# Unicorns, Chimeras and ... TruStone Kitless Pens



## Kaspar (Nov 19, 2013)

Just a little FYI for anyone interested.  

Having heard that the spectacular looking Mexican Agate TruStone contained more resin than the others, I wondered if perhaps it might be the one Trustone that could make a kitless pen.   I cut a small piece and tested it out by trying to make a cap finial out of it.  The result was mixed, but promising.     

I followed the same procedure for making the simplest piece from my current type of kitless pen: the cap finial.  I cut a tenon .175 long and .3937 wide (for the 10M die).  In the process I noticed a lot of powder and the cutting was uneven indicating to me a lot of crumbling at the point of cutting contact.  After a few spring cuts, I was able to get a uniform tenon.  I chamfered it, and tried to thread it.  It actually took the threading pretty well, but only where there was material on both sides to support the cutting.  At the edge there was a bit of crumbling right where the threads taper into nothingness.  (Not unexpected, really, but mere fact of it is discomfiting.)   A little chmanfering did clean a lot of the chipping here and on the whole the threads looked pretty good.   The thread peaks themselves are nice a sharp.  No chipping.  

Then I drilled out the tenon with an "I" bit (.2720) to a depth of .350 (which I have to do to make a final bit of room for a FP nib.)  It seems to have taken hollowing out well.  I screwed it into my prototype cap for this pen, and it held nicely.  I tried to over-tighten it and even to break it off.  It held up.  

In short, I think it could be done, and it would be slightly less messy than any other TruStone, but at this point I'd still have to say you should only attempt it as a "curiosity" and something you would keep for yourself, not something you'd risk selling to anyone who knows where you live.  Or could find out.  

And if after a year or two of use without breaking anywhere, maybe it would be saleable.  

I may try to follow up on this, when I have some free time.  (So, somewhere around 2067 A.D. ...)


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## ALexG (Nov 19, 2013)

Thanks for the info, Mexican Agate is my favorite TruStone I made beautiful pens with it


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## firewhatfire (Nov 19, 2013)

I have one made from banded Ivory tru-stone I have been toting for a few months.  I did segments black alumalite for the threaded sections.  Only reason I didn't list it for sale was an air bubble in the tru-stone.


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## Kaspar (Nov 19, 2013)

One can, of course, use TruStone in a kitless pen, but I was thinking of one made entirely from TruStone.   I should have been more specific.


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## Brooks803 (Nov 19, 2013)

It can definitely be done: http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/kitless-tru-stone-86832/

I've handled the pen myself. The threads are super brittle. I think at some point they broke, but I could be wrong. If you're super curious I can call up Hans and see if he still has it.

This is the closest I've come to doing a kitless trustone:


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## Kaspar (Nov 20, 2013)

Yeah, I saw that thread when I did a search for anyone else who'd tried it.  Several mentions in that thread of all the attendant problems.  I was hoping the Mexican Agate might be different because of its resin content.


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## watch_art (Nov 28, 2013)

or you could make acrylic threaded inserts (or hard rubber or...) 
Tru Blue – Persian Turquoise | Newton Pens

and make sleeves from the trustone like you would on a kit pen... sort of... just without the brass bits...

Trustone | Newton Pens

i thought I had better pics of the process but I guess not...

White Gold Stone | Newton Pens


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## Kaspar (Dec 2, 2013)

Yes, I have thought of using something else for the core of such pens, and I will be doing some of those, in wood as well.  

My hope, though, was for a pen made completely of TruStone and that just doesn't appear to be possible.  Too bad.


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## edstreet (Dec 2, 2013)

Kaspar said:


> Yes, I have thought of using something else for the core of such pens, and I will be doing some of those, in wood as well.
> 
> My hope, though, was for a pen made completely of TruStone and that just doesn't appear to be possible.  Too bad.



Try this.  The company that makes trustone has 2 grades.  The pen community only uses one of them.  Get some of the other grade and see if that would be better.


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