# My Attempt for the front page



## Brooks803 (Apr 18, 2010)

This is my first attempt at a double closed end pen as well as a hidden clip. The blank is a banded ivory TruStone from R&B crafts. I used the centerband and threads from an Rhodium Olympian Elite kit and used a clip from a Jr. Retro. MM to 12000 and buffed with tripoli and white diamond. Polished with PlastX and a coat of Ren wax. Any comments and critiques welcomed and appreciated.


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## dexter0606 (Apr 18, 2010)

It is a beautiful pen!! Even with a sore thumb you managed this?
It is a very nice looking pen. Good job. 

Jeff


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## Pioneerpens (Apr 18, 2010)

Wow! That is stunning!


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## David Keller (Apr 18, 2010)

It's very nice.  The cap end seems a bit short to me visually, but that may just be the photo.  Beautiful work on the hidden clip.


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## Jgrden (Apr 18, 2010)

Booochious.


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## Parson (Apr 18, 2010)

Very nice work indeed. What mandrels did you use for the top and bottom?


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## Brooks803 (Apr 18, 2010)

David Keller said:


> It's very nice. The cap end seems a bit short to me visually, but that may just be the photo. Beautiful work on the hidden clip.


 
it is a bit shorter than I wanted. I've never had a problem with any of the trustones I've bought but on this one I had an air bubble show up on the end and it chipped off. I wasn't able to save it so I had to shorten it up a tad, plus I was wanting to not use the stock centerband but with the chip out I had to bc it added the length that the chip out lost.


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## Mark (Apr 18, 2010)

It's a very unique pen. Nicely done..


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## Brooks803 (Apr 18, 2010)

dexter0606 said:


> It is a beautiful pen!! Even with a sore thumb you managed this?
> It is a very nice looking pen. Good job.
> 
> Jeff


 
I'm surprised I managed this with all fingers and toes in proper working order...dunno who has a sore thumb, but it's not me. Thank you for the comment tho!



Parson said:


> Very nice work indeed. What mandrels did you use for the top and bottom?


 
I used transfer punches mounted in my barracuda chuck. For the cap I had to grind off a bit of metal and add a pin chuck. The body the punch was a perfect snug fit so no altering for that one.


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## hewunch (Apr 18, 2010)

Great work! Maybe I will let you teach the class on the 1st :biggrin::biggrin::wink:


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## seamus7227 (Apr 18, 2010)

Very nicely done! Thats too bad you had the blowout, it would have looked great without the centerband, not that it doesnt look good now, but you know what i mean.:frown:


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## hunter-27 (Apr 18, 2010)




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## Brooks803 (Apr 18, 2010)

hewunch said:


> Great work! Maybe I will let you teach the class on the 1st :biggrin::biggrin::wink:


 
Hans...All I had was ALOT of luck that the clip worked out at all. When I had the chip out I had to go plumit through ALL my kits to find a rhodium clip that wasn't longer than the cap itself! Trust me...I need help (in sooooo many ways :tongue:)



seamus7227 said:


> Very nicely done! Thats too bad you had the blowout, it would have looked great without the centerband, not that it doesnt look good now, but you know what i mean.:frown:


 
I do, I didn't want any color except the clip and the blank but since I haven't tried the kitless tap & die methods I had to go back to this design.


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## cnirenberg (Apr 18, 2010)

Very, very nice looking pen. I love that trustone......


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## workinforwood (Apr 19, 2010)

It's a beautiful pen Brooks.  Good luck with your quest.


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## Jim15 (Apr 19, 2010)

Awesome pen.


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## OLDMAN5050 (Apr 19, 2010)

WOW. some day I wil try to do one. yours is flawless


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## mbroberg (Apr 19, 2010)

Very nice pen.  My attempts at invisible clips have all failed.  You did a very good job!


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## bgibb42 (Apr 19, 2010)

What a beautiful pen.  I hate you guys that make great customizations on the first try.  Almost makes me want to give penturning.  Almost.:wink:  Nice job!


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## Brooks803 (Apr 19, 2010)

workinforwood said:


> It's a beautiful pen Brooks. Good luck with your quest.


 
Thank you, but with the amazing work you've recently posted my chances have decreased drastically:wink: 



bgibb42 said:


> What a beautiful pen. I hate you guys that make great customizations on the first try. Almost makes me want to give penturning. Almost.:wink: Nice job!


 
You could just chalk it up to beginners luck...I gave this a go bc Hans is doing a demo on hidden clips on May 1st and since I'm a visual learner I wanted to get some firsthand experience so I can try to be on the same page while I'm watching Hans do his thing (which is awesome btw!). It'll be in columbia, SC if anyone can spare an afternoon to check it out. PM me for any details if interested!


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## Crashmph (Apr 19, 2010)

beautiful pen. job well done!


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## Oldwagon (Apr 19, 2010)

If you need a place to park that thing my desk has a empty spot on the pen stand waiting to be filled.That sure is nice.It should make front page without any trouble.Todd


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## johncrane (Apr 19, 2010)

Very good and a great save,i think that clip is one of the best out there, again well done.


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## Rfturner (Apr 19, 2010)

good job on the blank


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## Brooks803 (Apr 19, 2010)

Oldwagon said:


> If you need a place to park that thing my desk has a empty spot on the pen stand waiting to be filled.That sure is nice.It should make front page without any trouble.Todd


 
Sorry Todd, made this one for myself :biggrin:. This will be my trial into the fountain pen world. I want to learn how to adjust the nibs and so forth so when I do start upgrading to the nicer nibs I can be familiar with them. I'm starting on a matching onyx trustone rollerball probably tomorrow for a desk set for good ole me (unless someone wants to trade their wallet for it :wink


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## avbill (Apr 20, 2010)

Very, VEry, VERy, VERY  nice!


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## hewunch (Apr 20, 2010)

is that the clip to a zen?


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## Brooks803 (Apr 20, 2010)

hewunch said:


> is that the clip to a zen?


 

Nope, it's from a Jr. Retro. It was the only clip I could find that didn't extend past the center band.


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## hewunch (Apr 20, 2010)

ok, it looks like a Zen clip too, and I think the Zen clip is smaller and shorter and I had an extra.


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## Brooks803 (Apr 20, 2010)

If you could hang on to it for me I'd GREATLY appreciate it. I'm starting a matching black onyx rollerball today and have been trying to figure out what clip to use this go around. Oh yea, what plating is it though?


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## bitshird (Apr 20, 2010)

Beautiful pen, great job on the clip.


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## hewunch (Apr 20, 2010)

Chrome plated


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## Brooks803 (Apr 20, 2010)

That will work. Could you bring it to the demo? I'll go ahead and have everything ready on my end and mabye install it there and show everyone how I did mine.  Btw...what style pen are you thinking about doing yours on? I also have a couple extra clips from the Olympian Elite if you think you'll want/need them. They are both rhodium plating.


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## hewunch (Apr 20, 2010)

Been thinking a lot about what to show. Might show a retro. Haven't decided yet.


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## Brooks803 (Apr 21, 2010)

I just wanted to post a big thank you to everyone who has either looked or commented on this pen. It's the great people here that help motivate amateurs like myself to take that next step and improve on my skills each time. So Thank You all :biggrin:


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## Caden_Hrabak (Apr 22, 2010)

i love how the ends are rounded and how the clip is hidden this is an amazing looking pen


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