Beads and coves

5 statesman pens for a commissioned order

2008-06-28T00:25:00.001-05:00

5 statesman pens for a commissioned order
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

I finished these just the other night for an order. (well, I sold 4 of them, but some lucky wife got the cocobolo one on the right) Boy do I prefer the acrylics. Finishing the wood ones is getting to be a real pain, especially in the heat of the summer (no AC in the shop) when things don't dry properly.

Finally, something to show!

2008-02-16T22:09:00.001-05:00

20080216-322-DSC_0978.jpg
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

Turning time has been short lately (needless to say...), giving way to the rest of life. Here's an acrylic fountain pen for my wife's birthday, finished today. (only 2 days late!)

The kit is the "streamline roundtop fountain" from Berea, with platinum plating. This is my first of this style, and I like the kit.

Back in action...

2007-11-19T23:04:00.001-05:00

Red maple bowl
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

Finally got some turning time last night. I have a commissioned order to do, so I made sure I can still finish a decent bowl.

Red Maple, ~7", sanded to 280 and mineral oil applied.

Thanks for looking.

Cherry bowl with burnt rim

2007-09-03T22:54:00.001-05:00

Cherry bowl with burnt rim
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

I'm trying a new rim treatment for bowls. This is cherry, burnt with a mahogany stick at about 1800 rpm. I oiled and buffed the bowl, but did not buff the rim.

Store update

2007-08-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to take a look a the new items in the store! You can also link to the store by clicking any of the featured items in the sidebar to the right.

Acrylic Gentlemen's Rollerball Pen

2007-08-19T13:32:00.001-05:00

Acrylic Gentlemen's Rollerball Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

I just love these wild swirling colors and the golden shimmer that shows from inside this pen. This acrylic is somewhat translucent and has a lot of visual depth.

Acrylic Gentlemen's Fountain Pen

2007-08-19T13:30:00.001-05:00

Acrylic Gentlemen's Fountain Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

A classic fountain pen in "crushed shell" acrylic.

Website update...

2007-08-18T14:44:00.001-05:00

I've updated my website, and I'd like your feedback. Better? Worse? Never saw the old one? Don't care? Want to see changes? Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Cocobolo Gentlemen's Pen

2007-08-18T14:32:00.001-05:00

Cocobolo Gentlemen's Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

This pen is now available in the store, and it's my first screw-cap rollerball for sale.

Wedding guestbook pen

2007-08-17T00:35:00.001-05:00

Box Elder Burl Statesman Roller Ball
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

This box elder burl statesman will be the guestbook pen for a friend's wedding next month. It's also their wedding present from me. I got a nice wooden box for presenting it as well.

First hollowform

2007-08-15T23:56:00.000-05:00

I finished my first hollowform. It's cherry, 7" x 3", and inspired by shapes common to southwestern pottery.

Fair amount of success...

2007-08-13T00:45:00.001-05:00

Not a lot of turning this week with the Kitchen nearing completion, but I entered a fountain pen and bowl in the county fair competition. Today I went to see the results and I got first place for the pen and second for the bowl (the first place vessel was a difficult segmented piece that also won a show-wide award). Fine by me! Now I need to go sharpen my tools and get ready for next year's competition.

Maple Burl Gentlemen's Fountain Pen

2007-08-07T01:15:00.001-05:00

Maple Burl Gentlemen's Fountain Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

Well earned.

2007-08-05T00:42:00.001-05:00

Well earned.
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

A well-earned beer after a nicely turned pen. Oh, what's that you ask? Yes, that is our new countertop!

Cocobolo Satin-nickel European Pen

2007-08-05T00:38:00.001-05:00

Cocobolo Satin-nickel European Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

I messed up the finish on one of these the other night before getting this one right.

Wall Street pens in "Ginger Snap" acrylic

2007-08-02T10:41:00.001-05:00

Wall Street pens in "Ginger Snap" acrylic
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

These Wall Streets are fun and simple, and the acrylic I like more and more. It's a pleasure to turn, has great looks, finishes easily, and feels good in the hand. These blanks came from Wood 'n Whimsies. They have great acrylics.

Gentlemen's Roller in Box Elder Burl

2007-07-30T22:40:00.001-05:00

Gentlemen's Roller in Box Elder Burl
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

I finished this one tonight. It's pretty similar to the first one I did in this style, but think it's a bit better overall.

Tortoise Shell Gentlemen's Fountain Pen

2007-07-30T01:34:00.001-05:00

Tortoise Shell Gentlemen's Fountain Pen
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

This is my first fountain pen. The body and cap are acrylic; the color is called tortoise shell. Can you guess who gets this one?

Cigar pens

2007-07-29T02:32:00.001-05:00

Cigar pens
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

Rosewood burl, and three acrylics (crushed shell, tortoise shell, and toucan). 1, 3, and 4 are for sale.

Gentlemen's Roller Ball with Box Elder Burl

2007-07-29T02:26:00.001-05:00

Gentlemen's Roller Ball with Box Elder Burl
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

My first screw cap... can you guess who snagged this one?

Jasper Fforde uses my pen for his booksigning!

2007-07-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, my daughter and I went to the local booksigning by British author Jasper Fforde, well known internationally for his Thursday Next series of novels. (In fact I got my wife signed UK first editions of the whole series a while back because she's such a big fan) My wife had the great idea to take him one of my pens, and even volunteered her favorite acrylic cigar because she thought it went well with the cover art on his books. So off we go, pen in hand, and we get there to find that the place is packed with hundreds of people and all copies of the new book are sold. I grabbed an older paperback of his and we got in line.

When we got to the front my daughter hands him the pen, and says "my dad made this for you." He removes it from the sleeve and say "Wow! Brilliant!" (how british is that...) He then says "Monte Blanc... ppfffff!" and tosses aside his other pen. He used mine to sign all the books for the remainder of the line. He made sure to have my contact info so he would know who gave it to him.

To top things off, as we were leaving a salesperson found another box of the new books. So we grabbed one and got back at the end of the line! We got up to the front and I saw that he was still using my pen long after he thought we had left, which means he wasn't just being polite. He thanked us again as he signed the new book.

So... of course I forget to bring the camera to this event (doh!) but luckily the fan club president was there with her excellent camera, and she was kind enough to take some photos to send me. She did a great job, here's a photo of us with Jasper. (I blacked out my daughter because we don't post public pics of the kids online.)

And Jasper signing a book with my pen:

The FC president also mentioned that Jasper commented on how much he liked the pen, both the look and feel, so that's quite a complement coming from someone that has to use a pen for so long at one time.

Wall Street pens in various burls

2007-07-27T02:35:00.001-05:00

Wall Street pens in various burls
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

These are Wall street twist ballpoint pens in (left to right) rosewood burl, maple burl, and amboyna burl. I'm really happy with these and I think the finishing is top-notch.

These three will be available in the store soon. Enjoy!

Rhodium cigar pen in "Tangerine Ribbon" acrylic

2007-07-25T00:43:00.001-05:00

Rhodium cigar pen in "Tangerine Ribbon" acrylic
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

Rhodium cigar pen in "Polar Ice" acrylic

2007-07-25T00:42:00.001-05:00

Rhodium cigar pen in "Polar Ice" acrylic
Originally uploaded by patrickdylan

One small shopping trip for man...

2007-07-24T00:15:00.000-05:00

... one giant leap for our sanity.

The fridge is on.

and full of drinks.