Making Pen parts by casting resin.

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richardandtracy
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Making Pen parts by casting resin.

Post by richardandtracy »

As some of you may be aware, fountain pens are my main hobby.
A couple of years ago I bought a Chinese copy of an expensive Parker Duofold fountain pen, the Kaigelu 316. It was a beautiful pearlescent charcoal grey. Two things spoilt it, the nib wasn't perfect and the finial at the end of the pen was too heavy, being made from brass. The nib was easy to change, and I found a bit of acrylic rod to make a finial from. After making a 2gram finial instead of the 12g brass one, swapping the finial, my £20 Chinese pen felt as wonderful at the £400 Parker.

I showed what I had done on another forum, and got inundated with people asking me for ones for their K316. I made 30, sold them all and still hadn't satisfied demand, but was very bored of making the bits on my lathe as it took around an hour for each. So I tried to mould them. After 9 months of experimentation, it worked...
Image
I have 60 perfect ones.
40 less perfect
And 150 waste finials.

An amazing journey. And I now know a little about casting polyester resin too.

Regards,

Richard.
http://www.chestnutpens.co.uk
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lavenderbee
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Re: Making Pen parts by casting resin.

Post by lavenderbee »

Well done Richard. Good that you have done what you set out to achieve. I have looked at your webpage as I am interested in pens. They are beautiful & I am glad that you have a good sales record. :applesauce: :applesauce:
lavenderbee :-)


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fccs
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Re: Making Pen parts by casting resin.

Post by fccs »

Well done! I've looked at your pens and they're beautiful. One of these days I'll order one or two...my son and I are both fountain pen fans (he got me hooked). I have a Pilot (vanishing point), Pelikan, a Sheaffer, and a Visconti...all of which need to be refilled right now. :-(
Debby

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Mystonique
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Re: Making Pen parts by casting resin.

Post by Mystonique »

Talented people restore my faith that we'll endure. Very impressive.
Myst..
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richardandtracy
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Re: Making Pen parts by casting resin.

Post by richardandtracy »

Debby,

You have a nice core collection. Very good pens. The Pilot VP is particularly unusual, and having a Visconti shows definite signs of good taste!

Of the makes you mentioned, I have only a Lamy - the 'Vista' which is a clear version of the 'Safari'. I was very impressed with the manufacturing of the Lamy pens, but didn't enjoy the feel of the plastic used. I just don't like the feel of the Polycarbonate used in the Safari/Vista or 2000.

My only foray into Italian pens was my Stipula Etruria, a special edition made for 'The Fountain Pen Network'. The material is a gorgeous sparkly blue Cellulose Acetate. Unfortunately the nib was so bad on the pen I had to send it back to be fixed and I've barely used it since - the poor QC on a luxury pen still enrages me and it has put me off the pen & brand for life.

My preferred pens are the hooded nib Parker 61 (I have 9 of these in different nib widths, colours & patterns), though I have a soft spot for the Parker 17 (x5), 51 (x8) and Duofold (x2).
My oldest pen is a c1915 Mabie Todd 'Swan' (has to be filled with an eyedropper as there is no filling mechanism), though I also have 3 Onoto's from the 1920's. I also have bought a number of new pens from China and found that the 'Kaigelu' brand is the most consistently good of the rather variable Chinese brands and use them where I'd be concerned about damaging my more expensive Parker's. I suppose I have well over 100 usable fountain pens, always have 2 with me, and keep around 20 inked up from the range of 26 inks I have.
I'd love to use the Onoto's from the 1920's more often, as their nibs have a wonderful feel and level of flex (the harder you press the wider the line, and this allows huge levels of expression in the writing). Unfortunately the rest of the pen is incompatible with the way a modern office works and the old pens blob and splatter chronically if you don't use them in a sufficiently deliberate & thoughtful way. Great for writing letters though.

If you are interested, take a peek at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com for a forum with over 90,000 registered fp nuts. Must declare an interest, I'm a mod on the Chinese, Indian & Pen Turning forums there. Rather boringly, I have the same user name & avatar there as here.

Regards,

Richard.
http://www.chestnutpens.co.uk
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