I make fountain pens as a hobby and recently made one out of briar. Not too many people can appreciate this type of wood outside of this group here, so I thought I would share it. Hope you guys like it and any feedback is welcome.
Briar Fountain Pen
- Thread starter twoonefive
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That's awesome. I've been making pens lately too! What a fun hobby!
Briar was a great idea!
Briar was a great idea!
Looks good!
A guy named Doug Erwin did a batch of briar fountain pens maybe ten years ago.
You should keep it up.
I am both a pipe and fountain pen guy, so I'm a fan.
Where do you source the pennish parts? Whose nib do you have on it?
Very well done. Very attractive. Thanks for sharing.
Where do you source the pennish parts? Whose nib do you have on it?
Very well done. Very attractive. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! The section and threads are from an ebonite rod. Wood was from Vermont Freehand. The nib is a Bock #6 with a Sheffield insert and those you can usually get at Turners Warehouse or beaufortink.co.uk
Thanks Berg. Right now I am registered with the Baltimore Pen Show for 2023. If I can come up with a decent amount of pens that I think are worthy to sell, that will be my first pen show.
Always be careful to carry and use a pen that children will remember you having when they are gray headed.
My father had a beautiful cousin who was married to a fabulously well dressed banker who always had a Parker pen.
He’d even give me little Cross silver pens for Christmas.
Next year will mark forty years every child that’s ever seen me in my suit and tie might remember one of my nice pens I use.
It’s not the expense that keeps any well dressed man from having a nice pen in his shirt pocket.
Parker makes $10 pens that equal the best when they are new. I just bought this one for $8.25
I switched to rollerball pens for fear of a fountain pen having a courtroom accident about thirty years ago.
But the object is having a nice pen, because even a throwaway pen writes well enough.
I have several nice pens, this Cross Townsed might be the oldest I’ve kept in service at least thirty years.
My father had a beautiful cousin who was married to a fabulously well dressed banker who always had a Parker pen.
He’d even give me little Cross silver pens for Christmas.
Next year will mark forty years every child that’s ever seen me in my suit and tie might remember one of my nice pens I use.
It’s not the expense that keeps any well dressed man from having a nice pen in his shirt pocket.
Parker makes $10 pens that equal the best when they are new. I just bought this one for $8.25
I switched to rollerball pens for fear of a fountain pen having a courtroom accident about thirty years ago.
But the object is having a nice pen, because even a throwaway pen writes well enough.
I have several nice pens, this Cross Townsed might be the oldest I’ve kept in service at least thirty years.
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Someday soon I hope. My shop is getting cramped so I'm working out the logistics or where to put a blasting cabinet.
Very, very cool.
I’ve often wondered what a briar pen would look like. Beautiful work. The pen just exudes warmth and I bet it’s even better in person.
I’ve often wondered what a briar pen would look like. Beautiful work. The pen just exudes warmth and I bet it’s even better in person.
These are beautiful! I love the birdseye in them.
I got into pen turning a few years ago and made a bunch as Christmas gifts. I also got some briar blanks from Vermont Freehand when I ordered some pipe making kits from them. You’re making me want to set up my lathe again and turn them!
You can find pen making kits (the non-wood pen parts) as well as the wood (and other material) pen blanks online at Penn State Industries: pennstateind.com
If you have a Woodcraft or Rockler woodworking store near you, they also should have plenty of pen making gear.
For what it's worth, the venerable Italian, Bologna-based fountain pen maker OMAS--which ceased operations only a few years ago-- launched a very beautiful briar product line (designated AM 87) in the mid-1980s.
This consisted of fountain pens (in a couple of sizes--the largest about the same as a Montblanc 149), roller balls, ballpoints and mechanical pencils, and was offered in a variety of very handsome colors. I remember first seeing them shortly after I moved to Florence in an elegant window display of a small pen shop near the Arno on the via della Vigna Nouva. I lusted after one then despite their rather sobering price. And occasionally still do.
This consisted of fountain pens (in a couple of sizes--the largest about the same as a Montblanc 149), roller balls, ballpoints and mechanical pencils, and was offered in a variety of very handsome colors. I remember first seeing them shortly after I moved to Florence in an elegant window display of a small pen shop near the Arno on the via della Vigna Nouva. I lusted after one then despite their rather sobering price. And occasionally still do.
I have a Mont Blanc 144 fountain pen that intermittently stops flowing and has never responded to cleanings and adjustments. Of course my inexpensive Lamy Safari writes beautifully every time. Go figure.
How about a briar fountain pen with a tamper on the cap?
How about a briar fountain pen with a tamper on the cap?
Here’s my latest and likely best nice pen, an Alius ex Alio from Italy.
The top is sterling silver stamped on original 1930s Parker dies.
What I like best about it is that it uses a Monteverde P13 Parker style refill, only $4 each and they work like a hammer.
A pen is worthless for lawyer service if it doesn’t work first time, every time, and never leaks, because it can’t leak.
That’s why all my fountain pens are parked in a drawer.
The top is sterling silver stamped on original 1930s Parker dies.
What I like best about it is that it uses a Monteverde P13 Parker style refill, only $4 each and they work like a hammer.
A pen is worthless for lawyer service if it doesn’t work first time, every time, and never leaks, because it can’t leak.
That’s why all my fountain pens are parked in a drawer.
I've been humoring the idea for a long time to invest in a mid-grade fountain pen and practice my penmanship. I occasionally write letters to friends, and having a "proper" pen for it--to say nothing of the proper handwriting--would be ideal. I do find the world of fountain pens a little intimidating, however. But I felt the same way about pipes, and here I am.
That all being said, those briar pens are cleeeaaan. I love them.
That all being said, those briar pens are cleeeaaan. I love them.