Polaris pens in acrylic.

[Skin-Job]

Buoyed up by the success of my recent Tudor Twist experiment in Briar,
I thought I'd try the theory out on another really ugly kit :)

I bought two Polaris kits in 'gunmetal' when I started out.

The first is a traditional approach with a lovely blank called 'Bloodstone'. The shape is simple curves.
I enjoyed making it, but thought it looked a bit toylike when finished.

The second Polaris is made from a Kirinte blank called 'Zen', I tried the spindle approach and turned it to the same shape as the first, then started to remove bulk from certain areas. It may be hard to see the shape in the pics, but I turned out areas above and below the centre band. The band is the same diameter as the other pen.

The result is actually a pen I like to write with. Not too long, nicely balanced now.

It sits comfortably in the hand.

It's a bit more elegant than the first. I think of this as kind of 'Contemporary Edwardian'.


Karl

 

[Les ELm]

Nicely done.
Photos could use some more lighting.

Les

 

[Skin-Job]

Thanks Les,
They look OK on my monitor. The second pen bleaches out with a lot of light, had to tone it down a bit.
Thanks for the input.

K

 

[Freck Fraser]

I don't see many profiled acrylics like that, quite like the idea tbh, were the grooves a pain in the "erse" to polish Karl??

 

[Penpal]

Holding and using tell a story. Guided by your experiences with these and the Briar the Briar pics were excellent. Really good fun to move shapes around mate. Two neat pens.

Peter.

 

[Skin-Job]

Thanks very much for the feedback.
No, the grooves weren't a problem.The micromesh pads got in there easily.

K

 

[Cumbrian Craig]

Very creative shape on the black/white one. I like it a lot.

Regards

Craig

 

[Gregory Hardy]

Karl - tell me about the kits. These are beauties, but you guys on that side of the pond have access to different stuff. I actually like the one with red in it for what it's worth. Two great ones, sir.

 

[Gregory Hardy]

And...I'm not done yet! Know what I like best about your post? You wrote about the manner in which the pen functions. "It feels good." Good for you. We are, after all, making pens...tools for writing...."pretty" and "photography" are secondary. You made a pen that feels good. That means you were successful!

(Now...tell me about that kit!)

 

[Skin-Job]

Thanks very much Craig.

Gregory, the kits are American, from PSI: Penn State Industries: Product Search

I wrote earlier that the kit was 'gunmetal' finish, but looking at the manufacturer's page, I now think it's 'black Titanium'.

They are a simple kit, one piece barrel, with a decent twist mechanism. Easy to turn if you just want the simple shape of the first pen.

I have had issues with the way bulky pens handle.
The first Polaris is fine if you have big hands. I don't, they are medium hands.

I was thinking about how to make it handle better and picked up the 'Tudor Twist Pen' in Briar that I made the other day.
I imagined the hollows, if turned in the right places, would not only take out some of the bulk and weight of the the pen but would make it a bit more ergonomic.
It worked.
The form follows the function to a great degree with the black and white pen. The centre band is there so the clip has something to bear against and will still function. The hollow at the clip end sits against the web of the hand still, but closer than before. The hollow at the nib end is slimmer to let your fingers grasp it more easily. It makes the pen much easier to write with.

It's a concidence that the pen ended up looking like a marble candlestick :)

I do like the way it looks.

 

[wm460]

Great looking pair of pens Karl.
I really like the red blank.

 

[Skin-Job]

Thanks,

It's called 'Bloodstone'. It's a lot of differnt colours in different lights.
Can't remember where I got it.....

 

[silver]

Oh the dreaded Polaris has nade a comeback.

They were a “marmite” pen when they first made an appearance around 15 years ago.

They have always had very mixed feedback hence the nickname. Always been around but never been popular.

Having said that I have always liked them (but hate marmite ) the balance and feel was always right for me

The ones you have done Karl are superb, I like the shape, finish the blanks and the kits.

Most of all you have made a pen that feels good as well, which is what we all aim to achieve.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Skin-Job]

Thanks Silver.
I didn't like the kit until I made the mods on the second pen.
Turning slimmed down sections really adds to to the usability, for me at least.

I may get more Polaris kits and turn some wooden ones.

 

[silver]

[MENTION=1739]Skin-Job[/MENTION]

Sure if you search "polaris" on here you may well find some old topics and older threads that talked about them.