Some Pen Questions

[Mark Stutz]

Please forgive a few questions from a beginner. I've done 7 or 8 pens. This is the first FP I've done (sorry my pics can't compare to most I see here) and has been in my pocket for 3 to 4 months almost daily. This was sort of a trial run. Sanded with MM to 12,000 then Carnuba wax. I really like the soft feel, and most people can't believe how soft it is compared to some others. It has developed patine that I like...though certainly not as glossy as the ones with CA or CA-BLO. I'm about 99% sure it is sapwood from Snakewood, based on a little section from one of the scrap...came from a bunch of exotic scraps given to me. Very oily to begin with so I thought I would experiment. It unfortunately has developed a hairline crack. Tried to get a picture but no success. I've heard it said of ebony pens...there are two kinds...those that have cracked and those that will! Was this destined to crack? or would have a different finish..or a finish at all have prevented this. I have a beautiful marking knife made from Snakewood that has done fine for two plus years.

On another note, are there any FP kits that might have better quality nibs. I use them daily, and this has improved as it has been broken in, but is certainly not a high quality nib...I know, you get what you pay for...and I'm willing to pay a little more for a kit if it writes better.

Thanks.

Mark

[Patrick Taylor]

Great questions Mark! I guess I could imagine that the CA could provide a bit of protection against cracking due to impact, or other external pressures, but I think if the cracking came from the wood expansion/contraction, the CA would just crack along with it. The CA is very hard, but pretty brittle too.

As for writing nibs, where is that kit from? I'm no expert, but my wife likes FP's, and seems to like the nibs on the gent kits from CSUSA.

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

I've heard it said of ebony pens...there are two kinds...those that have cracked and those that will! Was this destined to crack? or would have a different finish..or a finish at all have prevented this.

Thanks.

Mark

mark--

i feel your pain. as soon as i am done typing this, i am going to post a pic of pen that i finished last night. brown evony with a nice hair line crack right beneath the pocket clip.

grrrrr!

was your blank totally covered with wax or some other type of coating used to prevent the wood from drying too quickly?

or, were just the ends of the blank sealed?

if the entire blank was covered, then you may have benefitted from treating it like green wood - do a rough cut, let it dry, then finish the pen a few weeks later.

then again, some wood is just going to crack, no matter what you do.

what a bummer. that's a nice looking pen.

[Brent Dowell]

I made a snakewood roller ball once.

Supposedly the wood was guaranteed not to crack, but crack it did.

Had a CA/BLO finish on it. I dis-assembled the pen, put it back on the mandrel.

Cleaned it up good, lightly sanded, and put another coat of CA on it.

Filled in the crack nice and you can hardly tell...

[Stan Cook]

Snakewood WILL crack as sure as a bear $#!ts in the woods. I usually rough turn those blanks (about 1/32 to 1/16" oversize) and let them sit for a couple of months. After they crack, fill in the cracks with a slurry of CA and sanding dust. Ebony and pink ivory are also in that category.

[Mike Vickery]

Yes Snakewood cracks. I wont use it I have enough frustration in my life.

As far as nibs on foutain pen nibs. Personal opinion Gentlemans, jr gents and barons have pretty good nib\feeds on them
THe El Toro's are okay
THe El Grande is not very good
Those are the only ones I have used. I know a guy that imports solid gold nibs from Germany that will fit into some of the common kits. I think they are about $75 each though. I am to cheap so have never used one.

If you want his contact info let me know.

[Rich Souchek]

Cracks ...Got enought of my own that need refinishing.....
The el Grande nibs are usually pretty good. They are easy to reshape and smooth out to get whatever type of fountain pen nib you want.
I use my knife sharpening diamond hones on the nib to get the overall shape, then to the micro mesh dry. This will take most of the rough edges off and refine the tip slightly. Then to a piece of brown paper bag and spending 5 to 10 minutes writting circlies and "eeeeeeees" in ink on the bag paper.
Have done this to 2 of the el Grande FP nibs, and am very happy with them now. One is an oblique grind that is really fun to sketch with.
Rich S.

[Joe Melton]

I've never found snakewood to be oily. And, the sapwood is lighter than what you picture. I have found snakewood to crack, though, almost every time. Since the snakewood I use was harvested over 25 years ago, I have trouble believing the cracking is caused by drying. However, it is caused by some sort of stress relieving going on in the wood, and drying is the usual suspect. It may be caused by swelling due to glue drying, but that doesn't explain why the cracking so often occurs weeks after the glue is applied.
I've sold only one snakewood pen - to a lawyer's wife as a gift for him. I thought it fitting.
Like lots of others, I have lost interest in turning pens that will almost certainly crack later, regardless of their interest and beauty.
Joe

[Mark Stutz]

Thanks to all. Sounds like what I thought...those that are going to crack will crack no matter what.

Joe...I've never seen Snakewood that had and sopwood on it. The olyt large piec/board I've seen in the store was already trimmed. This was a scrap that had a small area the looked like Snakewood, but at any rate, the grain is interesting.

Mike...thanks for the info on the other kits. I'll have to order sosme. I've only used the ones I got on sale locally at Woodcraft. Solid gold nibs are very nice. $75 isn't bad. Most good FP's start at $100and up.

Rich...maybe that's why it seems to write a little better now that it did when new. May have to play around with the MM on the next one.

Stan....not sure I have the patience to set one sit for a couple months . Thanks for the heads up on the Pink Ivory. Got a couple pieces to try. Maybe I'll have to try a show some restraint>

Mark

[Richard Madison]

Has anybody tried Jim King's method on pen blanks?