What is BCHR? BCHR is a surface treatment or embellishment applied to fountain pens that was popular in the early 20th century. BCHR is a descriptive acronym that stands for ‘Black Chased Hard Rubber’. And the acronym describes both the process and the material it’s applied to.

Black stands for the material color (black); Chased stands for the surface treatment process; and HR stands for Hard Rubber*, which is the material the surface treatment is applied to. So then BHR (without the ‘C’) is black hard rubber. The C stands for ‘Chased’, which is a machining process that uses metal rollers to emboss or imprint a pattern onto the hard rubber, similar to embossing. Therefore, BCHR is chasing on black hard rubber.

The BCHR surface treatment became popular on fountain pens in the early 20th century. Those early chasing patterns were quite simple, created using a series of short bars or hash marks wrapped around the pen. The two most common were barber poles and scallops. The same chasing patterns also seem to have been used by multiple pen manufacturers. Chasing dies would have been expensive back in the day, so it’s possible the chasing process was done by just a few third-party companies. Then it was marketed to the various pen companies.

At the tail end of the BCHR era, the patterns became more complex. And from my research, I believe Sheaffer offered some of the last BCHR pens. And they had quite a selection of patterns (I came up with seven). Eventually, though, as more colorful acrylics came onto the scene, BCHR’s fell out of favor. But within the last ten years or so, some pen companies have begun to revive BCHR patterns again. And the new patterns are more complex, with some even being applied to acrylic. That got me wondering whether the patterns were being created with the traditional method or if they were using modern laser engraving methods. That question led me to wonder whether I could create the patterns with a small consumer-grade laser engraver.

*These days, most people use the term Ebonite when referring to hard rubber. Although used generically, Ebonite is a registered brand name of Ebonite International for a hard rubber product used for bowling balls.

During my research into BCHR patterns, I found that most of the very early patterns were pretty much the same. The early patterns were also somewhat crude. The limited patterns were most likely due to the expense required to make the metal pressing dies. It’s also possible the chasing process was a third-party service being offered to pen manufacturers. So the patterns may have been limited in the beginning until the process became more widely used. Then, as chasing became more popular, more patterns were created. For example, I found that Sheaffer had sold a series of different chased patterns in their No-Nonsense pen line (so far, I have found seven).

Then, as colorful acrylics became available, BCHR waned in favor of the bright acrylic colors. But more recently, some pen companies have begun to introduce limited-edition chased-style pens. Most only offer one of two patterns for special occasions. But Conway Stewart, for example, has been offering the patterns on a fairly regular basis in several limited edition series.

As small consumer laser engravers became more common, I began to consider the possibility of creating my own BCHR-style pens more seriously. I researched the various engraver models to find one with the right requirements and features. But although there were many people using laser engravers, I wasn’t able to find anyone that was engraving on pens, except for those doing name engraving services. And those were using expensive engravers. The folks that were using the entry-level machines were primarily using wood. And those who were making round objects were engraving glassware and mugs.

So next, I tried to contact a few of the companies that sold the machines. But they weren’t very helpful. They would simply reply, “Yes, you can engrave on acrylic” or “Yes, you can do pens.” I couldn’t get anyone to pin down and confirm the engraving I wanted to do. Next, I poured over user forums and YouTube videos. But I still couldn’t find anyone doing the exact type of engraving I wanted to do. However, I was able to zero in on the best type of machine and attachments I should use.

Finally, after quite a bit of procrastinating, I decided to just buy an engraver and find out for myself. I found out that the various machines basically used the same laser module. So I could start out with a small engraver that used a standard module. Then I could buy different laser modules as I needed them. This would allow me to get started with a minimal investment.

Once I decided I was going to get a laser engraver, I had to decide what kind of laser to buy. In the entry-level engravers, there were basically two types: CO2 and Diode. Just as the name implies, a CO2 laser uses carbon dioxide gas to generate the laser beam. These machines use long glass tubes, so they’re physically larger than a diode laser. A diode laser uses a light beam sent through a series of lenses to direct the beam. The lenses are small, so a diode laser ‘head’ is quite compact.

Rotary chuck: I found that diode laser companies sold attachments for their machines that would allow you to engrave on round objects. The latest was a small rotary chuck that looked just like a miniature lathe. This was just the attachment I was going to need to engrave the round pens.

I spent a few weeks learning the machine and software. I started out with simple one-line name engravings as I got comfortable with the machine. Finally, after a few months of testing, I was ready to try creating some engraving patterns. To make a long story short, it WORKED! And it turns out that BCHR embellishments can be done quite easily with a laser engraver. And as I got more into it, I found that it’s actually pretty easy as long as you have the means of creating the patterns.

And as it turns out, there are a few advantages to using a laser for the BCHR embellishing process. First is the material. The original chasing method was only possible on ebonite because it was soft enough to press the image into the material (heat was also used). But a laser engraver is burning in the image, so it allows for a wider variety of materials (they say you can even engrave cookies!). The key is to get the right settings between power and speed. Another advantage is that it’s much easier to go from a pattern concept to the pen. The original chasing was a mechanical process. This was before computers, so creating a pattern wasn’t as easy as it is today. Next was the expensive process of turning the concept from paper to metal pressing dies. And without computers, it was a fairly long and expensive process to make the dies. With laser engraving, you create the pattern on the computer and then send the design directly to the engraver and onto the pen.

Their are a few restrictions that are dependent on the type of laser used.

Material color: The first restriction is the color of the material. Light-emitting diode laser’s use a specific color of light. So whatever the color of the light may be, you can’t use material of the same color. The material will just absorb the laser light. I’m currently using a blue-diode laser. So with a blue diode laser, I can’t engrave on blue material because the material will just absorb the blue light. Another issue with all lasers is using reflective materials. Lasers work by directing the laser beam through a series of mirrors. So reflective materials will just redirect the beam and bounce off. So reflective acrylics are a no-no for any type of laser engraving.

Types of Acrylic: I found acrylic acetate works the best. Followed by black polyester, then alumilite. Acrylic acetate is the hardest of the three, so the settings were easier to control. Alumilite is the softest, and since it’s custom-made (mixed by many independent blank makers), each batch requires testing to find the right settings for that particular batch.

Laser size: Another thing to consider if you want to create your own pattern is that the laser’s beam is quite small-most are only about 0.05 mm in diameter. So the lines they create are very thin (see the harbor pole pattern below). This can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the pattern you want to engrave. The advantage is that you can get great detail in a pattern or image. But it can be a disadvantage by burning a line that is too thin for a particular pattern. But that can be overcome by doubling the lines, which will then make two lines appear as a thicker single line. I also found I could adjust the lines per inch (LPI). This is helpful for creating a pattern where you actually want to see lines. A good example is the vintage BCHR patterns. Those were all created by pressing a series of lines into the pens, which together created the pattern. So to get the same effect with a laser, you can either create the pattern with individual lines or create the pattern with what is called ‘fill’ boxes, and then widen the LPI so the lines show in the pattern instead of creating a solid fill pattern. I used this technique with the first (scallop) pattern below. The laser’s default setting filled in the scallops. But by decreasing the LPI, I was able to open up a gap between the lines, so the pattern looks more like the original chased pattern. But if you want the pattern to be solid, just increase the LPI so the lines are closer. And because the lines are thin, when engraving patterns with solid areas, it takes several passes to fill in the areas, which increases the engraving time.

Pen size and shape: Because the engraving line is so thin, you can engrave on large and small pens. But the shape of the part is important. A laser beam is focused to concentrate it’s maximum strength on the surface of the part. So if a part has different diameters, creating a variation in the depth of the focused area, the beam will get out of focus. This can cause the line to get wider, or if the deviation is too great, the engraving will taper off and stop. So pens with straight parts are the best candidates for engraving.

More than just patterns: One final thing to keep in mind is that the engravings aren’t limited to patterns. Text and images could also be used as well. I’m working on a few examples that I hope to post in the near future. And if you want the pattern to stand out, it could be filled in with a contrasting color.

Before going any further, I want to explain the terminology I’m going to use. Because these are not the conventional chased patterns, I’m calling my surface-treated pens BCHR STYLE. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea that I’m actually doing conventional chasing.