# Crushed shell fountain pen



## Texatdurango (Feb 10, 2008)

Crushed shell fountain pen.  Destined for a desktop to be housed in its box so no clip will go on this one.

Like, dislike?  Comments and/or critiques welcome.


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## Tanner (Feb 10, 2008)

Wow beautiful pen!!  Double Closed end with your own threading on the cap and barrel!  Awesome craftsmanship!!


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## Texatdurango (Feb 10, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Tanner_
> 
> Wow beautiful pen!!  Double Closed end with your own threading on the cap and barrel!  Awesome craftsmanship!!


AND... I'm saving on brass, the nib threads directly into the body as well.


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## ahoiberg (Feb 10, 2008)

looks nice george, great work. how did you thread it and how much does it weigh?


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## smitty (Feb 10, 2008)

Very nice.  Great work.  How did you make the threads?


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## GaryMGg (Feb 10, 2008)

I like the fact that most folks said 'don't do it, can't be done, or something similar and you did it anyway.  [8D][8D]
That's a great looking pen.


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## toolcrazy (Feb 10, 2008)

Very nice.


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## Texatdurango (Feb 10, 2008)

Andrew and Smitty, the pen weighs .7 oz with the converter inside, its a VERY lightweight pen!  I used a three position "multi-start" tap and die set.

Gary, You are correct, one can do anything if they have the right tools.


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## woody0207 (Feb 10, 2008)

All I can say is wow. If the wife sees that one, she's going to want one.


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## Stevej72 (Feb 10, 2008)

Wow, that is one awesome pen!  I really like that crushed shell. I just sold the slimeline I had made with it.  Will have to order another blank and make a little higher end pen with it.  My skill level and tooling isn't ready for one like yours though. Great Job!


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## drayman (Feb 10, 2008)

george, that is simply stunning, well done[][][:0]


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## fernhills (Feb 10, 2008)

Fantastic workmanship George,,Gee how am i supposed to keep up Carl


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## hunter-27 (Feb 10, 2008)

That is basically one of the neatest darn things I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!Awesome job man!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ed4copies (Feb 10, 2008)

Nice job, George.

But I was expecting shells crushed and encased in PR.

I guess you did enough other things on this one, I'll give you a pass on the real shells until you go back to using brass tubes!!!

Great work!!


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## R2 (Feb 10, 2008)

A really eye catching pen and beautifully made!![^]
Your craftsmanship is most impressive. I really think the gold nib sets the pen off beautifully.


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## jtate (Feb 10, 2008)

Ditto!!!!!!   

Beautiful.  The threading is the really wonderful part of it but I'd like to kow frm whence cometh that blank!  

Oh, and as a vintage pen collector - I'd suggest that you might want to consider finding a way to put a metal ring around the exterior of the cap,  a wee bit up from the lip.  The metal ring keep the cap from splitting if it's tightened too much.


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## txbatons (Feb 10, 2008)

George, beautiful work!! That's a very cool pen and I am impressed with the threading of the cap. 

PS It's good to see you posting pics! I admire your work.


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## Proud_Poppa_of_2 (Feb 10, 2008)

George, there are no words to describe your success with that effort.


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## wjskip (Feb 10, 2008)

very nice - the machine work on the threads is impressive i can just barely keep them round and now an all new standard to try to meet


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## jskeen (Feb 10, 2008)

Two quick questions.  What did the multistart tap and die set you back, and where did you get the box?  when the lid opens, does it lift the pen up? OK, that's 3 but who's counting?..... wait that's four.....ARGH


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## simomatra (Feb 10, 2008)

Really nice pen great crftsmanship


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## bitshird (Feb 10, 2008)

WOW


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## johncrane (Feb 10, 2008)

Excellent work George!


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## Mather323 (Feb 10, 2008)

George, I agree with everyone complements it is an awesome pen.  The only thing that I dislike (your word not mine) is it seems a little plain, like it needs a clip or a band a something. I know what you were trying to do and I know I could not do it any better but that was the only thing I could think of!


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## gerryr (Feb 10, 2008)

Nice work, a very interesting pen.  What's your source for the tap and die?


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## plomanto (Feb 10, 2008)

Very very nice ! ! ! !


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## Glenn McCullough (Feb 10, 2008)

Well, aint that nice! Making us look bad, y'know! Sweet pen!


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## BRobbins629 (Feb 10, 2008)

George - as I said privately, this is a beautiful pen.

Hope I'm not stealing this thread, but for those who asked about the triple start taps and dies, I am partially to blame.  I sent off a coupler from the El Grande to a company in Poland who has a sales office in Florida (E-taps.com).  They came back with a price of over $500 for a set.  At ten sets, the price came to about $215 each including all shipping costs to the individuals.  I was very reluctant to offer a group buy at this price since they were still very pricey and I wasn't sure if they would even work.  I found a few willing early tryers with no promises.  George was the first to post and he made us all smile.  If someone wants to do a group buy on more, I feel very comfortable with the company and they appear to be quality tools.  The ground work is done.


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## Aderhammer (Feb 10, 2008)

Idk i just wish there was a cb or something to break it up and soften the pen, too busy for my eyes.  But the craftsman ship is top notch!


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## jtate (Feb 10, 2008)

Anyone in Middle Tennessee want to share custody of a set of the tap and die?  I can't afford a set all by myself but a Middle Tennessee Bubbasville group might share a set.  I'd go in for that!  Any takers?


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## Firefyter-emt (Feb 10, 2008)

Ok... Next step, to buy a junk Esterbrook to use the ink sac "prepped" section (press fit) and that awesome "renew point" design, well.. just because! 
Now that you have the section, take the J-bar and lever filler and make a hole!  I am really thinking about this one, it would be pretty easy once the parts were there.


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## alamocdc (Feb 11, 2008)

Very impressive, George! Now I'm really unhappy that I had to turn this T&D set down. Hopefully I'll get in on the next go. Two thumbs way up!


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## Texatdurango (Feb 11, 2008)

*Bruce,* Thanks for jumping in with the details on the tap and die set, I really didn't want to get into the details since it was your efforts and your buy.


*Jskeen,* I got the box at Rockler for under $5.  What I like about it is that it will hold a nice size pen like the Jr Statesman and some of the custom pens which I have planned and it does raise the pen as the lid is opened.

*All,*  Thanks for the comments and suggestions.  I realize the pen may seem plain to many, an Emperor it aint!  But in my eyes it is exactly what I hoped of doing and that is to make a pen without using any kit parts whatsoever and the threading was ahuge obstacle to overcome.  

I do plan on adding some embelleshments now and then to some pens but nothing like the large metal parts we are used to with the kit pens.  I am looking into making some clips from sterling silver sheets so if anyone has experience with working with these sheets PLEASE PM me, I would love to talk with you.


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## pipeyeti (Feb 11, 2008)

I take it your tap set came from the same source. How about a review of the quality of the tool? well made? easy to use? What size drilling was required for the tap? Would you buy it again? Great looking pen!


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## doddman70 (Feb 11, 2008)

WOW!!!! George that is impressive very nice!!![8D]


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## thefunkyP (Feb 19, 2008)

What kit is that nib from?
I would love to see a writeup on how this certain pen is made.
This is one of the best kitless pens I've seen.
Simple
Elegant
Amazing
Thanks for sharing


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## follow3 (Feb 19, 2008)

I think that is an AWESOME pen.

Incredible craftmanship!

If you are not a member of the PMG, you should submit that as your entry pen.

Steve


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## jwoodwright (Feb 19, 2008)

Words fail me.  You have accomplished what we all want.  Total control of the making of the pen.  Bravo!


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## Ligget (Feb 20, 2008)

Absolutely beautiful, I would happily buy one of those tap and die sets![:0][]


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## workinforwood (Feb 20, 2008)

What can I say?...I agree with everyone else!


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## alxe24 (Feb 20, 2008)

I'll echo everyone else as how nice you pen looks. It would be nice if you can come up with some sort of tutorial or a few pictures at least.
Congratulations


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## Texatdurango (Feb 20, 2008)

My apologies for not responding earlier, Iâ€™ve been flitting about in the RV lately with spotty wifi service.

*thefunkyP*, The nib in this pen is the Berea BHW-704 nib which I purchase seperately from Arizona Silhouette but any of the large nibs being sold such as the Mutschler nibs sold by Elliot Landes would work.  I think even Lou and Anthony sell nibs with nib holders that would work well.  I know Lou sels the gold nibs to fit these feeds.  

*follow3*, Becoming a member of the PMG is of no interest to me so I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of rejecting me regardless of how good or bad my pens turn out.  I have seen many fine pens that were rejected and many mediocre pens in their galleries so there is more afoot than just fine pen making, not my cup of tea!

*alxe24 and others*, While a tutorial sounds like a nice idea it would ultimately come down to two crucial steps; _â€œâ€¦now take the tap and thread the capâ€¦â€ _and _â€œâ€¦ now take the die and thread the bodyâ€¦â€._  All of the pen dimensions stem from those required for this particular thread size so if you donâ€™t have the multi-start tap and die set, the tutorial would be of little use to anyone.

I would however be more than happy to share anything I know with anyone interested, so just drop me a PM.  Iâ€™m signing up for some jewelry making classes to make some nice clips and center bands so who knows what weâ€™ll all learn in the coming months! 

Having more fun than the law allows in 23 states![]


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## desertyellow (Apr 29, 2008)

I like what you have done.  Great Job.
Any thoughts on how to add a clip?

I'm very impressed by the tap and die action
--Tony
Las Vegas


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## holmqer (Apr 29, 2008)

Fantastic job, I like the simple look


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## RichAldrich (Apr 29, 2008)

I used the same material in a POW Pen with 24 kt gold.  It looks sharp new.  Unfortunately the gold will fade
rich


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## Texatdurango (Apr 29, 2008)

> _Originally posted by RichAldrich_
> 
> I used the same material in a POW Pen with 24 kt gold.  It looks sharp new.  Unfortunately the gold will fade
> rich


What gold are we talking about? [?]


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## randyrls (Apr 29, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Texatdurango_
> 
> Crushed shell fountain pen.  Destined for a desktop to be housed in its box so no clip will go on this one.



I LIKE!!!!!  

I was digging in my acrylic box yesterday and found an odd piece of Decora Shell rod.  This was available some / many years ago and I just found it again.  Didn't know I had it.  Now what to make???


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