Matching the kit to the blank or the blank to the kit

[Phil Dart]

There was a recent discussion elsewhere on the forum, where someone mentioned that he needed to find a kit to go with a blank. This is not a criticism of that statement, but it got me thinking.

The way I operate is decide on the type of pen and the kit I want to make, then find a blank to complement it. But clearly there are people who have a nice blank, then decide which kit will do it justice.

Hmmm. Which way round does everyone else do it I wonder?

 

[Bigblackdog]

i go for the latter- find a nice blanks, and then select a colour of kit to go with it. I only really use about 3 different kits.

 

[yorkshireman]

As a rule of thumb I prefer gold with light wood and chrome with dark wood but really don't think about it too much

 

[wm460]

If I am not sure ask the missus.

 

[Bammer]

As a rule of thumb I prefer gold with light wood and chrome with dark wood but really don't think about it too much

Gold is far better with a dark wood but there are always exeptions

I turn the wood then match it to the finish of the kit ... but I have woods that I will only match with a certain finish because I know it will work.

I wouldn't put cocobolo for instance with anything other than gold

 

[Penpal]

Most recent fumbling in the kit stash I selected some ,went to the blank stash and selected the blanks I wanted to use. Sometimes I mix and match centre bands, tips and tops with clips.

Trends come and go on the forum ie between Gold, Silver, Matte of either, Chrome, Gun Metal or colours. Sometimes you can predict from previous comments such as I hat Gold anyway or prefer Chrome I think the new admixes of metals have everybody thinking cause they photograph the opposite of in the hand.

I have found Brown Mallee in small items such as pens gives strange photos reflected colour from the burl sometimes is weird. Red Mallee colours into overdrive reds.

Only one way is in the hand for true colours.

Peter.

 

[Terry Q]

I do it both ways but mostly have kits on hand and hunt up a blank to fit.

 

[Walter]

I have to say the process of matching kit to blank it is not something I have ever given much conscious thought to.

It varies according to why I am making the pen. If I am making a batch of Deltas for gallery stock I will make up a variety of blanks in a range of woods and acrylics and then match them to the different platings on assembly.

If I am making a pen or set of pens for a commission I will consult with the client on the preferred combination and whilst I might make recommendations the final choice will be the customer's.

Making pens speculatively the process can go either way. I might have a particularly nice burr and select a kit to match it or I may have a particular style of kit in mind and select a wood or acrylic to go with it.

All of which is a long winded way of saying "it depends".

 

[AllenN]

I find it rather depends why I am making the pen. In a lot of cases people have asked me to make either a particular model of pen and left it to me to select a blank or quite often they have selected both. I guess we all have our own individual taste. I tend to steer away from coloured hardware just because it doesn't seem to me to be so tasteful. For the same reason I tend to avoid kits that are very ornate, mainly because to my eye the kit dominates the pen and the blank and turning seem secondary and that is not really what I want to achieve.
If I have a really nice blank, I will sort through kits and try and get a nice ( to my eye) match. Sometimes I find I like the look of the kit but not the accent so I will try and get hold of the alternative finish. Needless to say once I have it I often change my mind...not sure what that says about my decision making process. Its all part of the fun I guess.

 

[GSteer]

Thinking about it it's mostly been material first for me, but that's probably as I'm still new to this and there are far more materials than kits to sample. Having said that I have done it the other way when trying out kits.

Long term I think it'll be kit first then material but there will always be some special materials that will need to be considered the other way around.

 

[Chisel_Wizz]

I have many more blanks than kits, so I'd have to say blank first, ratio is about 100:0 at the moment
I know which blank I'd like to see finished, so search for a kit that would suit it.

That will probably change when I get more kits than blanks, but I don't see that happening any time soon