Pens are a fun project to make but can be difficult to master at first. You have to have patience and agility to create these beautiful works of art. Here is how we do it There are several types of wood and man materials to choose from in the world of pen making. There are just as many hardware types to select from. First you must decide what type of pen you are going to make and who the audience is. Let’s say someone who likes a smaller writing instrument might be fond of a Slimline style pen. These are similar to Cross® type pens and actually use Cross® pen refills. Once you decide on a style, then it’s time to decide on the type of hardware material. This can be anywhere from gold or silver in addition to other materials. Some pens are made out of Titanium and have a long wear life.

Now that the metal color has been decided, it’s time for the body of the pen. Wood or acrylic are two popular choices but there are many more. Some blanks are made from deer antlers, corn cob, rattle snake skin, and more. Most blanks will go with most colors of metal but certain colors will pop more than others just by the blank selection. Example, blanks with a majority of black will look much better with chrome or nickel than gold. Both will look good but the chrome really makes the black pop. Of course, this is all subjective and you may have another opinion on the matter.

Finally we have everything selected, it’s time to cut and drill. Wait you say, cut and drill, I thought they went around and around! Yes, but we have to cut them for each side of the pen if you have a top and bottom plus we have to drill a hole for a tube to go inside. The tube gives the body strength and allows the pen parts to attach to the body. After we cut, drill, and glue in our tube, we are ready to turn.

Each pen requires a special size drill bit and bearings in order to fit on the lathe. It’ important to get this part right or else you end up with a pen that is not right or it could even become a dangerous situation.

Turning may take some time as you work down the material. Taking it slow and easy is the key. As the blank gets closer to the correct size, you must be able to work slow and take small amounts of material off the blank. You are working with close tolerances with a blank turning several thousand rpm.

Shaping the blank really happens at this point and the artistic ability should take over to create a pen that the recipient will cherish for years to come. This is also a slow process and can take some time to get it just right. The pen maker may choose to put some details in his work on just keep it simple and smooth. Once the majority of turning is complete, it’s time to finish the pen.

Finishing can take a few steps up to many rounds of applying a finish. We use two different types of finish based on the type of pen we are creating. If the pen is acrylic, we may use a micro sanding process and then a high gloss polish with mild abrasives to bring out the luster in the pens. Wood requires a more laborious sanding process and then a fine abrasive polish before the final finish. A friction based finish is applied to protect the pen for many years of usage.

Assemble the pen and now you have a finished product.