A Rare Vintage

In the world of pen materials, there are so many options. In the modern pen making world, Alumilite, a urethane resin, reigns supreme. Alumilite is a strong, durable material that accepts pigments and dyes well and has almost endless design possibilities. I don’t want to take anything away from the outstanding alumalite materials or the talented makers, however I want to take a few moments to talk about my favorite pen making materials, cellulose based plastics.

Cellulose based plastics can be divided into several different groups. One of the first was Nitro Cellulose. Made by exposing cellulose to Nitric and Sulphuric Acids, creating a highly flammable film. It was used for guncotton (a replacement for gunpowder), mining explosives, and early photographic emulsions. Collodion was invented in the mid 19th century to use as a wound dressing and dried to a thin film. Several inventors experimented with nitro cellulose over the following decades.

Celluloid was a term applied to a newer plastic in 1872, created by John Wesley and Isiah Hyatt while experimenting with ways to create billiard balls. There was a movement to reduce the use of natural Ivory, and the new material was found to be useful in mimicking the grain structure of Ivory. The material was created by treating nitro cellulose with camphor , ethyl alcohol, and adding heat and pressure. After patents were filed for methods of thermoforming the material, it found many uses. Celluloid was used in early film stocks for motion pictures and must be stored in a particular way to prevent violent fires that are extremely difficult to extinguish. The film could self-ignite when exposed to high temperatures from the movie projector bulbs.

The properties of celluloid, especially that it can dry into thin films, that can be stacked together and pressed into a single material made it an outstanding material for fountain pens. There are patterns in materials, especially sheening and shimmering striations that can be produced through this layering of thin films that cannot be reproduced or are extremely difficult ro replicate through other processes (like Arco Celluloids). Due to the extreme flammability during production, and several disasters at factories, the production of celluloid in the US slowed the 1960s. Celluloid as a film stock was replaced by acetate in the 1950s.

Cellulose Acetate is produced by putting raw cellulose (from wood pulp or cotton fiber) through an acetylation process, using acting acid. Anyone who collects or uses the material will notice a vinegar smell from the off-gassing of the material over time., especially when stored in air tight containers. The Eastman Chemical Company was one of the largest producers of Cellulose Acetate.

Solid rods of different cellulose acetate patterns were produced, creating vivd and colorful designs that are seemingly impossible to recreate with modern resins. The Parker Vacumatic used an incredible stacked layer material that is well known as a durable and beautiful pen making material.

Another manufacturing method involved the cellulose acetate being laid out in thin layers of patters (chunky patters, long lines, small blocks, stacked lines etc…). These sheets were cut into thin strips and wrapped around tubes for curing. The diagonal lines created by wrapping the material around tubes can be seen in the poplar “Lizard Skin” tubes.

Vintage cellulose acetate rods can be used in modern pen making, but difficulties can arise due to the diameter of modern pens. Most of the tube stocks I have seen measure anywhere from 10mm-15mm in diameter. Many modern pen makers use larger body and cap diameters than vintage brands did, so these tubes require a different design or model in the product lineup. Other difficulties can include tapering, due to the thin walls of the tubes. Most makers that employ cellulose acetate tubes in their pens will use a modern material (alumalite, acrylic, ebonite) to make finials for the tubes.

These materials can be turned on a lathe, drilled out, threaded, sanded, and polished well. When thoroughly sanded, these materials will hold an incredibly brilliant finish. The biggest thing for makers to keep in mind is to limit heat in the process. Cellulose based material and heat never mix. Drills can cease to parts when using celluloids especially. Slow drilling is suggested when producing parts. If the materials ignite, it can be extremely dangerous to the maker and their shop.

It is also important not to use certain chemicals on the cellulose based materials. Acetone can reduce them to a jelly like substance, ill suited to producing writing instruments. Cyanoacrylate glues (super glue) and epoxies can be used on the materials generally.

Cellulose based materials can give a pen a natural feel. the surface of the pen feels more organic than other resins and plastics. Unfortunately, some of the materials can be stained by inks, and don’t make good grip sections or eye dropper fill pens.

There are quite a few pen makers that are producing beautiful pens using these vintage materials, as well as some modern production celluloids and cellulose acetates. Mainly produced in Europe and Asia, there are some good quality materials still in prduction. Some of the European pen companies have in-house celluloid production facilities.

Our Vintage Series pens include models that are produced using vintage celluloid and cellulose acetate bodies, mixed with both modern resins and ebonite (the VS1 and VS2). We strive to find pockets of these materials here and there and buy them when we find them if possible. Many of these patterns and materials were made nearly 100 years ago and will likely never be produced again. We are on a mission to not let these materials disappear from the pen work by keeping them alive in new designs and modern pens.

Why Fountain Pens????

This is a question I get from a lot of people who know me outside of the pen community. “You make what?!?!?” is a common one as well. I have always had an urge to make something, to create something either artistic or useful. It seems that I have found a way to do both. Many of you know that I began my journey to becoming a maker at the Atlanta Pen Show when I discovered the world of handcrafted pens. I met my pen making Yoda that day. From that day until now, thoughts of making pens and how I can progress as a maker find their way into my head on a constant basis. Why pens? But more importantly, why fountain pens specifically?

I have insisted on using a quality pen since I was a teenager. I always looked through the aisles at the stores until I found just the right pen. I was never satisfied with the way a $.25 pen wrote, felt in the hand, or how they lacked durability. It wasn’t until quite a few years later, in my 40’s, that I would decide that I was “adult enough” and responsible enough to purchase a fountain pen and learn how they worked and wrote.

I have been thinking about this for a few days and I have come up with the following answers to this question.

1. I am a fan of the Analog world. and yes I realize the ironic nature of writing a blog on a Mac about something analog. Several analog options have seen a resurgence in popularity over the last few years. Many people have begun shaving more like their grandfathers did. A shaving bowl, badger brush and a single blade safety razor. I too jumped on this bandwagon (when I used to shave that is). I found that I got the best shave I’d ever had, and razor burn was a thing of the past (pun not intended).

There has also been a revival of folks breaking out turntables and vinyl albums (yes I said album, not record). I grew up listening to my dad’s albums, from Three Dog Night, to Peter Frampton and James Taylor. I have been a lover of music for my entire life. And I would argue till I am out of breath that there is no better way to listen recorded music.

Fountain pens are traveling along with other “things of the past”. I never realized what world I was stumbling into when I watched my first video with this weirdo named Brian talking to the camera about all this pen stuff. I ordered seven or eight pens from him and started learning. From that day till now, dang, what have I done. Fountain pens are the vinyl album of the writing world. They connect you to the paper in a way that a ballpoint just can’t. The feedback that the pen provides is a real, analog, first hand experience.

2. Preserving handwriting. I believe in the hand written word. I am old enough to remember when writing letters was an every day thing. No cell phones, internet, instant messaging or zooming. My daughters were amazed when I started writing words on paper and the letters were connected to each other. They have not been taught the art of handwriting like I was in school. How are they ever supposed to sign their name? They will forever simply write their name I guess. I have begun teaching them about writing and why it is so important. At this particular point in history, we would not have a history if not for writing.

3. Versatility. The sheer craziness that you enter into when you discover nibs and nib grinds alone is enough to make Sysiphus start to cry. Whether you like writing with an incredibly tiny line, or a gigantic interstate highway of one, there is an option out there. I recently started having nibs ground for some of my personal pens. I don’t think it will be easy to ever stray from a damn good architect grind. Outside of the width of the line, the materials and finishes are amazing. Steel, Gold, Titanium, and that’s not considering plating. And some of the more experimental nibs I’ve seen being produced are amazing!

Just the beauty of a well crafted nib is mind blowing sometimes. Has anyone ever grabbed a loupe to look at a nib and realize you’ve been sitting there for like 10 minutes?

I apologize for the quality of the following pictures. I need to add a couple things to my photography set up.

The rollerball point is a very simple, conical design with a ball in the tip that coats itself in ink as it rolls along inside its seat. I’m definitely not bagging on rollerballs and ballpoints, but I just want to compare this to the next picture.

The Fountain Pen Nib. A finely tuned and crafted work of art. A piece of metal bent, shaped and engraved. Tuned and aligned to actually create a controlled leak.

And as for another point of versatility, INK, enough said.

4. Craftsmanship. I think this is the one part that really drove me to write this blog. You can look through your personal pen collection and see excellent examples of pens. From the traditional Conways, Parkers, and Esties all the way to the innovative designs from Lamy and TWSBI. Excellent Craftsmanship one and all. But being a maker, I am going to focus on handcrafted pens.

I was in my shop the other day, doing what I like least, drilling out pen bodies. I had a thought. I thought, I take a plastic rod, a solid round piece of resin and turn it into something that people use to preserve the art of handwriting, produce beautiful works of art, document their lives through journaling, and share the events of there lives with others through letters and post cards. That thought stopped me for a bit. I just thought about that.

I am new to the maker world, there are many makers out there that have producing beautiful pens for years and years. I am extremely proud of my collection of handmade pens (I’ve got a list folks, if I haven’t sent you my money yet, it’s on its way!). These makers pour their hearts into what they do and it shows through their product. Independent makers produce anything from full resin pens and carefully crafted wooden pens, to ornately embellished pens with gems and handcrafted metal work.

If you haven’t yet, take a few minutes, take your favorite maker’s pen apart. Sit down, grab a magnifier or a loupe and look at it. Looks at the threads that secure the cap, or the section. Those threads are often cut by hand (with a die, but by hand nonetheless). Look at the way the sections are shaped. Those sections are made with a tool held in the makers hands. Look at the expertly fitted clips. Take a minute and just look at the body and cap. Those pieces began as a solid rod of resin, basically a plastic stick (casters, don’t get mad, its just for illustration, haha). The hands of the craftsman made something beautiful and ultimately useful with their vision, heart, and dedication to the craft.

We are living in a material world......

After fielding some customer questions and hearing some comments about materials, I figured, why not write a short(ish) post about materials……so….here we go!

There are so many materials that pen makers are using to create some incredible pens. From vintage cellulose acetate blanks that are 100 years old, to freshly poured innovative Alumalite (brand of resin) blanks. There are some awesome hybrid blanks that combine resin and wood, and there are blanks out there with fishing tackle cast into them. All these materials come with their own set of challenges that each pen maker has to learn about and experiment with before producing a pen. I am currently using Alumalite blanks and just plain old acrylic (for ink windows and clear bits). I have learned that acrylic can be both loved and hated by makers in the same second.

One of the requests I get frequently is for me to send a picture or a video of a particular blank to a customer. I send the pictures and videos, but I try (sometimes I forget) to let the customer know that the resulting pen could look nothing like the blank. I am happy to let folks see the blanks that they are buying, it’s their pen after all. Here are a couple pictures of blanks and their corresponding pens to demonstrate the point. Some do look similar, as in the Liquid Mother of Pearl (LMOP) blanks that are some of my absolute favorites. (I’ll discuss more after the pictures)

Here we see a gallery of a few blanks with their corresponding pens.

#1 and #2

This is the Teal LMOP, as you can see the color is pretty close after it is turned, but the iridescent striations that are throughout the material really come alive when a few millimeters are taken off and it is polished. The blank also has some translucent qualities that are difficult to see in its raw form.

#3 and #4

This is the famous Primary Manipulation by Jonathon Brooks. The pen is not the one from the blank, but it would work the same way. The blank has some swirls and you can see the different colors, but once turned, it looks completely different. When the blanks are poured, the colors you see on the outside are what sets up against the walls of the mold. but the inside of the blank is an incredibly complex combination of swirl patterns.

#5 and #6

Oil Slick from McKenzie Penworks. The raw blank looks a bit amorphous, but the finished pen has more defined separations between all the colors. It develops from a fuzzy rainbow to a shimmery swirl. And the Diamondcast qualities are a lot more prevalent when the blank is polished.

#7 and #8

This Arctic Blast blank from Jonathon Brooks has a cloudy look to it when it is raw. when it is turned you can see definition in the swirls. The large portions of white become thin strips separating the blue hues. There are dark and light (almost turquoise) blues that have some transparency.

#9 and #10

Finally we come to a material that has become quite popular. It is my most requested blank. Abalone from Jonathon Brooks. The raw blank has an almost painted (broad strokes) appearance. The basic colors, whites, blacks, and blues can be seen. When the material is turned and polished, the ridiculous (in an outstanding way) iridescence explodes. The interplay between the blacks and whites is much more complex and the blues turn into those pockets and streaks of pearlescent and iridescent magic.

I know that was a lot of images to talk about, but I wanted to give a visual representation. When commissioning a pen from a maker, it is possible that the blank you see could look 1000% different than the finished product.

This is one of my favorite parts of being a maker. Opening a box of materials from the caster and digging through to see what gems are there. I really enjoy finding something that looks plain and unassuming only to find something amazing under the surface. It really teaches a maker what 1 or 2 millimeters can actually do to the look of the men. My Aeschylus model is shaped (tapered) at the ends of the cap and body. If I had identically poured materials my Prime model (straight cap and body) would look totally different than the Aeschylus, even though the ends are only around 1.5mm-2mm different.

I hope this helps explain another small part of the commission process and what the makers are seeing when they look at a blank for the first time and try to envision a finished product.

Thanks for reading everyone, and be sure to tune in to Instagram on this evening (Sunday May 24th) at 6PM Eastern Time for a live stream. I am going to talk about my collection of handcrafted pens, a little about some of the makers and answer questions!! Hope to see you all there.

Brad

All about Commissions

I wanted to take some time to talk about commissioning pens. We have had quite a few pens commissioned in the last few weeks, and I wanted to get all the information out there to everyone and answer some commonly asked questions.

What I am willing to do

Almost any idea is great! I really enjoy designing different pens. I like mixing materials and colors. I can do all black, or as many colors as we can cram in there. We can add clips, ink windows, make clear parts, etc…

I also have had several customers that have given me artistic license to create something that meets some simple guidelines (colors they like, colors they don’t like, etc…) This is awesome as well. I will tell you that I will go to the shop and just stare at blanks for a while. That’s kind of my process. I will make a pen that is my interpretation of what the customer wants. Sometimes it may be way off, sometimes its better than expected haha. But that’s how the creative process works.

I won’t unfortunately copy another maker’s work. If I am asked to produce a pen from another makers design, that maker wouldn’t appreciate that. So, out of respect to the other makers, if a customer wants a copy of that pen, I will refer them to that pen’s maker.

How it works!

Commissioning a pen is simple, all you have to do is reach out, whether it is on our Instagram page @mythicpens, or through email at info@mythicpens.com. Starting the conversation about what you’re looking for is the best way to begin. I have a few people that have asked me what they should do or what they should want. One of the best parts of commissioning a pen is that you, the customer have an opinion. It is different than just purchasing pen that we list for sale. This is your chance to tell a pen maker exactly what you would like in a pen!!!!!!

Fist I like to know what body style you would like. Whether its from one of our Instagram posts or from the examples on our website. Then I look for inspiration from things like your favorite color families, or what you like about pens in general. After that, I will send pictures or video of what materials I have available that might meet those needs. Once we get the basics down, it’s on to the business side of things.

I charge a $30.00 non-refundable deposit, then the remainder is due when finished pen is approved by you. Payment is handled through PayPal, I send an invoice, so I pay the fees and you shouldn’t have to.

I will inform you how far out I am time wise before you pay your deposit. Like right now, for the moment, I am running about 14 days out. If you’re good with that, we go into production.

Pricing

The base prices of the commissions are the same rate as our production pens. Then I add the options requested. If you, for example, want an Aeschylus model ($185.00) with a 10mm ink window ($20.00) and a contrasting section material ($20.00), the final purchase price would be $225.00. The prices of all of the available options can be found at www.mythicpens.com/pens-1.

What to expect during production

While your pen is being made, I will send you progress pictures and videos. I want you to know how production is going and give you a bit of insight into how your pen is made. I usually do this through Instagram because my internet connection is the worst ever and this just works a little better than email. If something happens (things break sometimes) I will reach out and discuss those issues and we will get them resolved!

When I finish the pen, I will send you a final set of pictures and a video. If you approve of the finished product I will send you the final invoice. Once the invoice is paid I will get the pen ready and ship it out ASAP!

We ink the pen up and write with it to insure that the nib functions correctly and is as smooth as we (not nib grinders) can get it. Then the pen is cleaned, dried and packaged. I will send an email to let you know when it ships. Please understand that there may be traces of water in the pen parts or Noodler’s Midway Blue ink the nib. This is just from the cleaning process.

So, if you’re wanting to commission a pen, let’s get creative and come up with something really cool. This is however, a pen that is a collaborative effort between maker and customer.

Don’t hesitate to reach out, we are alway interested in innovation and creativity.

Brad

We have a blog!!!!!!!!!

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We are happy to announce that we will be creating a blog here on the site. This blog will be highlighting what the company is up to, any new products, designs and general pen making posts. We will try our best to post at least weekly if not sooner.

If anyone is interested in a commissioned pen, now is the time!!! I am currently only running about two weeks out. Get in line while the line is still short!!!!

We have some exciting things coming up soon!! We will be unveiling a new model soon, and we are also expanding our tooling to accommodate JoWo #5 nibs, Bock #5 and #6 nibs, and hopefully Bock #8 in the future.

We will be reworking a coupe of our designs when we expand our tooling. The Aristophanes model will be changing to a JoWo #5 nib at some point so we can reduce the size and diameter of the pen. The design will not be changing.

Our Prime and Aeschylus models are available in slim versions now!!!! The body diameters are 1-1.5mm slimmer than the full size version.

Our new model, without giving away too much information, will be a larger pen. I know what some folks are saying, “Really?!?!? You need a bigger pen?" Rest assured, if you like the model, we can always create (within our abilities) a version of the model that fits your needs. I was a fountain pen user and enthusiast before becoming a maker, and I also like larger bodied pens.

We had a requested commission for an Aeschylus model with no visible joint between the cap and body. I have the body shaped and the joint fixed (disappears!!). We use triple start threads on our caps, so it takes fewer turns to secure it to the body. The triple start threads are not accommodating when making a flush joint on the pen. With the triple start threads, there are three entry points for the starting thread. When a flush body and cap are made in this fashion, only one of the thread starting positions will insure the flush joint. If the cap is threaded from one of the other two spots the joint will not be flush.

So, I have ordered single start taps and dies in both M13 and M14 specifically for these applications. If you would like to have a flush joint on either your Aeschylus or Prime commission, the cap threads will be single start (which would typically mean more turns to secure the cap). I will make the body tenon shorter on the flush joint versions to fix that problem.

On the materials front, we have been using McKenzie Penworks blanks for the past month or so. I am out of all the Brooks blanks I have (except for some Liquid Mother of Pearl and quite a bit of short pieces). I recently purchased some blanks from Coy at Two Trails Woodworking and I am looking forward to turning some of them down once I have completed the commissions that are on our list. This means we will have a few pens that will be posted to the website soon!! Most of the pens will be going into show stock for the DC Pen Show.

Finally, we will not be attending the Chicago Pen Show as planned. Due to issues with the rescheduling, our schedule will not permit us to go. We will be in DC!! I am trying to see if I can get into the Dallas Show and Scritpus in Toronto (these are tentative). We hope that you can get your pen show fix and visit with us in DC. We are looking forward to meeting our customers in person!! we will have plenty of pens, some material examples and lots of commission forms!!! be sure to stop by!!

Thanks everybody, stay safe and be well.

Brad