Show Us Your Oblique Penholders!

[dhnz]

 

It's on his personal profile on Facebook. If you're not friends with him (or someone he tagged) you won't be able to see it. I copied the message here (and anonymized it) due to the fact that it's harmless in nature. I'm more than willing to delete the image if need be.

 

Thanks for posting that, Thang. It is my intention to try to remain 100 per cent friendless on Facebook, so I wouldn't have seen it if you hadn't.

 

Dominic

[hzsimms]

Oh man, all of this notoriety is making me blush! LOL I appreciate all those words of encouragement.

Yesterday I received a phone call from a certain Dr. Joe Vitolo, who placed a custom order with me. Anybody ever heard of him? hahaha

Yikes, I hope I do a good job on that one! He's really a cool guy, and we must have talked pens and ink and penmanship for 45 minutes or so.

And guitars...he happens to be an avid guitar player like me!

 

Did you guys know that he doesn't take any money for anything he does regarding Iampeth...or the developement of the PIA holder...or the 5/8 Century holder design?

He does all of that because he enjoys it and loves the art of the pointed pen. I was really impressed with that fact.

 

Anyway, if you guys are interested, I'll post a photo of the "Joe Vitolo Custom Pen" when it is completed.

I must admit, I'm getting quite excited!!!!

That's terrific, Brian, couldn't' happen to a nicer guy! Told you you were going to be famous. Now you've got to figure out how to imprint the end of the holder like Magnusson did before somebody starts selling forgeries on eBay!

 

Howard

[MusinkMan]

Brian - this recognition is quite well deserved. You started with great enthusiasm and have only progressed from there. I will not be surprised if your holders become collectible some day.

 

I am lucky I have one of the 'early ones' :-)

 

Salman

Thank you Salman! I'm VERY enthusiastic at the moment! LOL! I hope I can do him a good job...if my penholders pass HIS scrutiny, I'm golden. Dr. Vitolo is a walking encyclopedia of everything that has to do with the pointed pen. He was asking me what nibs I had, so I grabbed my little segmented case of nibs and started calling them out. When I got to Gillott 303, he asked if they were the vintage bronze colored ones or the blue ones. I told him the bronze ones. Then he told me that there are 2 types of bronze ones, one darker than the other and of an older vintage. I'm like..."uh...oh...well, I dunno". hahaha I'm such an uninformed newb! Then when I got to Spencerian 1, he asks, "Are they made in England or made in New York". I answered something like..."um...they're like silverish, and..." hahahaha. Turns out mine are New York (had to get a magnifying glass to read it). I didn't know that there were two types. Let me tell you, I really did not feel uncomfortable in talking with him. He is a really nice guy and is not arrogant or condescending in the least. He's not unlike our Master Scribe Ken Fraser...so obviously superior their skills, yet not a hint of ego. Throughout my short pen-making quest, I've rubbed shoulders with a lot of penmen and penmwomen. I have found that there are no better, friendlier, nicer, or more integrible people on this earth. That includes all of you guys on FPN too. I count it a privelege to be involved with such a fine group of friends!

[hzsimms]

 

BTW SMK… How's the Mayor making out these days?

Ouch Doug, you really know how to hit a guy below the belt, huh? Besides, the honorable mayor couldn't help it if that elderly lady wasn't quick enough to get out of his way. One needs to be speedy at those city council meetings!

[MusinkMan]

That's terrific, Brian, couldn't' happen to a nicer guy! Told you you were going to be famous. Now you've got to figure out how to imprint the end of the holder like Magnusson did before somebody starts selling forgeries on eBay!

 

Howard

Thanks for saying that, Howard!

 

As for imprinting the ends of them, I know!!!!!! I have been trying to figure out something to mark them with my name. I've been looking at electric "branding irons", but I don't know if I could get one that small? Then there are some branding irons that work off of propane...you fit them into your drill press and put the object to be imprinted under there. Then when you press down the quill of the drill press, it presses the branding iron into the wood and burns it in. But...can you imagine trying to do that on the bottom end of a pen? And to further complicate matters, the bottom of the pen has a hole in the middle, and a slot cut through one side. I'm totally at a loss. Laser Imprinting would work, but I checked those out...they are like $20k, so that's out of the question.

 

If anybody has any kind of suggestion as to a way that I could mark them or sign them, I'd sure appreciate it. There has to be a way...I know that Michael Sull has his name imprinted on the bottoms of his pens.

[dhnz]

When I got to Gillott 303, he asked if they were the vintage bronze colored ones or the blue ones. I told him the bronze ones. Then he told me that there are 2 types of bronze ones, one darker than the other and of an older vintage.

 

Bob Hurford says the same, in his Iampeth newsletter article (which is on the Iampeth site). He lists them as: pre-World War I, very fine and quite flexible; between the wars, extremely fine and super flexible. Then he says there's the post-World War II model, which we still have today, which is the same as the pre-WWI model but blue.

 

However, I have a box of 303s that are bronze but are not the same as the modern model and they are not what I would call "extremely fine and super flexible". They came in white boxes with fairly plain, blue, text-based labels that look to me to date from the 1960s or possibly the 1970s. So, I think there are at least three varieties of bronze 303.

 

Not that it matters, save as a reminder that, just because a nib bears the same name for many years, doesn't mean it hasn't changed.

Edited November 20, 2013 by dhnz

[thang1thang2]

If anybody has any kind of suggestion as to a way that I could mark them or sign them, I'd sure appreciate it. There has to be a way...I know that Michael Sull has his name imprinted on the bottoms of his pens.

Jake Weidmann engraves his name into the brass flange that he has in his holder. Due to the fact that you glue your flange in there pretty good, I wouldn't worry so much about the wood after that

[hzsimms]

New Excelsior style holder out of red ripple ebonite. This one, in terms of dimensions, is much closer to the original. I'm really starting to enjoy these little holders

 

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p743/hzsimms/photo_zps4a31982a.jpg

[dali3464]

New Excelsior style holder out of red ripple ebonite. This one, in terms of dimensions, is much closer to the original. I'm really starting to enjoy these little holders

 

Very handsome holder Hz! I started out with a longer holder from Brian and I thought I'd try something a little smaller as well. I had him create a custom holder, short and stout were the only instructions! I think Brian posted an image of the holder earlier in the thread, but here it is again:

 

http://oi39.tinypic.com/29m3epc.jpg

 

Pardon my terrible photography! The image is fairly dark, but the tail-end is a gorgeous deep ruby shade.

[MusinkMan]

 

Very handsome holder Hz! I started out with a longer holder from Brian and I thought I'd try something a little smaller as well. I had him create a custom holder, short and stout were the only instructions! I think Brian posted an image of the holder earlier in the thread, but here it is again:

 

http://oi39.tinypic.com/29m3epc.jpg

 

Pardon my terrible photography! The image is fairly dark, but the tail-end is a gorgeous deep ruby shade.

 

Dude!!!! I didn't know this was YOU who bought this! All this time I had no idea. hahaha

 

I hope you like it! Thanks for posting it, and thanks for the purchase!

[hzsimms]

Very handsome holder Hz! I started out with a longer holder from Brian and I thought I'd try something a little smaller as well. I had him create a custom holder, short and stout were the only instructions! I think Brian posted an image of the holder earlier in the thread, but here it is again:

 

http://oi39.tinypic.com/29m3epc.jpg

 

Pardon my terrible photography! The image is fairly dark, but the tail-end is a gorgeous deep ruby shade.

That's a great looking holder, I remember the photo very well! Love the way the tail turned out!

[medicalcpa]

This entire thread has given me some serious oblique penholder envy...

[hzsimms]

Latest from the shop. It's another take on the Excelsior. First one of this style that I've segmented.

 

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p743/hzsimms/IMG_2906_zps46212798.jpg

 

(No, I didn't do the bird flourish...wish I had, but nope, not me. It came out of Ames' Notebook)

 

Howard

[akustyk]

I admit to knowing nothing of oblique holders, but what I've seen in this thread is simply beautiful.

[fiberdrunk]

Thanks for posting that, Thang1Thang2.

Nick had purchased one of my pens, and he liked it a lot, so he emailed me. He said that he is a big fan of the Harry Potter books, and asked if I could make a pen in the style of Dumbledor's wizard staff. He wanted it made of Elder wood (not the easiest thing to find), and wanted it to have a carved, "ancient" appearance. Luckily, I found someone selling some Elderwood (not box elder, but REAL Elder). It still had the tree bark on one side of it, and was completely kiln dried, so I snagged it. Not only lathe work, but a bit of carving, and applying various wood stains to get that "ancient ground-in filth" look, and slicked it up with a little clear and a lot of finishing wax. Trying to give it that "worn slick with age" look. It was a bit of a task, but I was on a mission. LOL! I set up the flange for a Spencerian #1 per Nick's request.

 

Now I gotta get some stock made! My poor little Etsy store is bare, Christmas is approaching...and I still have 2 custom orders to fill. Luckily I do have 2 new pens that only need to be flanged...then I can post them on Etsy tomorrow. Anyway...thanks again, Thang1! Really appreciate the words!

 

Wow, this is amazing!

[MusinkMan]

Latest from the shop. It's another take on the Excelsior. First one of this style that I've segmented.

 

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p743/hzsimms/IMG_2906_zps46212798.jpg

 

(No, I didn't do the bird flourish...wish I had, but nope, not me. It came out of Ames' Notebook)

 

Howard

Nice work there Howard! Wenge and Olivewood? I know the Wenge is right...not sure about the olivewood handle part though.

Louis Madarasz would be soooo happy!

[hzsimms]

Nice work there Howard! Wenge and Olivewood? I know the Wenge is right...not sure about the olivewood handle part though.

Louis Madarasz would be soooo happy!

 

Thanks Brian, I really appreciate that! Yep, you got the Wenge. The other is probably Olivewood but I can't swear to it. More from the turners grab bag. Hey, at least he wouldn't be breaking the tail off of the thing!

[farmerjohn]

I know this is a ignorant question but what is the purpose of a oblique penholder and how is it better/different than a standard pen? other than nib angle?

[farmerjohn]

Thanks for saying that, Howard!

 

As for imprinting the ends of them, I know!!!!!! I have been trying to figure out something to mark them with my name. I've been looking at electric "branding irons", but I don't know if I could get one that small? Then there are some branding irons that work off of propane...you fit them into your drill press and put the object to be imprinted under there. Then when you press down the quill of the drill press, it presses the branding iron into the wood and burns it in. But...can you imagine trying to do that on the bottom end of a pen? And to further complicate matters, the bottom of the pen has a hole in the middle, and a slot cut through one side. I'm totally at a loss. Laser Imprinting would work, but I checked those out...they are like $20k, so that's out of the question.

 

If anybody has any kind of suggestion as to a way that I could mark them or sign them, I'd sure appreciate it. There has to be a way...I know that Michael Sull has his name imprinted on the bottoms of his pens.

one thing you could do is possible put a silver or brass band in your pens maybe 1/8 inch wide and whatever diameter you want with a hole in it to connect the pieces of the pen and have a outside company make them with your initials and a serial number on it then when you do your turnings just avoid hitting the brass ring? might be a idea for cutting costs but still getting laser engravings

[mvarela]

I know this is a ignorant question but what is the purpose of a oblique penholder and how is it better/different than a standard pen? other than nib angle?

 

That's the whole point of it, actually. It allows the nib to be aligned with the slant of the script (for Copperplate and Spencerian), so that the tines open symmetrically. If you write those scripts with a straight holder, you need to turn your page significantly more (write "upwards"), and it requires a more contorted pen hold.