"errfrsdaf" wrote in message
...

I don't mean to offend anyone by this post but I'm not sure
I understand the driving force behind pen making. The reason
I am posting is that I was given an old lathe a month or so
ago and I've about got it ready to run again. I was wanted
to make a simple gift for the person who gave me the lathe.
I was ordering some centers and noticed a pen making kit.
I ordered the kit but I question the value of the gift.
(only as a craftsman looking at my own work not the monetary
value) To me it seems that anyone who gets this kit is
going to end up with the same pen (assuming an equal skill
level). There are only so many ways you can shape it and
make it feel good in the hand. You basically finish them
all the same way.

SNIP

Lots of incorrect assumptions there. If you turn with no imagination
however, all would be correct.

I made a lot of Parker style pens a few years ago, as well as the
slimlines. I had fun making both of them, although like anything else
done in bulk, it got tiresome.

You should go look at a few penturners sites. Not the guys that take
blanks and simply make a pen. Go the ones that make their own
additional hardware, see the blanks made by hand from exotic woods,
the resin bodied pens that look like the old 1930s pens. There are
folks that turn cabochons to inlay in the pens, some even cast pieces
to use from different materials. And some of the patterns that the
guys are making now with aluminum threads and dark colored resins will
blow you away.
You should check out this site for just a very few ideas of shapes and
materials:

http://www.ciwriting.com/index.html

Keep in mind that guy uses store bought blanks or cuts the wood
himself.

I have made keepsake pens for all types of occasions from different
woods that are very popular. I have made pens from "the old homestead
house" wood when the house was demolished. I have made pens from a
bat used when our local minor league won their championship; I made a
pen from wood from an old timer's ranch when he was forced to sell it
(that was a tearful presentation). The list goes on.

Try using different materials and making your own blanks. The game
will change a lot if you try to make a really nice pen. Don't cut
your blanks to a set of bushings: man up - use your calipers and fit
the turned pieces to the actual dimension of the parts you received.
In a pen judging competition, they will not accept the pen if you can
feel the difference between the metal kit pieces and your wood.

Making pens is fun if you use your imagination. If you are just
chewing out a pen here and there, not much to it. But if you are
making a pen made from your kid's first big buck's horns, then you
have something altogether different.

Robert