• Artisan-Made Calligraphy Pen Holders

    When I received two artisan-made calligraphy pen holders in the mail {one straight, one oblique}, I had to know how they were made! New Mexico artisan Rodger Mayeda was kind enough to take photos of his process and tell me a little bit about how my beautiful pen holders came to be.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    In the past, I have written using three calligraphy pen holders: a black plastic Speedball straight holder, a black plastic Speedball oblique holder, and a wooden/cork General’s straight holder. My favorite of the three was the General’s straight holder because it has a better feel than the plastics; but at times it gets a bit bulky.

    Then, a few days ago, my new favorite calligraphy pen holders arrived in the mail. Made of Bolivian Rosewood, they are absolutely stunning … polished to a shine, light as a feather, and smooth as can be. They even smell good. Getting a feel for both holders — an oblique and a straight holder — reminded me of that part in Harry Potter where Harry finds the wand that is a perfect fit for him. {Which raises the question: do I have an evil counterpart somewhere with pens made from the same Bolivian Rosewood?}

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holders | The Postman's Knock

    These calligraphy pen holders came from Rodger Mayeda of Rodger’s Pen Box. Rodger is a New Mexico-based artisan who uses his talents to facilitate fellow calligraphy artisans’ skills. After using the pens, I had to know how he made them — just out of curiosity, not because I could possibly make something like this myself! He was kind enough to send over an explanation and photos of his process, and I am now officially impressed.

    Rodger Mayeda | Rodger's Pen Box

    First of all, let’s take a second to meet Rodger. That’s him on the left; in addition to being an accomplished woodworker, he teaches laido {Japanese swordmanship} in Albuquerque. He is a retired engineer from the Bay area, so his pens are … well, scrupulously engineered. “Being of Japanese ancestry and having been trained in woodworking by a traditional woodworker, I have an ancestral dedication to craftsmanship and detail,” he explains. He also included a note with the pens, which was beautifully scripted in McCafferey’s Red-Violet Penman’s Ink. In short, Rodger is a true Renaissance man, using both sides of his brain to help fill the world with beauty — and Japanese sword-fighting techniques!

    The first step of Rodger’s pen-making process is to select a wood. You can see the woods he offers here, plus a brief explanation of each. When you are ordering pens from him, feel free to ask him more about what wood to select; he’s very knowledgeable!

    Here are my calligraphy pen holders in another life as blocks of wood:

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Rodger draws arrows as guides for himself to indicate which end he wants to be the body {the thicker part that you grip} of the pen holder. The body is determined by the grain of the wood and what he thinks will look the best. He says: “It can at times be a difficult choice and I only have one chance to get it right!”

    In the photo below you’ll see the first phase of creation. Note that a “tenon” is a piece of wood specifically created to fit into another piece of wood or a piece of machinery {in this case, a piece of machinery}.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Once the hole is drilled 1.5″ deep, Rodger removes the blank from the lathe and glues a brass tube in it for the holder.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Next, the pen starts to take shape:

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    … and Rodger continues to work it to perfection.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    After the pen is polished, Rodger finishes up with wax and shellac.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    He then marks the pen for parting off the lathe, and executes the parting operation.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Once the pen is parted from the lathe, Rodger saves the leftover wood to make knobs for his signature pen boxes.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    … and he then polishes the end:

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Once the end is polished, the knob is cut from the end. It is then hand-sanded, polished, and waxed; then the flange is mounted and adjusted. The oblique pen is complete!

    Oblique Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock via Rodger's Pen Box

    The straight pen follows a similar process. First the block of wood is mounted into the lathe, and once a hole is drilled inside, the brass tube is glued into the pen. You can see it here recessed about 1/8″.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Next, the tail stock is moved into the opening of the pen to support it during turning. The pen starts to take shape as it is turned.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    The tip is rounded over and the opening is squared off to the brass tube. Rodger sands the tip smooth, and polishes and waxes it. He does this operation now because the tail stock will be in the way later during the final sanding and polishing.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    The turning operation is the same for both straight and oblique pens; however, the finger position on the body is closer to the tip on the straight pen holder. The reason for this is the oblique holder needs room for the flange to be mounted.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Once the body of the straight pen is waxed, sanded, and polished, Rodger mounts it on this device {which he calls a “collet chuck with a closed end pen mandrel” — this terminology sails over my head}! It keeps the pen secure while he polishes the rear tip.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    Once the rear tip is sanded, polished, and waxed, the pen is finished!

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    My pens came beautifully packaged in velvet cases … they are made with such skill that they’ll be around for my lifetime and beyond! Though I know I’ll have a lot of time with them, I couldn’t wait to get started using them. I was working with the straight pen all day on this commissioned illustration for Six Hearts Photography. I just need to watercolor it, and then I’ll be finished!

    DJ Cuttlefish | The Postman's Knock

    Yep, that’s a galactic cuttlefish spinning planets/records, with controls orbiting the planets/records. The top two reasons I like working with Schellie and William at Six Hearts? 1. Their southern accents; and 2. The projects they come up with are never boring!

    DJ Cuttlefish | The Postman's Knock

    I loved using Rodger’s straight pen holder to create this illustration because its smooth feel and light weight facilitated creating the tiny hairlines I wished to achieve. I’m looking forward to using the oblique holder on some envelope calligraphy next week.

    I know many of you TPK blog readers are wonderful calligraphers, so I wanted to share how enamored I am with Rodger’s calligraphy pen holders. It’s wonderful that his artisanship {and woodworking know-how} can facilitate my own artisanship {and make up for me not having any woodworking know-how}. If you want to buy yourself a little treat for creating more beautiful calligraphy, go to Rodger’s Pen Box on Etsy and have him make a pen for you! If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to convo him; he’s very friendly and knowledgeable.

    Artisan-made Calligraphy Pen Holder | The Postman's Knock

    We’ll talk next week! For now, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

    XO, Lindsey | The Postman's Knock