebonite that looks like it?
How much will you be selling it for?
If you sell that one, would you be willing to produce another one (even if in a different material)?
That actually is a piece of Cocobolo. I have done some in ebonite but not this one.
I will email you BC with a price for the pen.
Yes I have enough of this particular piece of wood to do perhaps one or two more. It won't be exact due to wood differences but it would be close.
Thanks for your interest.
Dan
QUOTE (dsymonds @ Jul 16 2008, 06:35 PM)
...The carving on the pens is done with a cnc. I use a very fine cutter and many passes to achieve the depth of detail and the surface finish I desire. It's a fairly time consuming process but rewarding for me.
The multicolored pieces are done by turning a barrel to a small diameter then turning an additional barrel that is bored to a very fine fit over the first barrel. Then they are bonded togather. The entire pen is finished except for the carving. Once the pen is done and the finish is to my liking, I then put it on the cnc to finish the carving detail. I carve down through the outside color layer and expose the inner layer. In the process I create the 3D detail in the outer material. Hope this makes sense. It's not really that complicated but doing the carving after completely finishing the pen means that I have some very pretty "failures" that show up on occasion but that's just the breaks of the game.
...
The multicolored pieces are done by turning a barrel to a small diameter then turning an additional barrel that is bored to a very fine fit over the first barrel. Then they are bonded togather. The entire pen is finished except for the carving. Once the pen is done and the finish is to my liking, I then put it on the cnc to finish the carving detail. I carve down through the outside color layer and expose the inner layer. In the process I create the 3D detail in the outer material. Hope this makes sense. It's not really that complicated but doing the carving after completely finishing the pen means that I have some very pretty "failures" that show up on occasion but that's just the breaks of the game.
...
Dan,
Thanks for letting us know how you did it. Simply amazing. The results are startling and just amazing.
Regards
Richard.
QUOTE
...a fairly time consuming process but rewarding for me...
That has to be the understatement of the week
What wonderful workmanship!!
Respect,
Ruaidhrí
i just went to your website to get a price for the Celuloid Acrylic with floral theme on cap but it is still being updated. i look at this pen everytime i am online. awesome work.
Awesomely!
Those masterpieces are works of art 
I am impressed.
I am impressed.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.