!Hello Friends,
First of all, my apologies for the delay on stickers and the Frankenpen Part 2 article. These are still cooking, however the Frankenpen project has expanded and will require a little more time and testing, and the sticker project has taken a back-burner to my new endeavors, but will be picked up again soon.
I also had the opportunity to attend the Chicago Pen Show in the beginning of May and may do a recap of the show in a future post, but for now, I will say it was a great time and I met a lot of awesome people, including the legendary Master Penman, Michael Sull!
So besides all of the traveling, my big news is that I have dived head first into the world of pen making! I am starting with straight pen nib holders, and intend to expand into oblique holders and fountain pens this summer, along with a special secret project that I am excited to share once it's ready.
About three weeks ago I picked up a lightly used Jet 1015VS lathe, and after traveling to Chicago for the pen show, and then again for Mother's Day weekend, I finally had a weekend at home to prep my workshop for pen making. First I built a mobile lathe stand following instructions from Hand Made with Ashley.
This was my first ever woodworking project, and took me a bit longer than I expected, about four days, including research and those pesky extra trips to the hardware store, but it turned out great! Here's a picture of my daughter proudly standing next to the finished project.
Fully expecting to fail my first attempt, I had picked up a Poplar dowel from the hardware store to practice on. I cut the dowel into 11 inch blanks, and the first one ended up being my first pen! Here it is along with some process pictures. This one will of course never be for sale.
My second pen is a meme pen for one of my calligraphy friends, who incepted me with the idea to turn pens, and who has patiently answered my incessant questions at all odd hours of the night. Thanks Wes!
I felt a little more confident this time, so turned the pen with a Chechen wood blank from Woodcraft, which I was able to visit during my second Chicago trip.
For my third pen, I wanted to try turning resin, and started with a short blank that was gifted to me by the generous folks at Myers Pen Co. I was again certain I would ruin it, but it came out pretty nice, if not a bit short. I will be making a longer resin pen next, and then I'd like to try a glossy finish (CA finish) on the next wood pen. Thank you Myers boys for the blanks!
Also want to give a shoutout to Luke from Papa J Studio for sending me a care package with several wood and resin blanks, and for the helpful advice at the Chicago Pen Show!
I still need to sit down and work on the shop section of my site, or decide if I want to make a separate site for the pens, but for now, if you want to purchase a pen from me or commission a custom pen, please shoot me an email at leonardo@writingatnight.com or send me a DM on Instagram @dark.scribe. I also haven't committed to name yet, so if you have any suggestions shoot me a message!
Stay tuned for more news coming soon!
Thanks! -Leo