We review friction finishes, laquer and several other processes that are used to produce these amazing pens.
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Our pens are made mostly from two materials: resin and wood. Both require different ways to get the blank from a rough round to our amazing, finished product. There are also different types of resins which require slightly different steps as well so it can get a little confusing. Woods also come in different grains, different oil content and hardness just to name a few. These can complicate both the turning of the wood as well as which finishes are used. I will talk about the different types of resins and casting later ..so stay tuned.
For our discussion let’s start with working with our wood pens. First a little background. Years ago, when we first started making wooden items and pens, we did not have the variety of finishes we have today. The finish in most cases depends on what that item will function as. Most of the finishes like lacquer. Polyurethane and the many varieties of these items are toxic to people…. spoons, cutting boards or any item that may encounter food is not recommended. There are a few non-toxic finishes such as shellac and oils which are normally used on these types of products. All of these products will work on pens but next thing to consider is how the item will be used. This deals with how durable the finish needs to be so you do not have to reapply or strip it and start over at some point down the road.
One of the first finishes we used years ago and still do in a few cases is referred to as friction polish. Friction polish is usually made up of shellac or a similar finish. After the artist turns the pen, sands the pen and gets it ready for the finish the friction polish is applied to the spinning pen and cures due to the heat created by the friction produced. Eight to twelve coats are applied to create a deep beautiful finish. The friction finish is used quite frequently and has many strengths. It is quick and easy to apply which in a production environment can save a lot of time and money. It is also a beautiful finish when applied correctly and with enough coats. The downside of this finish is that the oils from your hands can cause the finish to darken and detract from the beauty of the finish. If this pen is one that is used daily, then that may not be an issue. Frequent application of wax or other protective coating needs to be applied to keep it looking good.
The other category of finishes such as lacquer or polyurethane type products can produce very beautiful finishes and are straight forward in their application. Multiple coats of these finishes make the pen more durable and hold on to their shine. We did quite a few pens with lacquer and its still one of my favorite finishes. The downside again is the wear that can take place and the need for a wax or buffing compound to be used from time to time to keep it looking good. While friction finishes take one time at the lathe and can be done quickly, these finishes require drying time between coats and additional time to buff the finish out to a deep shine. Still a very good choice for that keepsake or special pen.
Something relatively new that we use is based on compounds whose main ingredient is cyanoacrylate adhesive. It has a common name and can be found everywhere for home repairs small fix it types jobs and 1000’s of other uses. What’s the common name for it? I will leave that up to you to research. When it first came out for turners it was used to connect pieces together and glue some of the parts together. For pens it was hard to work with and took quite a bit of trial and error to get a good-looking finish. Truthfully it was a real pain. Another downside was that once completed if the pen was dropped on a hard surface the finish would shatter and the pen did not survive. As technology and creativity change out world so too did those chemists come up with a better idea. The cyanoacrylate adhesive is still the base, but they have added a flexible ingredient that avoids this problem. The durability of the finish is amazing, and the depth of the shine is unbelievable. This finish is the one we use on just about all our wooden or hybrid pens to produce that rich look and feel. We also use a version of this on some of the resin pens to give a deeper shine. The downside of this finish is on my side. It does take a level of expertise to complete successfully and although it can be done while the pen is on the lathe, it is a multi-step process that takes a little more time to get right. I have also heard that this finish creates a “plastic” look and you lose the wood feel. If you prefer a more wood feel, then the friction polish is for you. I like the depth of the finish and the amazing look that cyanoacrylate adhesive provides.
All artists and craftsmen have their own favorite process to make their products amazing and this is ours. When we started this business, from a hobby, we did not want to cut corners or produce products that we would not use ourselves. Its hard to enjoy anything that when you must look for that hard to find refill or when you have to constantly maintain and wax the product. Our pens take standard refills and will be beautiful for quite some time.
Hope this helped. I really like educating customer. If you have any questions, please feel free,
….. did you figure out what cyanoacrylate adhesive is?
Your friends at 3 Gen Pen Company
www.3genpens.com
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I wanted to touch base with you on how 3 Gen Pen Company is handling the current pricing environment. To get to the bottom line quickly… yes our material and supplier prices have increased. Yes we do experience some delays due to the supply chain as the raw materials and parts we use have also been impacted from the manufacturers.
As we have seen with just about everything we use in our business and personal lives has been affected with increased pricing we did some preparation some time ago to help hedge any major increase in our pricing to you. We stand behind what we sell and took it upon ourselves to increase our stock on some of the exotic woods and kits we use in our pens. One thing that we did not count on, but very happy it happened, was our amazing sales this last holiday season. We also continue to sell off the website and very thankful to those of you who continue to have faith in us and our products.
Again many thanks for your support and hope to see you at the next art/craft show.
Tim Wiley
3 Gen Pen Company LLC
Process
First the pen tube is covered in whatever my fancy is at the time... silver, gold or some with some colorful automotive paint. I then cut individual strips of copper and silver sheets and create a steam punk under design. I then take the watch dial and parts and put a slight bend in them to fit around the tubes. They are then cast in clear resin to create a block. It the sits to cure and is then turned on the lathe and polished to get the amazing pen you see in the pictures. No two are alike.
How long does it take to create?
Good question and it depends. Roughly 3 days to do the pen and cast it and another 5-7 to let the resin cure. Then its turned and polished on the lathe which adds another couple of hours.
Also depending on what I use to cover the pen tube it could even be longer. No production line here.
I hope that was helpful... any questions just let me know
]]>So we have chosen another path. We do have a few suppliers that do offer licensed items that we carry. We also have suppliers that offer pieces of history that we currently offer and will be expanding the options around the same time line. These include a variety of items made with embedded objects to include a variety of sports jerseys, theatrical costumes, parts of historic planes, ships and other military items and quite few other categories. Our goal is to offer pieces of history and make these items available to the general public.
Also for all of the college and pro teams we do offer our blanks in the school colors so feel free to ask. No logo's just some fantastic looking pens that you will be proud to show.
I hope that this clarifies some of the questions you may have and feel free to contact us for that special item. Thanks again for reading this and for your business.
Your friends at 3 Gen Pen Company
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Hope all of you are remaining safe. One of the items that we kept being asked for at the shows were seam rippers. As we expand our offerings we will be adding several different kinds of seam rippers to meet the needs of our customers. Here are a couple of pictures of these unique tools that can be added to your sewing table or they make an excellent gift. We will be stocking these in both wood and beautiful resins that will have a seam ripper on one side and a stiletto on the other. We will be accepting pre-orders now with stock available in June. Again we make these ourselves and they will be available in both chrome and a gold finish. Stay tuned.
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Take a look and let us know what you think. We also will accept custom orders to make that truely special gift.Since these are created one at a time if your choice is not in stock please give us 2-3 weeks to create that special one just for you.
Your friends at 3 Gen Pen Company
]]>With this said, the prices are a bit difficult to explain. I will try my best. In the beginning we tried to make them priced by size. However, many of the pens now are created by rare, historical, unique, one-of-a-kind, and often themed products. With that we customize with different metals from silver, gold, and gunmetal in most cases. We also have the possibility to use antique pewter, antique brass, and even a higher grade of gold. So... as you can see, the price is directly related to the time it takes to create the unique theme and the materials it contains. We take the time to do it right rather than have a production line or create multiples of the same product... which is almost impossible when we talk about variances in wood and other items used to create these works of art.
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]]>Non-wood comes in a few less options and is mainly made up of resins. These resins come in two parts and are mixed together and allowed to harden to form the blank. As these are mixed colors and things that sparkle can be added to the mixture to make these unique. These resins come in several varieties depending on what you are trying to do, working times, thickness needed and curing times. Epoxy, Alumilite Urethane and some polyester compounds are used. To further enhance these creations things can be put in the mixture or affixed around the brass tube, such as clock parts or even lego pieces. The ideas are only limited by the imagination of the artist creating the art.
One of the other items can be shown in our American Flag bolt action pens. This is done through the application of a label on the pen tube and then the tube is cast in a clear resin and left to harden. Due to the magnification properties of the clear casting the end result is.... well take a look at the pens.
All of this is done by hand, manually in small batches... so no two batches nor any two blanks will be alike. This is what we love about this art whether it be wood or non-wood, everything is unique.
Hope that answers some questions. Feel free to send us a note or ping us on messenger.
Your friends at 3 Gen Pen Company
]]>From Your Friends at 3 Gen Pens
]]>This is very important to us and a drop in the bucket but every bit helps. The current plans are to donate the funds on a quarterly basis so stay tuned. We will be limiting the amount of charities at this point but you never know. If there is a big demand in one area then we will consider expanding the list.
We will also honor sales programs or sales campaigns for any group for any pens on the site and will give a portion of those sales to that group. We want to make a difference... can you help?
Your friends at 3 Gen Pen Company
]]>As many of you are aware we had a good business about 10 years ago selling pens and other unique woodworking items. Due to life and the job we chose to close it and focus on family and the day job. In that period of time there has been an amazing number of additions to the kits offered and the products available to bring the pens to life.
Who would have thought that pens made with real watch parts would work or that abalone shell would make such amazing pens. In starting this new company we are taking a little different path. The want is to offer quality products that are one of a kind and unique. I am not a believer, as an artist, to mass produce these pens. Each one is special and each one has a story to tell.
The products are organized in "Collections" to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. Since these are one of a kind the pictures will be approximations of what you will be receiving.. maybe a little more red, additional specks of blue and other small variations. We will also give you the ability to order the finish you want, just send us an email.
We are here to make the experience special and to ensure that you are happy with your purchase. Let us know if we can answer any questions.
Your Friends at 3 Gen Pen Company.
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