Pens and pocket knives

[cunim]

Turns out there is some overlap between small knife makers and pen makers.  Mind, almost all of those knife/pen companies make fancy ball points but the odd fountain pen shows up.

 

This is a little gent's knife from Joe Kious.  Joe passed years ago, but his knives remain sought after.  The blade and bolsters are hand-forged damascus.  The scales are fossilized mammoth.  The pins that hold it all together are gold.

 

I don't have ballpoints, so I can't show pen/knife pairings from various makers.  I'll use pens that seem to echo some feature of the knives.  This pen is my favorite W94, notable for a fine line, moderate flex, and excellent feedback.  Rippled ebonite and damascus steel have similarities.

 

[cunim]

Another pair, this time with an oddly similar color signature.  The pen is from Shawn Newton and uses a primary manipulation resin from Jonathon Brooks.  I think Shawn called this resin "Jackson Pollock".  It's a piston filler and sports a rhodinated 14K Bock #8 nib.  Shawn did a nice job of making it, but I have to admit I rarely ink it up.  I tend to carry flex nibs.

 

The knife is a tarted up (gold class) production model from Benchmade.  They take a reasonably priced model - the mini crooked river in this case - substitute in premium materials and charge four times as much for the result.  Sound like gold vs steel nibs?  The blade is a powder metallurgy damascus from Damasteel in Sweden.  The black parts of the handle are milled carbon fiber, and there are weird wood inlays that I can't say I am fond of.  Inlay color does match the pen pretty well.

 

Unlike the pen, I carry this knife regularly.  It's light, fits easily in a pocket and deploys very smoothly.

 

[cunim]

Japanese fountain pens occupy a large segment of the international fountain pen market.  Japanese chef's knives perform similarly and enjoy brisk sales overseas.  n contrast, Japanese pocket knives are uncommon, though they share the same general characteristics as the chef's knives (quality construction, good materials).  This Rockstead Ryu folder and the Sailor King of Pen both incorporate high quality metals and handle materials. Both are expensive.  The KOP sells well internationally.  The Ryu is somewhat rare.

 

C'mon.  Let's see what other people are carrying.

 

[austinwft]

[Newton Pens]

On 7/23/2022 at 7:43 PM, cunim said:

Another pair, this time with an oddly similar color signature.  The pen is from Shawn Newton and uses a primary manipulation resin from Jonathon Brooks.  I think Shawn called this resin "Jackson Pollock".  It's a piston filler and sports a rhodinated 14K Bock #8 nib.  Shawn did a nice job of making it, but I have to admit I rarely ink it up.  I tend to carry flex nibs.

 

 

 

That resin is made by Bob Dupras out of Little Rock, Ar, and we call it Pollock's Amber Convergence.  The original idea was to get the color scheme from that painting into a pen blank. 

 

[cunim]

On 11/3/2022 at 4:02 PM, Newton Pens said:

 

 

That resin is made by Bob Dupras out of Little Rock, Ar, and we call it Pollock's Amber Convergence.  The original idea was to get the color scheme from that painting into a pen blank. 

 

Sorry for the error and it is too late to edit so this will serve as the correction.  You told me about Bob but, somehow, I got it wrong with the passing of years.  Hope all is well with you and yours.

[Newton Pens]

On 11/6/2022 at 9:59 AM, cunim said:

Sorry for the error and it is too late to edit so this will serve as the correction.  You told me about Bob but, somehow, I got it wrong with the passing of years.  Hope all is well with you and yours.

 

 

  I can't remember most of the names either, and keep a page on my website with a list.  X)  Gorgeous photo.  Glad you're still enjoying the pen.

[Estycollector]

FYI, Autopoint made knives. 

[cunim]

Autopoint, yes, I searched and found lots of images.  Not much about fountain pens, though.

 

Interesting that Conid has started production again.  I am sure they would make an awesome pocket knife.  Sadly, they are as swamped with work as ever and knives will never happen.

 

This is a Grimsmo norseman, posing with a Conid CAISO.  The connection is that both Komec (Conid) and Grimsmo are fine CNC shops with long waiting lists.  Komec is larger (much), better equipped (also much) and more experienced, but The Grimsmo brothers make fine titanium knives in their family shop.  They also make the saga pen.  That is just another boring ballpoint and, far as I know, Grimsmo are not thinking about making a real pen.  Bet they could, though.

 

 

[Estycollector]

13 hours ago, cunim said:

Autopoint, yes, I searched and found lots of images.  Not much about fountain pens, though.

 

Interesting that Conid has started production again.  I am sure they would make an awesome pocket knife.  Sadly, they are as swamped with work as ever and knives will never happen.

 

This is a Grimsmo norseman, posing with a Conid CAISO.  The connection is that both Komec (Conid) and Grimsmo are fine CNC shops with long waiting lists.  Komec is larger (much), better equipped (also much) and more experienced, but The Grimsmo brothers make fine titanium knives in their family shop.  They also make the saga pen.  That is just another boring ballpoint and, far as I know, Grimsmo are not thinking about making a real pen.  Bet they could, though.

 

 

Autopoint FP's are as rare as hen's teeth.