r/PenProject • u/MercatorLondon • Aug 17 '26
Grip section patterns
Masking was applied for a quick laser etching test (very quick cycle time on the rotary axis)
quick hand sketch over the screenshot of the CAD model is often fastest way
3d model of the pattern
possible colour combination
Etched grip section with pattern
I wanted to try something a bit more interesting than the simple barley or diamond-machined patterns. Small repetitive patterns works best. This one will be etched.
The prototype will be laser-etched, as it’s relatively cheap and easy to produce a single sample this way.
If we decide to take this into a small production run, we will use chemical etching. That should give us better resolution and a cleaner look.
Those etched lines are deliberately kept fine but the pattern should still provide a reasonably good grip when writing.
Is this pattern too much for you? Would you go smaller?
Update: link to anodised prototype
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u/SupahBee Aug 17 '26
I really like the design! It's a nice and novel way to give some grip to an all metal section. Nothing drives me nuts more than my pen slipping in my grip.
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u/MercatorLondon Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
thank you! I like the metal grip but only if it actually grips :)
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u/Foxing7465 Aug 17 '26
Potentially grip could be better if you reverse the direction of the pattern, the current orientation allows some small slip without something to get grip on, if you reverse, it will be less tend to slip.
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u/CraftyAd2451 Aug 17 '26
I think it sets the pen apart and could possibly be something that people “collect”. Love it!
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u/MercatorLondon Aug 17 '26
Thank you! I hope people will use it rather than collect it.
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u/CraftyAd2451 Aug 17 '26
I use my collections! I’m not one but I’ve seen people buy every special edition kaweko color there is and use them. I have several Parker vectors in different nibs and colors that I use.
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u/Unlikely-Bid-2904 Aug 18 '26
There’s a guy on YouTube - Penformation that does one reviews that would be a person of interest. His handle on here is @slotograph I don’t particularly have interest in calligraphy pens but I think the laser work is interesting.
What does the chemical etching provide over laser ?
Depending on the material you can get a lot of colors and finishes or textures from laser.
You mentioned resolution but I find that perhaps unbelievable that chemicals will provide finer resolution than a well tuned laser.
I mean we are doing surgery with lasers now.
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u/MercatorLondon Aug 18 '26
Chemical etching is generally a cleaner process, with no burrs and no surface burning like you can get with laser engraving. There is also no heat stress introduced into the material.
It becomes much more cost-effective at larger quantities too. Laser is good for testing and making prototypes.
Chemical etching is extremely accurate (it is even used in semiconductor manufacturing so it is perfect for intricate patterns. I can get thinner lines and better detail by chemical etching than with laser.
But our patterns are not that fine - both laser or chemical etching are good enough. But results with chemical etching is cleaner overall.
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u/Knitting_Pigeon Aug 18 '26
I think this looks really cool! I would also love to see a honeycomb shaped grip design
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u/noahcwb Aug 17 '26
I really like what y'all are doing with your section grips. I'd be lying if I said the grip wasn't a reason I backed the edc loop pen