Honeycomb Patterned Slimline Pro Pen

Here's a Slimline Pro click pen kit using a 3D printed tube and wood. The top printed tube has a honeycomb pattern so it seemed logical to use honey locust for the wood. I might put together another pen using a plain black 3D printed tube so both top and bottom tubes can be super-duper high tech. The nice thing about a two tube pen is that you can mix and match a variety of 3D printed tubes and various materials based on personal preference.



I didn't glue the 3D printed tube to the underlying brass tube. The fit was tight enough that it should remain in place and not rotate during use. I also didn't coat the printed tube with any type of lacquer or other sealant. It's possible that it will discolor over time with use although most of the wear and tear should happen due to finger contact at the bottom of the pen. The wood portion was turned on a lathe, sanded, treated with friction polish, and given a final high quality wax buffing (standard traditional pen turning methods).

One possible deficiency is that the clip has a small bump on the bottom that falls into one of the honeycomb pockets. It might be a good idea to add a solid clip ring that runs around the tube where this bump hits the pen to make it easier to slip the clip onto a shirt pocket but its not a big deal. I can easily customize designs in such a way for anyone who needs them.

Looks great! I've always loved writing and love the idea of 3D printing a pen.

I decided to put together another Slimline Pro but instead using versatile plastic tubes and gold plated hardware. One tube is honeycomb patterned and the other is un-patterned. I also gave each tube 3 or 4 coats of a sealant called "Craft Coat" which seems to work well with natural or processed versatile plastic.





My thought was that the deep honeycomb pattern would not be comfortable to hold for longer periods of time so instead I used the smooth black blank at the writing end. One of the problems with 3D printing is that it's difficult to have extremely shallow patterns in a material like versatile plastic. Either the pattern won't be well-defined or consistent around the print or Shapeways will reject it for design rule violations.

The Craft Coat is a wonderful sealant. It's a urethane based sealant and isn't super stinky, and any residual odor is not very noticeable after a few days of drying. I applied the sealant using a small paintbrush. After one coat the finish is hardly shiny at all, however additional coats will add a shinier gloss. The coating is moderately thick and has enough surface tension to cling to interior corners and fill narrow channels. This effect is somewhat visible in the detail photo showing the buildup along the inside edges of the honeycombs. I don't think this coating is completely waterproof and finished objects probably shouldn't be left to soak in standing water. My source for the Craft Coat sealer (available in 2oz, 6oz, or pint containers) was:
https://www.exoticblanks.com/craft-coat-finish-6-oz-size.html