Handmade Wooden Pens – Lessons Learned

After making pens for many years, my developed methods work well. There have been many iterations of the steps over the years. I alter the steps from time to time when a problem occurs. I’d say my methods aren’t the only way to make pens, but with the equipment I have, they work fine for me.

I break down the pen manufacturing process into six steps:

1. Selection of the type of pen. It is important to select the pen in the first instance. The type of pen determines the size of the blank space and the finish that I will apply to the pen. I usually don’t start a pen until I have the kit, so all measurements can be verified.

2. Selection of pen blanks. Wood and acrylic (resins) make great pen blanks. In most cases, I start with a small log that I cut to size blank with a band saw. The logs are small enough to handle without any specialized lifting equipment. I usually cut the log in half and inspect the grain, then choose to quarter saw or half saw the log. Sometimes I saw the trunk diagonally to get a more contrasting grain. The wood is sawn into 18mm x 18mm strips which are then cut to the proper length for a pen.

3. Preparation of the blanks. Each finished pen has a brass tube that houses the internal components of the pen. The tube is in the center of the blank. I use Gorilla glue or CA glue to glue the tubes into the blanks. Then after curing a square of the ends.

4. Converting white space. I use a midi lathe to turn pens, using a spindle roughing gouge and a skew chisel to finish the turning.

5. Ending the blanks. After sanding the blanks down to 3000 grit, I apply the finishes. There are many finishes, but I mainly use two (a Using EEE products for wood protection and finishing with their friction polish and (b) CA glue finish. The CA glue finish is sanded to 12,000 grit using strips of micromesh.

6. Boom assembly. The pen was finally assembled using a portable pen assembler.

Once finished, I photograph each pen and give it a number for easy identification and tracking of sales online or in store.

The process is relatively simple and to see how each step has changed over time, check out my articles on each step.