# Next Metal



## jttheclockman (Mar 25, 2010)

Well this is the next metal in the series of metal sleeved pen blanks. This is a super tough one to photogragh at least for me. I tried both indoor and out and the glare from the chrome is overwhelming the photo. But here it is anyway. 

I put it on a chrome cigar kit and also a chrome/satin chrome Elegant Beauty. They do look alot cooler in person. I just gave up on the photo shot. Thanks for looking.


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## TheRealSmith (Mar 25, 2010)

Bam! thats eye poppping  your work is quite impressive.


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## bgibb42 (Mar 25, 2010)

Hey, those are really cool!  What exactly is the material you used for the blanks?  It looks a lot like the braided hoses, but then again, it doesn't.


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## CaptG (Mar 25, 2010)

Outstanding work John.  Keep it up.  I am impressed, a lot.


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## PenMan1 (Mar 25, 2010)

Nice stuff, JT! Is this stainless steel braided water supply line? It looks GREAT!


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## JBCustomPens (Mar 25, 2010)

Very catchy and nice!


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## jttheclockman (Mar 25, 2010)

No this is not stainless steel braiding. It is a actual chrome sleeving with a clear mylar backing. It is actually a decorative wire sleeving. http://cableorganizer.com/chrome-sleeving/

I get my stainless steel sleeving from them also. The stuff in the home centers on the flexible water pipe is abit thin and when using on larger kits it has a tendency to show the tube so i use the heavier stuff.


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## toddlajoie (Mar 25, 2010)

Speaking as a photographer, I think your images are simply fantastic... 

The pens are stunning to say the least, but I could not think of a better light for them. The highlights accentuate the quality of the finish, and the balance of fall-off does an excellent job of showing the patterning and contrast of the braid. I'm sure you're well aware of the difficulties of photographing such highly reflective items, and your images show it...


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## RAdams (Mar 25, 2010)

WOW! COOL STUFF!!! Thanks for posting! And thanks even more for sharing the link to the supplier!!


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## johncrane (Mar 25, 2010)

Very cool John!! and it has a UV rating, also is it lighter than stainless,


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## toolcrazy (Mar 25, 2010)

Gorgeous!!


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## LouCee (Mar 25, 2010)

Both pens look great!


jttheclockman said:


> I just gave up on the photo shot.


Gave up? I think the pics are excellent.


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## jocat54 (Mar 25, 2010)

Those are great looking pens.


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## ElMostro (Mar 25, 2010)

WOW!  Love it.

Eugene


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## Jim15 (Mar 26, 2010)

Awesome pen and pictures.


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## cnirenberg (Mar 26, 2010)

John,
Those are great.  I really like these pens.


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## witz1976 (Mar 26, 2010)

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: They state on their site..."Normally our policy is to supply continuous lengths. If it is absolutely  necessary to receive one continuous length, please specify."...  I wonder how ticked off they would be if I ordered 1 foot that it to be cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

That is really cool though!  I love the look of your pens!


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## KenBrasier (Mar 26, 2010)

GREAT looking pens and photographs, I love the look!


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## Crashmph (Mar 26, 2010)

Very nice indeed!  Job well done  there!


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## bitshird (Mar 26, 2010)

John, Those look fantastic, it looks like you've taken the hard part out of the braided hose pens, the Mylar has to be easier to trim to length than the Stainless Braid, and it looks so close. Great work on the Photography as well.


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Makes a person feel good.

Just a note, someone brought up the cutting aspect. I suggest if you do try this material or any other braided material to order a bit longer because braiding will unravel if not treated right. Being I cut alot of wire insulation I have a hot knife and what it does is sears the ends as they are cut so no unraveling. I guess you could wrap some tape around the material and then cut in the center of the tape. Or add some CA glue to the ends. I guess you could also use a soldering iron to sear the ends. Anyway just thought I would pass that note on. Thanks all for looking.


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## YoYoSpin (Mar 26, 2010)

John,
 
Those are absolutely outstanding looking pens - very well done! How about a how-to video on your process?


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2010)

YoYoSpin said:


> John,
> 
> Those are absolutely outstanding looking pens - very well done! How about a how-to video on your process?


 


Thanks Ed. I am sorry but I guess I am the only one left that doesn't own a  video camera. All I have is a simple point and shoot pentax camera that I keep in automatic mode all the time.  I will however answer any questions by anyone, anytime. Heck I thought I moved up in the world when I bought one of those dvd player recorders. Then they go and change everything to digital so now all it is is a overpriced dvd player.  I guess I need to sell more pens:biggrin:


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## scotian12 (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi John...The pictures of the pens are great. What size Flexo Chrome did you use? Did you use a pressure pot for the resin casting?  Thanks   Darrell Eisner


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## Ligget (Mar 26, 2010)

Stunning pens and photos John!!!!!!!


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2010)

scotian12 said:


> Hi John...The pictures of the pens are great. What size Flexo Chrome did you use? Did you use a pressure pot for the resin casting? Thanks Darrell Eisner


 

Hello Darrell

I have used both the 1/4" and the 3/8" sizes to excellent results. If you look at the chart it tells you the min. and max size it will expand to. So depending the size of the tubes you are going to use will help in determining which sizes is best for you. What I always do is buy sample lengths of alot of these products and try them out and then choose from that what I want to keep in inventory. They also have a product that is called Chrome XC and it is very similar but a slightly different weave pattern. You may want to get a few feet of that as a sample. Of the 2 I prefered the one mentioned. 

Pressure pot, yes I do use one for all my casting. Now as mentioned many times there are many ways to cast blanks. When I place my tubes in the pressure pot I only leave them in there for 2 hours and then take them out. After 2 hours all bubbles are out and the resin has begun to set up. I use to leave them in for 24 hours and was running into all kinds of problems. Not sure if this was one of the problems but things started getting better when I started doing the 2 hour cycle. 

Hope that helps.


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## jttheclockman (Mar 27, 2010)

I should have also stated that you need to use either silver painted tubes or I use the nickle plated shiney tubes. You will be able to see through the weaving. This is in case someone wants to give this material a try. Thanks again for looking.


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