Fosfor Tikona: the Triangular Pen

I like challenges and when Sanjay from Bangalore approached me to make a triangular pen, I gladly accepted the challenge.

All of my pens are made on a manual lathe machine which can only turn round shapes. In order to make the triangular shape on a lathe, it required some innovative thinking and a lot of R&D (essentially trial and error). After a few failed attempts, I was able to get the accuracy I wanted so that I can produce a pen that somebody would want to pay for.

Here is the very first Fosfor Tikona:

Tikona or actually Trinoke means a Triangle. There is also a hill fort near Pune which bears the same name Tikona and is actually pyramidal in shape. Although the pyramid is missing from this pen, the triangular shape is very much prominent. If the ends of the pen are brought together, we will get a three faceted pyramid, however it is difficult to achieve.

For the first pen I made, the barrel does not have threading for the cap, but instead the grip section has threading which secures the cap. There are a couple of reasons for this design aspect: 1) the shape of the pen appears to be more unified starting from the section; 2) it is possible to have smaller diameter threads for the cap so that the base of the cap can be thin and 3) it allows for a longer section than usual so that the triangular edges of the barrel don't interfere while holding the pen. The section is secured onto the barrel using an O-ring so that while unscrewing the cap, the section is not removed inadvertently.

The making of this pen does require lot more manual work especially in getting the triangular alignment right and then while polishing the pen. All of the polishing has to be done by hand and those who make hand-turned pens would know how time-consuming it can be.

I was convinced that this experiment was successful when I received this note from Sanjay:

"Friends are awestruck at the beauty of it

Everyone thought it was impossible and u pulled u r magic card out and blew everyone away

I am still amazed by fit finish and the cap aligns perfectly on line with the barrel. 

Thanks a Ton literally mean it"

Barcelona Pen Show - 2015

Fosfor Pens will be represented by Gimena pens at the Barcelona Pen Show starting March 14th. More information about the show is available here: http://penshowbarcelona.blogspot.com.es/.

Gimena Pens has been offering Fosfor Pens made in Polyester Resin in various vibrant colors. Pen fans in europe can experience these pens up close at the pen show. Here is a preview of what to expect:

Rippled Ebonite - with seemingly rare colors

Most recently, I had purchased rods of Brick Red ebonite from my usual supplier, who sells industrial ebonite. The brick red ebonite goes really well with Sandalwood pens. These rods look darker than the actual color of the material and at times it's hard to tell what they are going to look like ones turned.

One such rod I had purchased looked as if its the same brick red ebonite, but was slightly darker. Upon turning, it revealed a beautiful brown ebonite with rippled pattern. What's unusual about it is the colors. This rod has two color ripples. I have seen single color (typically black) ripples in a base color of brown, green, red etc or the reverse. But I have never seen a two color rippled pattern.

I had to make a pen and see what it looked like once polished. And here is the end result:

You can clearly see the multi-color ripples which are rather unusual. I have searched the internet for similar material, and have not come across this pattern. The base color is also different. It is brownish red, as compared to brownish yellow, typically found on India ebonite pens.

This comparison shot will highlight the difference:

I have added Gunmetal Bronze accents to mine which goes well with this material. The Snake clip is from a vintage pen.

Here are the dimensions of my pen:

• Overall size: 150mm x 14.9mm
• Body: 134mm x 12.1mm
• Cap: 62mm x 14.9mm
• Cap to Barrel Threads: 12mm x 0.8mm double start
• Weight: 22g

Fosfor pens now available in Europe

I am pleased to announce that Fosfor's colorful resin pens are now available in Europe. Here is a link to where you can see the new pens http://www.fpnibs.com/en/45-fosfor-pens.

There are also various value added services, such as nib engraving, pen engraving and personalization. Pen fans in Europe can now get full service for these Fosfor pens.

Diwali - the festival of lights is here

Yes, its that time of the year already. Diwali, which signifies the victory of good over evil, has just started. Streets are lined up with stalls selling Lanterns and fire crackers.

The rest of the week will be spent meeting relatives and loved ones, children enjoying the fire crackers and the special Diwali "faraal".

Things will almost be at a stand-still here as far as pen making is concerned. But, will surely pickup pace starting next week.

Happy Diwali to everyone!

In-house cast Polyester Resin pens

The market is flooded with pen blanks made from Acrylic, Polyester and a few more synthetic materials. I am always pursuing innovative ways to differentiate the pens I am offering. Casting my own pen blanks was something I had in mind for a long time. Finally, after much trial and error, I am able to make polyester resin (PR) blanks that I can offer to the fountain pen fans.

Casting PR may seem easy, based on numerous videos posted online. However, there are a few challenges you come across. First, and most critical, is the issue of bubbles in your material. Second, is the mold itself and making sure that you get a cast released from the mold. Third, making sure you are doing something different than many others who are casting the blanks.

The bubbles issue needs most attention. I have had many blanks wasted because of this issue. There are two ways to address this, one is to use pressure casting and the other to de-vac the material before casting. I chose to de-vac the material before casting, which means I use a vacuum chamber to remove all the bubbles while the material is still unset. So far, this has proven quite effective.

Mold release was another challenge. The use of PVC pipes did not prove to be as affective. Use of paper tubes instead worked great and there is no need to release the cast, you simply machine the paper out.

To make blanks that are different from the rest, I developed my own method of pouring the material into the mold. This is the USP and something I would not like to discuss right now.

Here are a few pictures of the pens:

Islander with Sterllng Silver Clip

Often times, I am asked to add a clip to the Islander pen. So far, I have been putting a stock clip. However, the mismatch between the sterling silver band and the chrome plated clip was obvious. So I designed a clip and had it hand made by an artist.

So now, the Islander pen can be equipped with a matching Sterling Silver clip. Here is how it looks: