Maker's mark for turned pens?

[Bob Janka]

Folks,

We have a wide variety of backgrounds, knowledge and interests here at SawMillCreek. I have a question I've been "pond"ering for a while :-)

How and where would *you* put a maker's mark on a turned pen? I once saw some tiny wood boxes on which the woodcrafter branded a tiny shape with fit with his company name. I've seen several turners, in books & videos, here at the Creek, and in real life who sign the bottom of their turned bowls (usually with name, date, & species). Signing a pen is difficult, if not impossible.

My problem is twofold: 1) Coming up with a unique maker's mark. 2) Figuring out where/how to put on a finished pen. I know that I have to resolve problem 1 on my own. However problem 2 definitely needs some help. The issues I run into are preserving the beauty of the wood, making it small enough to allow personalization of the pen to the owner (laser engraving and/or gold-plated initials), and yet having some easy way to identify pens as ones made by yours truly.

I hope that our combined expertise and creativity can help me figure out a solution to this dilemma. Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers,
Bob

[John Miliunas]

Good question, Bob. I wonder if a guy (or gal) couldn't use an engraver to sign/print some ID on the underside of the pen/pencil clip prior to assembly. Another discrete location may be on the barrel mechanism. I know it's a curved surface, but I think most folks with the finesse for turning smaller items (pens, for example) would probably have a steady enough hand to do the small engraving. Hey, I may even try that on a couple of mine at home. :cool:

[Jason Roehl]

Your subject got me all worked up...here I thought someone was offering fine bottles of liquid warmth in exchange for turned writing utensils....rats...

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Bob,

I have been around a lot of pens, and a lot of people who make pens, and I can't say I have really seen anybody put their "mark" on a turned pen. I think there is a real interest in doing so, but everybody runs in to that #2 problem you're having. Where to put it and how to do it? An appropriate place on the pen would be on the upper barrel near the clip. The problem is that a mark may detract from the pen, and we don't want that! What I would suggest is that you develop a unique symbol, not necessarily letters, that would serve as your mark. Maybe something like a simplified Celtic knot, that you could have made into a small punch and impress it into the wood of a finished pen. All the big penmakers have identifying symbols they use - why not us? If I had my own laser, I'd do a small mark like this with the laser. What do you think?

Scott.

[Noah Alkinburgh]

That is where the fancy pens do it...right on the clip, would it be possible to do something like that?

[Joe Tonich]

I'll check with Jim at Berea Hardwoods hopefully this weekend. Last time I talked to him he was working on something like this. Was supposed to be ready by the end of May. I'll post what I find out.

Joe

[Keith Outten]

I own a laser engraver and I have engraved lots of wooden pens and pencils along the length and axial engravings. Obviously everyone can't afford to purchase a laser, you would have to produce hundreds of high end pens/pencils each month to justify the expense. A laser will definately do the job and are capable of extremely fine detailed markings, text and graphics.

Options that I see are;

Find a local laser engraver who can provide this service. Postal fees incured using a remote engraver may not be feasible. Marking pens with a laser is very fast and can be done inexpensivly in volume.

Learn to use a woodburning knife and develope your own mark that will identify your work.

Rotary engraving can be done with a Dremel Tool or high speed air grinder, a custom fixture could be developed that would allow you to produce a mark consistantly. Fine detail would probably not be possible with this technique and depth could be a problem since most wooden pens are very thin, maybe the clip could be engraved.

Purchase a custom branding iron, the mark would be very small and I don't know how many companies are capable of producing micro-branding irons but I expect it could be done.

Find a company who could produce custom pen clips with your mark on them.

Use an iron on mark. When transfering patterns for scroll sawing I have used my computer printer to print patterns and using the same iron you use to iron clothes transfer the ink from the paper to the wood surface before the final finish is applied. Possibly with some practice this may be feasible and it would be very inexpensive.

These are just some ideas to kick around.

[Bob Janka]

I'll check with Jim at Berea Hardwoods hopefully this weekend. Last time I talked to him he was working on something like this. Was supposed to be ready by the end of May. I'll post what I find out.

Joe

Joe,
Thanks for offering to help!

I ordered some kits from Berea Hardwoods last month and got a newsletter update. They are now offering some gold-plated initials which fit into the finial top of the flat-top and "El Grande" models. They set up 2 half circles, each holding a single embossed letter. These look very nice and I intend to purchase a few for my "show" pens.

I could use these for my "maker's mark", but I think that my customers would prefer to use these for personalization. I can myself saying "For just a few dollars more, you can add the owner's initials."

If Jim has something else in the works, I am VERY interested! I'm not quite into Ken's category of ordering 100s of kits at a time. ;) I am definitely batching my kit purchases in 10s and higher. :-)

Cheers,
Bob

[Bob Janka]

Folks,

I knew that I would get some good ideas from my fellow woodworkers here at SawMillCreek! :cool:

John: Yes, the underside of the clip is one of the less obtrusive places. I've considered that, but did not think that my skill level was up to it. I like that a little better than the barrel mechanism. From what I can see, it's likely to get rubbed a fair amount from twisting the ink cartridge in and out. Your thoughts about the skill have prompted me to try a few clips.

Jason: I must have missed something. Does "maker's mark" mean something special in the beverage industry?

Scott: I'm glad to hear that other penturners are having the same thought. They might help us with suppliers like Berea. I've been thinking about a letter 'J' in cursive. I'll have to "pond"er the simple logo idea. I was wondering about using a punch, maybe at the back side of the upper barrel, opposite from the clip. I've identifed a laser engraver in the local area, but have not yet time to visit in person. Perhaps using maker's mark would enhance the value of our pens instead of detracting from the beauty?

Noah: A mark on the clip is what got me thinking about this in the first place. I saw what Cross(R) did with their pens, and I've seen an 'A' on some of the pen clips offered by Craft Supplies USA (http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com).

Keith: You've hit most of the thoughts I have had!

I think the ideas I like best so far are the laser engraving and the iron-on transfer. If I provide a jig to hold the clips and a bag of clips, I'll bet I could a quantity discount on laser engraving. The iron-on transfer should give me an idea if it's feasible to do something on my own.

One idea I checked out was getting a local jeweler to engrave an initial on the outside of the clip. Unfortunately, they wanted more than my material costs. Unless I can talk them into a quantity discount or co-branding or revenue sharing, this option won't work very well.

Thanks all for your help!

Cheers,
Bob

P.S. I'll try some of these ideas and post pictures of the results (probably in weeks or months ;-).

[Jason Roehl]

Folks,

Jason: I must have missed something. Does "maker's mark" mean something special in the beverage industry?



Sorry...poor attempt at humor. Maker's Mark is a brand of bourbon (a good one, I might add). My brother-in-law once toured their distillery and part of the tour is pouring your own wax seal, to which they add their "maker's mark." Making me thirsty now.

[Joe Tonich]

Joe,
Thanks for offering to help!

I ordered some kits from Berea Hardwoods last month and got a newsletter update. They are now offering some gold-plated initials which fit into the finial top of the flat-top and "El Grande" models. They set up 2 half circles, each holding a single embossed letter. These look very nice and I intend to purchase a few for my "show" pens.

I could use these for my "maker's mark", but I think that my customers would prefer to use these for personalization. I can myself saying "For just a few dollars more, you can add the owner's initials."

If Jim has something else in the works, I am VERY interested! I'm not quite into Ken's category of ordering 100s of kits at a time. ;) I am definitely batching my kit purchases in 10s and higher. :-)

Cheers,
Bob

Bob,

It's been a while (before the Indy get-together) that I last talked to Jim. Somehow I missed the last mailer. It seems that the 1/2 round letters glued into the finial was what he was talking about. To anyone interested, go to:http://www.bereahardwoods.com/pips.htm (Usual disclaimer applies)The way he was talking before, I thought he had a new way to do a monogram on the wood or clip. I think I'm gonna try Keith's iron-on idea first. It would work on all of the styles of pens, even the slim ones the ladies seem to prefer.

Joe