# Fishy Fountain



## pnemox

Ok, so here is my first attempt at a fountain pen and it was a lot of fun. I used the Artisan Jr. Statesman kit in Rhodium and Black. This was my second attempt with black stingray and I think it was much better. Let me know what you think.

Hey, anyone know of a good US supplier of Bock nibs with reasonable prices?


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## Kenny Durrant

Nice Pen! looks very clean and neat.


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## Woodchipper

Nice pen and unique pan blank.


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## alanemorrison

That's a pen that you would be proud to pull out of your pocket

Alan


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## Lucky2

Holy crap, that's a gorgeous pen!!!!!!

Len


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## Jim15

Beautiful work,


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## Stevej72

Great looking pen!


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## George883

Wow, I like it.


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## pnemox

Thanks guys. I appreciate it


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## John Eldeen

Wes the pen looks great! So I don't see the seam on this one what did you figure out the best way to close it up was? Inquiring minds must know.


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## pnemox

John, I did two things differently. First I used clear tape to pull the seams tightly. Then little by little I applied CA, cured it and removed the next small section of tape until it was all secured. Thin CA is best.

The second change is that after mounting I hand sanded all of the skin down to the proper depth and then used CA to level it out to a consistent diameter. You only have about 1/16 inch where it looks good and the leather isn't always the same thickness. A normal cut on the lathe will have high and low spots because of this.


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## John Eldeen

pnemox said:


> John, I did two things differently. First I used clear tape to pull the seams tightly. Then little by little I applied CA, cured it and removed the next small section of tape until it was all secured. Thin CA is best.
> 
> The second change is that after mounting I hand sanded all of the skin down to the proper depth and then used CA to level it out to a consistent diameter. You only have about 1/16 inch where it looks good and the leather isn't always the same thickness. A normal cut on the lathe will have high and low spots because of this.


I am glad you got it figured out. The result is amazing. Congrats on a job well done.


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## RProctor

What is the blank?


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## pnemox

It is Black Stingray skin


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## Jim Nugent

How much StingRay material does it take to make?  Asking for a friend....


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## pnemox

approx 3" x 3" per tube. A small skin should make several.


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## Jim Nugent

Thanks!


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## bsshog40

Looks nice!


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## Sprymuse

Simply stunning!


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## Marko50

Wow, just simply wow!


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## PenHog

Nice work!

About Bock nibs, I've had trouble finding a good selection domestically. Jowo seems to be more commonly available.

Karas Kustoms sells some with the housing, and the prices seem reasonable, but the selection is somewhat limited. The Classic Nib appears to have a very limited selection, and it's unclear if the housing comes with the purchase. I haven't found any other domestic sources that will sell at a reasonable price (I think I found someone selling Bock nibs on Etsy at vastly marked-up prices).

If you're willing to go overseas, I've ordered some from Beaufort Ink, they have a great selection and I recommend their products. However, I've had some bad experiences with US Customs seizing my packages and holding them for arbitrary amounts of time, so I'm growing anxious about placing orders UK orders.


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## 1shootist

PenHog said:


> Nice work!
> 
> About Bock nibs, I've had trouble finding a good selection domestically. Jowo seems to be more commonly available.
> 
> Karas Kustoms sells some with the housing, and the prices seem reasonable, but the selection is somewhat limited. The Classic Nib appears to have a very limited selection, and it's unclear if the housing comes with the purchase. I haven't found any other domestic sources that will sell at a reasonable price (I think I found someone selling Bock nibs on Etsy at vastly marked-up prices).
> 
> If you're willing to go overseas, I've ordered some from Beaufort Ink, they have a great selection and I recommend their products. However, I've had some bad experiences with US Customs seizing my packages and holding them for arbitrary amounts of time, so I'm growing anxious about placing orders UK orders.


I have been searching EVERYWHERE for Bock nibs in stock ..looks like Karas Kustoms has them..I have never heard of them till now. Thanks for talking about them !!
And I've been all over "search" function on here tonight.
  ..I was honestly about ready to buy a Jowo tap #6 from Turners warehouse !
Russ


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## PenHog

Hi Russ,

Some (all?) of the Karas nibs will have the Karas logo on them instead of the standard Bock logo, just in case that matters to you. I corresponded with them, and they are indeed Bock nibs/feed/housing, just a cosmetic change re the logo.

Going back to The Classic Nib, I contacted them about their Phoenix nibs, and they confirmed that they use the Bock 250 housing (although, they are not Bock nibs, I think). So, I guess they should work with the standard tap; I've ordered 1 to try it out.


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## log2lumber

great pen.  do you make blanks


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## GAW9576

Fintastic work. I have thought of doing similar things but never ended up trying it out. It's really inspiring that you can make such a stunning blank without all the usual casting process and equipment. And with such stellar results.


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## Dieseldoc

Beautiful, Awesome, very unique, Stunning pen with  great workmanship. Winner for sure.


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## pnemox

I appreciate the compliments and great info about the nibs. That will be very useful. Sorry but I don't sell blanks. It just takes too much time and isn't economically feasible.


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## carlmorrell

You might be surprised at how much us lunatics are willing to spend on a pen blank. I am too embarrassed to admit


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## JohnU

Congrats on the front page!  Very well earned! I’ve worked with those skins and that’s not easy to pull off.  Beautiful work of Art!


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## mark james

I also missed this.  Glad Jeff brought it back as this is a beautiful pen.  Well done to tweak your process.


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## philipff

pnemox said:


> Ok, so here is my first attempt at a fountain pen and it was a lot of fun. I used the Artisan Jr. Statesman kit in Rhodium and Black. This was my second attempt with black stingray and I think it was much better. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Hey, anyone know of a good US supplier of Bock nibs with reasonable prices?
> 
> View attachment 223257View attachment 223258View attachment 223259


Fabulous!!


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