# Spyra



## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Well, after months of legwork and countless broken tools, it's finally done.  A sellable pen.  The wife is going to a neighborhood gathering tomorrow, and she was told to bring it since one of the neighbors is a high end pen collector and wanted to see it.

Changes from the prototype include a wider wood base to help show off the grain of the wood, trying to get the wood in the correct order from the wood tube to the pen, and lighter weight on the pen part itself.  I made the base insert bronze instead of tungsten because although it is heavier, the tungsten didn't finish out as well.  It just didn't look fancy enough.  I flared the bronze base into the wood to have more engraving room.  The ring of wood touches the desk and the bronze is raised up slightly.

I also did raise up the upper wooden plug to flush.  Good call on that one.  I stayed with polished finish on this one, but will offer brushed as well.  It still takes tons of time to make, but I'm trying to work on that.


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Here's another shot.  For those just joining us, the pen is titanium with olivewood spirals.  Everything is custom.  The nib is Anthony's small 14k gold one.


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Here's a shot with the pen stored in the base.


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## DCBluesman (Oct 14, 2005)

Gorgeous!  I prefer the polished look.  I'm suspect of any satin surface--what's being hidden.


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Here's the bottom and top.  Sure, selling 250 of them is probably a pipe dream, but better to have too high a number and not need it than too low a number and wish I had it.  I'm contemplating a mokume gane spiral version in something very limited like 25 or 50.  The material alone will be over $900, so I better see if these sell first!


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

OK, one more pic.  I tried all kinds of different backgrounds, and nothing seemed to work better tha plain white for me.  It would be good to have others with a different setup try some pics.


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## JimGo (Oct 14, 2005)

Bruce, that is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!  Fantastic job!  I'm sure it will be a HUGE hit!  Congratulations!


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## Deere41h (Oct 14, 2005)

Wow Bruce...... That is gorgeous.  I can't even imagine what it takes to build something like that.  I do like the shiny finish.  It gives it a touch of class.  Well done!!


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## PenWorks (Oct 14, 2005)

So, am I taking one of these to Frisco or what?  I hope not, if I had that on my table, nobody would look at my pens [] So what is the suggest manufactures retail price ????
Came out wonderfull. A truly unique & exquisite pen.


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Thanks guys.  John, I can't tell you how frustrating it is.  I'm starting quite a large collection of parts that got 90% done before something happened to ruin the part.  I had 2 parts like that today.  The wood blew out of one of the back barrels I was working on that had the nice grain to match the base.  I probably had 10 hours in that part. Fortunately I happened to have a spare back barrel because the front didn't work in a previous attempt!  My machine seems to randomly go out of control, taking the tool and part with it.  I think it has to do with coolant getting in the electrical connections.  I had 3 different parts where that happened, usually on the last spiral after it's been machining for an hour.  It will help to have batches of parts where they all should be interchangeable.  The setup for any given part does take a long time and needs to be thought through to avoid tool crashes.  I think I have all of those surprises figured out now.  I'm definitely being taught in the School of Hard Knocks.

I was so frustrated today that I wasn't sure if I want to sell these things or not!  I was thinking that I can easily make the same amount in a day on rings, so why bother!  In cooling down and finally getting a conglomeration of good parts that all fit together, I realize that there's still a lot of learning curve to go, and eventually they should go easily.  If they sell, I might just be getting a better machining center!


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## btboone (Oct 14, 2005)

Anthony, I would like it to get noticed by the PenWorld and Stylus people, and it would be good for you to review it and get pen people's reaction to it.  SRP is $1695.  If you feel comfortable doing it, I'll send you this one or another in case my neighbor simply HAS to have #001.  []


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## knottyharry (Oct 14, 2005)

Fantastic....
Harry


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## alamocdc (Oct 14, 2005)

OMG, Bruce, all I can say is WOW!!!! [:0] Oh, and one other thing, I truly wish I could afford to buy one, because I would get #002 and cherish it! That is the most awesome FP I've ever seen! [][^]


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## dubdrvrkev (Oct 15, 2005)

I think any collector would be a fool to not get #1 given the chance. Once this gets noticed, you'll definately be in the big time. 

So now the begging question is what are you going to do to top this one?


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## rtjw (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce that is fantastic. Great job, I know a lot of hard work went into it. If Anthony doesnt want to take it and show people, I would be glad to take it and show everyone I know!!![]


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## wdcav1952 (Oct 15, 2005)

Truly incredible Bruce!


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## lkorn (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce, From this end, your efforts in development have been justified.  This pen is absolutely exquisite!  Your creativity and skill at the lathe are awesome.  Well done!


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## btboone (Oct 15, 2005)

&gt;So now the begging question is what are you going to do to top this one?

Kevin, I may have hit upon my niche.  I haven't seen anyone else combine titanium and laser cut wood.  I also have never seen polished titanium out there either.  I've learned to do a pretty fair job at that from my rings.  I like designs that have nice curves and are visually flowing.  I also like the desk pen concept since there is no cap or clip.  There may be other shapes to do a similar thing, with a nice inlay of wood or other things.  I may revisit my original fountain pen design and do away with the cap.  I can also inlay strips of mokume gane, which is another niche type thing.  I need to consider what skills and machines I have and produce things that others don't or can't make. 

Another thing I thought about the other day is when I laser cut the wood from a tube and inlayed every other piece, the part left over looked pretty cool.  You could see the spirals of the opposite side through the holes.  I'll see if I can work with that effect.


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## Chuck Key (Oct 15, 2005)

> _Originally posted by btboone_
> <br />SRP is $1695.  []



Let's see, 250 x 1695 = <b>$ 4 2 3 , 7 5 0 . 0 0</b>.  Now that is cool, real cool!

Cool pen too.

Chuckie

Edited: oops


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## gerryr (Oct 15, 2005)

That's far and away the most gorgeous pen I've ever seen.  Simply incredible.


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## Scottydont (Oct 15, 2005)

Words do not do that justice Bruce. That is a art piece.


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## dubdrvrkev (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce, another thing that I thought when I first saw the prototype is that it would look pretty cool to do the reverse of this pen. You posted a pic of the blank that you had cut the wood strips from and I thought that if you could use the wood for a barrel and inlay the Ti that would look pretty nice. I would think you may be able to change the in/outs of the program to make the cut start on the strip instead of the barrel. That is, if it works anything like the water jet software I use. 
One thing about polished Ti, at least in my experience, is it does wear fairly quickly. I have a Ti wedding ring and it was done so half was polished and half was brushed, now (2.5 years) it looks the same on both sides. I realize the a ring gets a lot more wear than a pen will, specially a collector pen.


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## vick (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce that is stunning, I will not throw away my lathe but I might go out and smack it around some[B)].  I do have a question though I thought you were always supposed to carry fountain pen nib up.  I may be wrong on this and I am sure some one will correct me if I am.  Are you worried about it leeking into the base?  I ask but I am pretty sure most of the ones you sell will probably never have ink in them.  Once again beautiful work.


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## btboone (Oct 15, 2005)

Thanks for the comments guys. []

Hi Mike, The first prototype did drip only about 1 drop.  The base hole is blind, so the ink can never get out and get on the desk.  I adjusted the nib to fully seat, and neither one has leaked since.  It always writes right off the bat too.

Kevin, I'm not sure I could inlay titanium into wood, but I'll think about the process it might take to do that.  For your ring, just use ScotchBrite to get an as-new brushed finish.

Chuck, I imagine most pens would sell through dealers, and it still is a lot of money, but don't underestimate the amount of work these things are.  There's a good 6 to 8 hours in polishing alone!  I'd be happy if I could make 5 in 2 days.  I don't think I could do them in a week yet.  I did put it on my website last night, so it's officially on the market.  I haven't contacted dealers or magazines yet.  I need to figure out a strategy there.


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## Randy_ (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce:  Wonderful job!!  Really don't know what else to say.  I can't find the words to express what I think about your unique pen. Many people call themselves pen artists and aren't.....you don't and are!!


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## Darley (Oct 15, 2005)

Bruce good choice on Anthony nib, you pen is truly fantastic


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## Ron in Drums PA (Oct 15, 2005)

Excellant!


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## btboone (Oct 15, 2005)

Thanks guys.  The report from the wife is that the neighbors liked it and may be ordering for a Hanukkah present.  She wouldn't let her dad see it because she wants to get one for him.


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## JHFerrell (Oct 16, 2005)

Bruce, You are to be congratulated on this one. This is truly a piece of art...to call it a pen is to do it an injustice. I am amazed by it. Out of curiousity, how big is it?


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## btboone (Oct 16, 2005)

Hi John, The pen when sitting in the base is 6.4" tall.  The pen part alone is 6.1" nib to tail.  The pen part is .64" diameter at the widest part, and the base flares out to 1.28" diameter.  My electronic gram scale died, so I can't give an accurate weight, but on my postage spring scale, the pen part weighs just less than 2 ounces, and the base weighs around 5 ounces.

I'll be working on an African Blackwood one next.  I may do it in brushed finish just to make it different.  I have the titanium parts cut and need to do the wood and a few other parts to complete it.  I have some catching up on rings to do over the next couple days though.


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## JHFerrell (Oct 16, 2005)

Thanks Bruce...again congrats on a beautiful piece of work


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## Tom McMillan (Oct 16, 2005)

Absolutely stunning Bruce---WOW!!!!!  []


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## ashaw (Oct 17, 2005)

Bruce 
Great work .... They loook real nice.. I would be glad to try them out and show them off.[]

By the way as far as the magazines PenWorld seems to focus only on the big guys and vintage pens..  Stylus will preview a new artist.  

Pen World is aware that we as a group exist in fact I will be talking to them today about another subject.  


Again Bruce great job and good luck.  The pen is truly worth every penny of 1695.00


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## btboone (Oct 17, 2005)

Thanks Alan and Tom.  I met with the director of marketing of Pen World at the Atlanta pen show, and she wanted me to let her know when I was ready for her to photograph my pens.  I'll talk to her today to see if they would like for me to wait until I have a few different models or go with this one.  I have a couple others on the drawing board that would be simpler to make.


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## nilsatcraft (Oct 17, 2005)

I have to add my compliments, Bruce.  Totally awesome.  That's a genuine original if I've ever seen one.  Amazing.


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## MDWine (Oct 17, 2005)

Hmmmmm.... and how much will that kit be ?? [][]

Really, a very beautiful piece of functional art!!!
Nicely done!


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## btboone (Oct 17, 2005)

Thanks guys.  Believe me Michael, you don't want to make this one!  Just the wood part is a ton of work!  The hand finishing is lots of work too. I can't tell you how many times I've glued my fingers to the parts as the glue ran down the spirals to the opposite side.  I finally relied on some polyethylene blocks to push on the strips as they're glued in.

I might try veneer stock just to make sure it doesn't work.  It would save tons of time, but probably won't give the same look.  I imagine it's probably a selling point to mention that the wood comes from solid stock and all hand finished.


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## JimGo (Oct 17, 2005)

Bruce, you wouldn't believe how many times Michael has glued his fingers to the parts as the glue rand down the tubes to the opposite sides - that alone wouldn't disuade him from the kit! []

That's a heck of a pen, and it sure would make an interesting kit design, especially if done in less expensive metals that we could later have powder coated (hint hint Bruce!).


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## justdawn (Oct 17, 2005)

you are one talented man!!!
that is beatuiful beyond words!

Dawn


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## driften (Oct 19, 2005)

Just another sample of master level art from you. Bruce you are really amazing in your design and how it comes out!

I just love seeing what you come up with!


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## Rifleman1776 (Oct 19, 2005)

The amount of design effort and work went into just coming up with the idea has me boggled. Your final result makes most superlatives inadequate. Maybe the biggest compliment I can offer is to remind you of what it takes to get me to compliment any non-all wood pen. [^]


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## btboone (Oct 19, 2005)

[] Thanks Frank.  I tried to slip some wood in there to keep from alienating everyone. [] I appreciate the kudos guys.

Anthony received the pen today.  He'll be taking it to the San Francisco Pen Show.  I'm keeping my fingers spiraled, err, crossed.  We'll see how it does in front of some real pen collectors.


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## PenWorks (Oct 19, 2005)

> _Originally posted by btboone_
> <br />[]
> Anthony received the pen today.  He'll be taking it to the San Francisco Pen Show.  I'm keeping my fingers spiraled, err, crossed.  We'll see how it does in front of some real pen collectors.



and I thought you sent it to me as a gift for my desk [V]

But goes to show you, as inviting or univiting as the pen may look in a photo. You can't sell that kind of pen over the net. You have to foundle it, to truly appriciate the quality, workmanship and feel of such a fine writing instrument.  []


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## btboone (Oct 19, 2005)

I wish I could be at the show.  I'll be anxious to hear feedback.  Thanks for taking it Anthony.


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