# Clips, what and where?



## BigShed (Apr 28, 2012)

Having been bitten by the custom pen bug I have discovered that there is a definite chink in my armour, clips.

Having purchased separate clips from a few different sources I have been, to say the least, underwhelmed.

Not only is the choice very limited, the actual quality and design leaves a lot to be desired. In fact most of what I have bought is of lesser quality than the clips that come with slimlines and streamlines and really don't do anything for the pens I am making.
In fact most of the clips I have bought cost more than a complete slimline or streamline kit.

Not only that, they tend to be too small for any pen over about 13 mm in cap diameter.

So, here's my question, where can I buy clips of a decent design and good quality that fit pen caps bigger than 13mm? Or in fact any decent clips.

Must be an opening here for an enterprising entrepeneur with good contacts in the kit manfacturing industry.


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## chriselle (Apr 28, 2012)

I'm pretty sure we are all in this same boat Fred.  For that reason alone I pretty much am only doing clipless.  On the pen I made last night I put one of the ball roller clips on it and the judge (my wife) said, "beautiful.....but lose the clip"...  MOQ seems to be our limiting factor.


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## BigShed (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks Chris, problem is I'm not that keen on the "clipless" look.

Some pens look very good without a clip, especially some of your urushi work, b ut in general it sort of says to me "I didn't know what to do about a clip".

Seen some very creative work done by people (Skippy comes to mind), guess I will have to gt in to some of the jewellery techniques such as lost wax casting.

Does it ever stop?:biggrin:


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## mredburn (Apr 28, 2012)

Nope


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## BigShed (Apr 28, 2012)

mredburn said:


> Nope



Well I guess you would know Mike:biggrin:

One would think it wouldn't be too hard  to bring in separate clips along with complete pen kits, after all I can  buy most of the parts for a pen, nibs, feeds, converters etc, why not  decent clips.

I was playing with a Cambridge pen today and took the  clip off that pen, it is about the size and quality that I am talking  about, happened to drop it (on a carpeted floor!) and the bling bit fell  out of the clip! This is not a cheap kit, one would think that the  bling bit could at least be attached properly.

Got me to thinking though that it would be a nice clip as you could make your own insert to match your blank.

It sort of hurts the back pocket if you have to break up a kit just to get a clip you like


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## leestoresund (Apr 28, 2012)

People do replace the bling.
Just need to have a digital caliper.
Turn it off the end of your blank before you drill it.


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## bluwolf (Apr 28, 2012)

BigShed said:


> mredburn said:
> 
> 
> > Nope
> ...


 
I was in the same boat as you on my last pen Fred. That's why I got Mike to make one for me:biggrin: I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm advertising for him but the fact is, I'm just giving credit where credit is due. AND I got exactly what I needed.

Mike


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## mredburn (Apr 28, 2012)

I hve yet to find a suitable answer of either an accetable design that I wouldnt mind ordering a couple hundred thousand, or the cost for having to do so. I havent found someone who can offer them in small (to them) lots.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 28, 2012)

*Hmmmm*



mredburn said:


> I hve yet to find a suitable answer of either an accetable design that I wouldnt mind ordering a couple hundred thousand, or the cost for having to do so. I havent found someone who can offer them in small (to them) lots.


 I have checked with Dayacom and can order clips from them in MOQ of 500 and for the higher end kits, I think they want about $6.00. Wouldn't mind doing it but even carrying just a few styles in limited finishes would add up to quite a chunk of change in an item with a very limited customer set. But, if enough of you want to buy them and can decide on a style - I'll find out a price and be the middle man for you. It would be sort of a single item group buy...more items if enough ordered.


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## watch_art (Apr 29, 2012)

Go here:
:: The Conidpen ::

Then click on "making of the pen" towards the top right of the screen.

Watch the video.

There's no time marks so I can't tell you where to click.

Here you see clips cut from a sheet of metal on a mill of some sort, and then bent in a little jig.  Very nice.  And I can say after handling one of these pens that the clip is VERY sturdy.

Does anybody have a CNC machine who could make clips?  That would be worth a group buy.  Then all we have to do is make our own bendy jigs.


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## mctabish (Apr 29, 2012)

My wife and I just got into the pen business
How does that help? It does not, but we also have made jewlery via the lost wax method. Once we get our shop setup, we would be very interested in making custom clips. 

Let us know what kind of designs you would be interested in, and we will see how we can help.

We may not be able to assist with "stamped" type of clips, but cast ones should not be a problem.
(I am not sure if proper to post my email address on this site or not, so I am with holding in best judgement)

Bruce
www.timberturners.com


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## Robert111 (Apr 29, 2012)

Timely question! Indy-Pen-Dance has just answered your need!

Indy~Pen~Dance :: Pen Parts


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## watch_art (Apr 29, 2012)

YAY!  Those are awesome!


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## tim self (Apr 29, 2012)

Or here.  CLASSIC NIB - CLIPS AND BANDS


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## Penultimate (Apr 29, 2012)

watch_art said:


> Go here:
> :: The Conidpen ::
> 
> Then click on "making of the pen" towards the top right of the screen.
> ...



That is really cool, I want a swiss lathe and plasma cutter. The clip bending jig was clever.


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