I Dont Use Theses Pens But My Mom Does, Need Info On A Gift

[Gracefaith]

Hi everyone!

My mother loves these pens, and recently made comments about how she lost her set yada yada.. So i like to make stuff with polymer clay, and recent saw a video on making a ink well holder and a nib pen in a fariy-ish theme. and thought awesome I can make mom a sea themed one. As i was looking on line i see there are more then one type of nib, and I am not rely wanting to make a new pen for every nib, lol So i have a few questions.

1) Are all nibs the same sized around the top part that is inserted into the pen handle?

2) Were can I get a good set of same sized nibs that would be interchangeable with the one pen handle?

3) Where could I get a good ink well/bottle(empty no ink). and is there a type that has something like a removable liner inside.( I want to build around the bottle, but I want her to be able to wash it with out washing the whole piece.

4) Dose the size of the handle matter?

And what ever else you think i might need to know.

I have been going crazy try to research all this and all I am doing is giving myself a migraine. And i could ask my mother this stuff but shes the type of person who's like WTH do wana know that for Lmao. So asking her is shooting myself in the foot.

[Arkanabar]

I am not aware of any fountain pens made with polymer clay. Fountain pens have an internal ink reservoir, and a tricky piece of plastic called a feed that carries ink from the internal reservoir to the nib slit by a combination of gravity and capillary action, and a nib.

 

The site which explains how (nearly) all the fountain pens work is www.richardspens.com -- the main content creator, Richard Binder, is just about the foremost authority on the subject alive today.

 

If the pen you wish to make will be dipped into ink every few lines while writing, rather than being filled with ink every few pages, you are thinking about a dip pen, which is a very different creature, that I can easily imagine being made from polymer clay.

[DaveT]

First of all welcome to FPN.

 

Fountain pens can be made of polymer clay. But not in the way you are thinking.

 

These are typically made as "kit pens". Kit pens start with a bag of parts and some material to make the barrel(s) of the pen. The clay is formed onto brass tubes that are part of the kit and then turned on a lathe to the exact diameter needed for that kit. Polymer clay is typically not for a beginning pen turner.

 

A good place to start for information on how to this is http://www.penturners.org/. You can find examples of polymer clay pens there.

 

I do not know of a way to make these without using a pen kit.

 

Good luck !

Edited August 2, 2016 by DaveT

[Gracefaith]

this is how i was planing to make it, lol it wont let meon to the other site right now ill take a look later.

[linearM]

I'm assuming you want to make a dip pen handle using polymer clay. If you go to etsy.com and search for polymer dip pens you will see examples of what some people have done. I don't think they look like they would be very comfortable to write with. If you go to www.johnnealbooks.com you will find both pen holders and nibs. You will be able to get an idea of the shape and length of the handle. I've had custom pen holders made for me from wood and they use a metal insert to hold the nib. I'm not sure where you could get one, of course you could go to an art supply store and buy a wood or plastic one and take the insert out of that pen to put in the one you are making for your mother.

 

Most nibs for dip pens will fit the standard handle. But you probably wouldn't want a crow-quill pen as those nibs are very fine and small and would require a different sized insert. Crow-quill nibs are mainly used for drawing..

[Gracefaith]

Cool Ty, and I was thinking they did not look comfortable. I was going to try to make the clay like the center and then place it in a resin mold to get the smooth pen feel but ill have to try it out. lol might not look right after i add resin.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Gracefaith

[mmg122]

The Kaweco Company makes a pen they call the Fantasy Pen which is the raw base of a fountain pen specifically made to be embellished with polymar clay. You can also get it as a ballpoint or in a set. Here's the link:

 

http://www.kaweco-pen.com/en/Schreibgeraete/andere_serien/fantasy-pen/fantasy-pen.php

 

You can get empty ink bottles in all kinds of fancy designs at Anderson Pens, Vanness Pens and Goulet Pens for less than $5. USD. I'm sure other websites have them also but these 3 come to mind. It would be easy to make a holder/ink stand that she could slip the glass bottle out of. Lastly, Kaweco also sells various nib sizes that fit their pens. Just ask her what nib size she prefers and get her that one. The Kaweco Fantasy Pens can use cartridge or convertor, IIRC.

 

There's a You Tube video that shows a polymar clay design being created for the Kaweco Fantasy Pen in a "steampunk" style.

 

Photo shows Kaweco Raw Brass Fantasy pen set covered in polymar clay.

 

Good luck with your project.

 

Mary