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I gave the Kallenshan inlay kits a try, and the result speaks for itself. No doubt that they are high quality blank, but man is it expensive. I'm pretty sure I paid over $20 for the BLANK only, not to mention the Sierra pen kit and supplies.

It took some patience to get all the tiny little pieces situated, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. It turned nicely.

I know some people like the gritty details about the finish, so here ya go (but do ask questions if you have any)

My Finish Schedule:

-One coat of BLO (two applications) let it dry overnight

-Two coats of Super Thin CA - let it soak in good

-5 coats of thing CA - building layers

-2 coats of Medium CA - to add some thick layers

-5 coats of Thin CA - to finish with a relatively flat surface before sanding

Finish Sanding:

-320 grit until flat

-500 grit

-1000 grit

-1500 grit

-2500 grit

-4000 grit

-3 applications of 20/20 Polish

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Beautiful pen…Do you wet sand with micro mesh?..
 

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What does it say on the wine bottle label? I live in wine country in SE Washington. My neighbors have a winery. I'd love to figure a why to put the image of their wine bottle label on a few pens like that for them.

Nice pen. You did a great job on it. Funny, but I love the smell of inlay kits when you are putting them together.
 

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Thanks Jeff,

I do wet sand, but I use a slightly different slew of products, mostly by Mirka Abrasives. I use Abralon pads, they are kind of like a micro mesh with a softer pad, and Mirlon which is like Scotch Brite material. I had a set of the micro mesh, but I started having problems with them (they may just be worn out) and switched things up. I found out that it's really not necessary to sand up to 12,000 grit.
 

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Hey PaulDoug,

I think that it says Vino Rosso (italian for "red wine"). I know how you could probably get a picture of their wine bottle on it. You could put a sticker photo on it, then cover it with CA. Or you could cast the blank in clear acrylic… I don't think I would waste the $20 on the blank though, just get a nice looking sticker to cover the tube, cast it in clear acrylic.

I'm not sure if you are talking about the CA glue smell, but it kills me. The wood smelled fine though.
 

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Nice pen! I just started making pens over the past few months and you just raised the bar for me…. quite a lot. That's a fairly involved finish. I generally do 6 or 8 coats of thin CA then go through the sanding grits up to 12,000 to get a glass-like shine. I haven't tried inlays yet but hope to some day soon.
 

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Thanks Ted!! To be honest, those inlay kits do all the work for you. The hard part is inserting all the little pieces, but it's more of a patience game with that. I've done a handful of different inlay kits now, and they've all turned out amazing! The kits aren't cheap, but the pens turn out really awesome! You should give one a try
 
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