Segmentation in a Faux Knife Pen

[James Combs]

Over on the IAP site Timothy Wise(AKA "wiset1") posted a full sized Majestic Pen dressed in Cocobolo and Brazilian Cherry. The wood was in the form of knife scales giving the pen the look of a very nice pocket knife. I asked Tim if I could copy it and this is the result. Thanks to Tim for the inspiration. The only kit I had to try it out on was a Black Titanium/Chrome Sierra. I think it came out good but I think it would have looked better if the Sierra had had some gold on it. I am thinking I will order me a Gold/Chrome kit and move the barrel to it and see how it looks. Stats: Pen Kit = Black Titanium/Chrome Sierra Scales are made up of: Black Walnut Outer scale, 1/64" aluminum sheeting separator, BLM Burl, and the Center rib is 1/2"x1/8" aluminum. Finish is 10 coats of CA polished to 6000mm(purple), I wanted it shiny but not glassy.

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Shown here is the finished blank showing the the two piece center I used. That's a scrap piece of 1/8" UHMW in the center cut to the same width as the tube diameter. In Tim's version he had used a full width piece of aluminum and it gave him fits drilling it. This one drill real easy with no problems. Basically all I had to do was drill out the UHMW and a little bit of the BLM Burl.

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[Neil Longhenry]

Really nice pen, Thanks for sharing. Did you glue in the brass rivets?

[John Terefenko]

I hate it when people use abbreviations. What is Uhmw. We are all not that tuned into these things. Also what is BLM burl???

It does look good and has that knife backbone look to it. Now if you could make the pen flip out as a knife blade you really got a winner. Looks like alot of material was need to be turned off. How was it turning the blank. I know whenever I combine metals with wood it gets abit tricky because of the different densities. What tools did you use??

I think the kit works well with the blank. Are the dots brass or copper?? Where did you get the metals??? Thanks for showing. That is thinking outside the box and expanding the imagination. Job well done.

[James Combs]

Really nice pen, Thanks for sharing. Did you glue in the brass rivets?
Many thanks Neil, yes the "rivets" are supper glued in, everything else is epoxied. The rivets are 1/8" brass brazing rod. After drill the hole for the tube I laid out the location of the faux rivets and drill the blank all the way through both sides then install the tube, cut pieces of the brass rod and glued them into each of the holes on both sides using the tube as a depth stop. After the glue was dry I ran the blank through my table saw to remove the excess brass.


I hate it when people use abbreviations. What is Uhmw. We are all not that tuned into these things. Also what is BLM burl???
It does look good and has that knife backbone look to it. Now if you could make the pen flip out as a knife blade you really got a winner. Looks like alot of material was need to be turned off. How was it turning the blank. I know whenever I combine metals with wood it gets abit tricky because of the different densities. What tools did you use??
I think the kit works well with the blank. Are the dots brass or copper?? Where did you get the metals??? Thanks for showing. That is thinking outside the box and expanding the imagination. Job well done.

Thanks John, haven't seen you on here for a while:). UHMW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene) Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight polyethylene, it's that white plastic you see a lot of jigs and fixtures made out of in industrial plants, It is also use to make cutting boards for the kitchen. BLM is Big Leaf Maple, it is a Western Maple.

I will work on the flipping out the pen.:D Blank size - Yeah the blank turned out about 1" square but it turned pretty good but I know what you mean by the different densities. I only used one tool, my midsize EW Finisher, the one with the round carbide. The faux rivets are 1/8" brass rod(brazing rod). All the metal materials came from the local Lowe's.

Really appreciate all your comments.

[John Terefenko]

Thanks for the reply James. I am here and there and when pens get posted I get very interested. Now I know what the abbreviations are and would not have gotten either one.:) I wonder if a pen made out of that plastic you mentioned has ever been done. Interesting????? Yes carbide tools are the way to go. That is what I use also. Again good job and thanks for showing. I will look forward to the one that is actually a switchblade. That would really be cool.

[Jim Burr]

I'm doing a similar pen for a swap in Canada. I used clear epoxy since the aluminum and brass generate so much heat. CA is already brittle and the applied heat would cause a reaction that may not meet my goals!!
Did you drill the rivet holes on the lathe, or drill press...I wasn't sure if you had a lateral drill attachment.
Yours is nothing short of amazing and one heck of an inspiration!

[Mike Campbell KS]

James, I saw the pen on IAP and was very impressed. Your pen is equally impressive, and thanks for showing how you did it. I would never have figured it out. I hope to try something similar someday.

[Mark Hubl]

Very nice, looks cool. Thanks for showing the blank also. Nice work.

[Neil Longhenry]

James, Thanks for the reply on the rivets. This is something I will put on my to do list for 2012. Good instructions and great photos - Thanks again, Neil

[Rob Price]

I was about to post about gluing walnut and aluminum together and found this thread, what brand epoxy are you guys using. Any tips on making up the lamination? I'm assuming the aluminum turns fairly easily with HSS tools? Great pen!

[James Combs]

I was about to post about gluing walnut and aluminum together and found this thread, what brand epoxy are you guys using. Any tips on making up the lamination? I'm assuming the aluminum turns fairly easily with HSS tools? Great pen!

Rob, the epoxy I used was some Loctite Brand (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&cp=9&gs_id=x&xhr=t&q=loctite+epoxy&pq=loctite+super+glue&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1635&bih=1010&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=18194015108489584684&sa=X&ei=ot0hT9u5BO3KiALy4Pj0Bw&sqi=2&ved=0CEUQ8wIwAg) 5 minute 2 part epoxy. On the lamination I just glued it up with a thin layer of the epoxy spread on all sides of all parts then clamped it together over night with some quick clamps. Nothing special there. As for the tools I roughed the blank with my standard spindle gouge then switched to my EW carbide finisher for the final sizing cuts. Hope this is helpful.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

James, that pen is VERY well done. Are you selling, keeping, or giving as a gift? If the latter, that's one lucky recipient!

[James Combs]

James, that pen is VERY well done. Are you selling, keeping, or giving as a gift? If the latter, that's one lucky recipient!

Thanks Jeff, I have a couple displays at a craft shop "Kentucky Market Pavilion (http://www.facebook.com/KentuckyMarketPavilion)" here in Owingsville. It is currently on display there along with about 15 other pens, some bowls, bottle stoppers, mini birdhouses, and ornaments. Made some nice sales over the holidays.:( Sold lots of bird houses, ornaments and bottle stoppers as well as some bowls but not nary a pen.:confused: I am keeping the pens there mostly for advertisement. They did generate about 6 commissioned pens from people who had seen the display. Not much of anything has happened this month though.