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Custom "PENcil" style glass-nib DIP Pen
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About this Pen and Material:
I really enjoyed working on this unique project! It started out with the client asking if I could make a standard style fountain pen that could accept these glass dip pen nibs, but then she asked if I could make something that looked more like another "pencil" style pen she had. She sent me some photo's of an Acme Pencil Pen, and after some discussions and a few drawings, this was the result.
Material... As luck would have it, I had the various colored acrylics that mimicked each of the pencil parts and I think except for the glass nib that gives it away, I think it's hard to tell at first glance that it's not an actual pencil!
Nibs... I have to admit, I'd never seen these glass nibs before, and after I saw some photo's, I was excited to receive them. When I first saw the photo's, they reminded me of the vintage twisted glass icicles we have for our Christmas tree, and they actually look like miniature icicles. The come in different sizes, and client sent me four different sizes of the nibs, so I drilled the pen so the largest size would fit snuggly, then I supplied her with some plumbers tape so she could wrap the smaller nibs so they would fit into the larger hole.
It's all in the details... The client wanted her "PENcil" to look as similar to the Acme pen and a standard pencil as much possible, so besides ensuring we had the colors as close as possible, the size and scale had to be as close as possible as well. One request was that the length match that of "a freshly sharpened pencil". So other than having the diameter slightly larger, I tried to ensure the rest of the PENcil was as proportional as possible.
Another feature she really wanted to see on the pencil was the "crimping" that you see on the metal band of a pencil. After looking through my tray of wooden pencils, I used the look from a fat sketch pencil that I found that had two sets of three crimp rings that I thought would be one of the easiest affects to apply. But I thought to to pull it off successfully, the rings had to be spaced accurately. If just one was slightly out of alignment, it would ruin the effect. So I had to come up with a method to accurately apply the rings. After some trial and error, I came up with a very simple method-- I created a custom cutter out of some small #3d brad nails that I cut and sharpened, then tape them together to make a single tool that would cut each set of three rings at one time. With the nails grouped and banded together, it created the even accurate spacing I needed. So instead of cutting all six rings individually, I only had to make two cuts to make all six rings. The grooves are very shallow, just enough to create the contrast.
Engraving... To add the final touch to the "PENcil", the client elected to have it engraved so it would mimic the stamping on a standard pencil. We had her name laser engraved along with a special logo I created that continued the pencil theme. The "GN" logo stands for "Glass Nib", just as the "No2" on a standard pencil would be used to designate the #2 grade lead.
This Pen's Specifications:
Color / Material: Main Shaft: Duofold Mandarin Yellow /
Eraser: Duofold Orange / Band Crushed Silver.
Length: w/nib 7.25" / w/o nib 6.50" / yellow section 5.25".
Diameter: .395".
Nib: will accept assorted sizes of the glass nibs.
