# Little Black Number (Custom)



## Curly (Nov 4, 2012)

This is the pen I entered in the Best of IAP Pen Contest for 2012.

 It is made of Black Ebonite, a Schmidt #5 nib, and takes the  standard ink cartridge. Threads are 12mm triple start cap / barrel and 9 x .75mm section / to barrel. Length capped is 3 5/8", posted is 5 1/2" (if I remembered correctly) and it tips the scale at under 10 grams. This one isn't clipped as it is meant to be carried in a ladies purse. 

To the best of my knowledge no one has made a pen with this configuration before now, making it compact for carry and a comfortable length for writing. 

Please feel free to express your opinions of my pen.

Pete


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## Kretzky (Nov 4, 2012)

Great job Pete! Novel idea & some "out of the box" thinking. Having seen one of these in the flesh, it really is a innovative idea.
Suggestion if I may... could you incorporate a clip? all I'm thinking is being so compact it could get lost in the bottom of a pocket, bag etc.
Otherwise super pen & great execution, fit & finish are fabulous.
Keep up the good work Pete!
David


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## paintspill (Nov 4, 2012)

that is slick. i say no to the clip. i think it would take away in this case, my 2 cents.
i love it


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## Jim Burr (Nov 4, 2012)

Ha!! What a great shape!!! I can see a clip on it, just for orientation purposes


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## skiprat (Nov 4, 2012)

That is so slick it's sick!!.:biggrin:

It's a serious IAP winner in my book anyway!!!  Very well done!!


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## ironman123 (Nov 4, 2012)

Nice straight lines.  Cool idea for the pen.

Ray


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## Buzzzz4 (Nov 4, 2012)

Very cool! Nice thinking outside the box. How is it to write with having the straight section to hold onto?


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## Bigj51 (Nov 4, 2012)

Now that is just slick! I like it a lot. Solid black pens are really growing on me.


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## scotian12 (Nov 4, 2012)

Pete...this is beautiful craftsmanship.How did you get such a super shine on the ebonite? You have created a new pen style based on a need...purse pen. Its a winner.   Darrell


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## joefyffe (Nov 4, 2012)

Pete:  I'm right in there with Skippy!  "It's so slick it's sick" ening to me that you designed it before I even thought about it, I am :turtle:brain.  AArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!:frown: :biggrin::beer::beer:


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## plano_harry (Nov 4, 2012)

WoW!  What a great pen.  Very unique and I love the styling.  Also wondering how you got the super shine!  Fantastic!

Harry


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## mikespenturningz (Nov 4, 2012)

That is really cool.


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## Jim15 (Nov 4, 2012)

Great work.


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## lorbay (Nov 4, 2012)

Pete that is really nice.

Lin.


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## Crickett (Nov 4, 2012)

Buzzzz4 said:


> Very cool! Nice thinking outside the box. How is it to write with having the straight section to hold onto?



Hi Eric,  I've used the pen quite a bit and I like writing with it... and as soon as I find where he put it it'll be back in my purse! :wink:


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## anthonyd (Nov 4, 2012)

Really creative and original.

Tony


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## Robert111 (Nov 4, 2012)

Oh MAN! That is so cool!


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## MartinPens (Nov 4, 2012)

Very creative Pete! Thanks for showing it or we may have never seen it! ; )

And that's quite a shine on that ebonite, wow!


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## BRobbins629 (Nov 4, 2012)

That is a beauty Pete - and creative as well.  It ain't easy to get a shine like that.


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## chriselle (Nov 4, 2012)

And thus it's revealed. Hey Pete..:wink:

I got a first hand peek at this little wonder when I met Pete and Marla this past summer (thanks again guys..:wink.  It was a cumberland version as I recall.  
   I've gotten pretty confident at the whole custom pen thing but when I saw Pete's little creation I was pretty much floored.  It wasn't so much with the execution in making the pen, which was flawless, but rather the ingenuity in thinking up the design.  Especially considering the talent pool within our community here at the IAP it was perplexing to me that someone could think that far outside of the box and yet keeping it so incredibly basic and simple.   So cool Pete.  Thanks for sharing.  I expect it'll be copied by days end..:biggrin:

I that the Japanese ebonite?


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## Andrew_K99 (Nov 4, 2012)

Very nice Pete!

I've been working on a pen I'm calling 'stubz', it's a similar concept but very different in execution.  You've inspired me to get it done sooner.

AK


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## OKLAHOMAN (Nov 4, 2012)

Wow!!!!! lets see you designed a pen that looks fantastic, showed skills beyond what most have shown and the judges decided that no 3rd place  in two categories. This pen deserves at least a third place in the fountain pen or open category.


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## Dalecamino (Nov 4, 2012)

Gotta hand it to you Pete, I love the design. And, since it is made for a purse, the lack of clip is forgiven. :biggrin: Outstanding finish friend.


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## simomatra (Nov 4, 2012)

Well done Pete never seen a pen like that but sure have seen some lip stick containers that look like that


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## Curly (Nov 4, 2012)

Thank you all for your kind words and support. It does mean a lot and lets me know I'm on the right track. 

For all those that want to know how to get Ebonite to shine and sparkle. I turn and sand at lower speeds than you would with most plastics, about 1000 rpm give or take a few hundred. I started sanding with 320 and ended at 600 or 800, forgot which,  stopping to sand lengthwise at each grit. Then it was a little 0000 steel wool and then went through the 3 stages of buffing with the Beall system, also at 800 to 1200 rpm. 

Yes Chris the Ebonite is the stuff you brought me in the summer And it does preffer to be turned slowly or it eats the HSS tool edges. :wink:

Time for me to start putting my brain back into its box. :biggrin: I have to go to work tomorrow. :frown:

All the best 
Pete


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## bluwolf (Nov 5, 2012)

Maybe it has to do with the finish. As soon as I looked at it, the word slick came to mind. Then I realized 2 or 3 other people already called it slick. Anyway, that really is thinking outside the box. Well done!

Mike


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## Jim in Oakville (Nov 5, 2012)

I love it!


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## johncrane (Nov 5, 2012)

Different is great, i like your style, good job Pete.:biggrin:


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## Dustygoose (Nov 5, 2012)

I like it and the no clip.  It looks wet it's so shiny


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## Russianwolf (Nov 5, 2012)

great pen. A real keeper.


The design is actually similar to a couple I've seen before. One is the Kaweco Sport, and the other ,I'm fuzzy on which company made it (I think either MB or Waterman,) a colleague had a while back was really for women as it was a floral design.


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## GaryMGg (Nov 5, 2012)

That's just toooooo likeable! :biggrin:
Great looking pen.


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## watch_art (Nov 6, 2012)

Very nice.  Bexley did something similar in 2004.





And if I can find it there's a neat pen from the early 30s in a very similar style - one reviewed with a flexible nib on FPN...

edit:
here it is.
Diamond Point, Long and Short.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=137710


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## Curly (Nov 6, 2012)

Thanks Shawn. It looks like my original idea was sort of original before. :frown: I should have known I wasn't the only brilliant guy in the world. :wink:


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## watch_art (Nov 6, 2012)

It is very nicely done.

I don't think there's much new under the sun these days.


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## Jjartwood (Nov 7, 2012)

Really cool look,even better workmanship.
I've been considering a kitless project and you may have pushed me into it with this beauty.
Beautiful work,simply Beautiful
Mark


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## cnirenberg (Nov 7, 2012)

Pete,
Well done.  I like it.


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## Brooks803 (Nov 7, 2012)

Brilliant idea Pete! Love the look and execution. A winner in my eyes!


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## Fishinbo (Nov 8, 2012)

Black is truly beautiful.


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## magpens (May 28, 2017)

Great idea and execution, Pete !!! . That was nearly 5 years ago ... what's your latest "slick" idea ?

I hadn't seen this before, so thanks for referencing in a recent thread by Texasshipagent.

Now my comment will "bump" your slickness into the New Threads !! . More kudos for you, I expect !!


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## jeff (Jun 4, 2017)

Time for a blast from the past!

Looks nice on the front page, Pete! :biggrin:


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## magpens (Jun 4, 2017)

Hey !!! . How about that !! . More kudos for your fantastic design and workmanship, Pete !!

Just as I said above !!!


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## mark james (Jun 4, 2017)

I LOVE the oldies!  Classic design and much to learn from.

Congrats!


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## Curly (Jun 4, 2017)

Thank you so much Jeff!! I never thought a pen of mine would make it to the front page much less one from the past. I'd hoped that one day a future pen might grace the page so now instead of striving I'll have to top myself. 

Again thank you. I'm honoured.


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## magpens (Jun 4, 2017)

Just rest on your laurels, Pete !!!!!


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## SteveG (Jun 4, 2017)

I always thought this pen deserved the recognition the first time around. What a nice effort!! If not then, then NOW! Great to see it on the Front Page.


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