* pen making

Well, late again, sorry. As I said yesterday I have a few things I want to get through today. In the leading image are the sections I have made today and an example of the new setup. So those of you who watched the video I put up last week you will notice that there are a lot of the model of section I made in that video. For the eagle eyed there are 3 metal rings there too which are all threaded for pens, two stainless steel and one brass. But first of all on to the pens I have made using the brooks blanks so far. These are mostly for clients.

[This](https://i.imgur.com/5KMs7Es.jpg) one is a [Titan](https://i.imgur.com/USxQhWc.jpg) made from a brooks blank that I don’t know the name of, any clues?

[This](https://i.imgur.com/fQjeJ85.jpg) one is a [custom design](https://i.imgur.com/5SIe8s0.jpg) for a client out of a primary manipulation, though I am not sure which type.

[Here](https://i.imgur.com/7oDQcPA.jpg) is a [Zeus](https://i.imgur.com/f8BLd4q.jpg) made out of primary manipulation 1.

[This](https://i.imgur.com/sR2R8if.jpg) one is a [Baldur](https://i.imgur.com/yzod7Jd.jpg) made out of primary manipulation 1.

Finally, [This](https://i.imgur.com/Tgq5BAg.jpg) one is a [Zeus](https://i.imgur.com/amYMZ8K.jpg) made from Calico Koi, this one I made for myself and has a brass ring.

Something you will notice about them is the new photography setup. I am using the lightbox as I have been for months now however I have changed over from using the camera on my Samsung phone to using a Finepix digital SLR that my wife has had for years. I use the white background as I wasn’t getting on with the black background as the texture was off, I need a flatter black which I will probably end up making myself.

So the metal work. I am using brass for the bulk load of metal work I am doing and that consists mainly of rings, [like this](https://i.imgur.com/WgEU15D.jpg), but sometimes silver is called for. I explored a variety of different metals that I could use. Aluminium tarnishes too easily, nickel for the moment is a bit too expensive until I get more proficient in doing it and find a decent uk supplier (any help on that would be appreciated), so I settled on stainless steel. Yes it’s hard and jesus christ it takes a long time, the two rings in the image above took me 2 to 3 hours to make when starting with a square bar. They are still rough but I am hoping once sanded and polished they will look a lot better.

* plans for next year

So, what are the plans for the future? It’s this time of year I start thinking of that sort of thing. When the tax bill comes through and is paid off I can make a purchase to take the company forward a bit more. 2019 was the lathe, 2020 was the pressure pot and compressor, 2021 is going to be a laser engraver and cutter. Then I can start engraving my own nibs, I can number limited runs of pens, I can begin to make my own clips and making my own detailed metal decorations to the pens. The learning curve is going to be a steep one, I will have to teach myself a new piece of software but I think it will be worth it. So yeah, that’s where the current plans are. Any help or advice on the laser stuff would be greatly appreciated.

Well this is the last update before Christmas and probably before 2021 so I have to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, I hope you all have good holidays and most improtantly stay safe.

As usual feel free to give suggestions for where these updates go in the comments. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones and stay safe.