Hawaiian Curly Koa Airfoil and Opal Inlays

Today I have fun on a pen for myself. I turn up a Hawaiian Curly Koa Airfoil Pen and I inlay some oals and convert the pen to take Sharpie Gel Ink cartridges.

[@davidwinch7997]

A work of art mate. So well done. Kind regards, Dave, Beachmere Brisbane Australia

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. I carry this pen quite frequently

[@irishpens4063]

Looks stunning, great work, Richard, Irish Pens, Kells ,Ireland

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you, I appreciate the high praise! ☺️

[@tracyrairigh2158]

Absolutely gorgeous blend of Koa & blue! Genius ❤

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I was pretty happy with my choice. I originally planned to do green, cause it's my favorite color, been when I saw how the blue matched up with the rich brown color of the wood, I changed course.

[@simonboulton978]

You made a fantastic job. It looks fabulous 👌

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you very much

[@Lawrence-tg6lp]

Beautiful pen 🖋️😮

[@newviewfromukraine]

look pretty nice :) especially combination of that colour 👌

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you very much, I especially liked the color combination as well. They compliment each other nicely!

[@Tom_Samad]

Great job buddy!

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you, I appreciate it

[@arnauddoremus8704]

Amazing

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you

[@zigzagdu3085]

Magnifique 🤩 Bravo 👍

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thank you

[@lawrencealdridge-yk6dm]

what kit did you use to make the pen and what size tube did you use???? new sub here beautiful pen

[@user-gl5ld9vm7i]

Hey, it is great to see you! I still have my beautiful amboyna burl pen that uses the Pilot G2 refill.

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Thanks for re-inspiring me to make videos again

[@user-gl5ld9vm7i]

@Soots Crafting You're obviously a gifted artist. Whether it is in painting or wood turned pens, you are good at what you do. Are you still selling pens? What substance is used for that blue opal?

[@TheTacticalPainter]

@@user-gl5ld9vm7i thank you for the high praise. They are lab grown opals, I'm not sure what mineral creates the blue.

[@lawrencealdridge-yk6dm]

do you have a video on the conversion??? thanks in advance

[@stevecorry2118]

WOW! What pen kit did you use? Really great looking pen.

[@steveweeks1]

Where do you get the opal inlays from? I would like to try this. Thank you for sharing!

[@TheTacticalPainter]

I buy the Opals from Woodcraft, they are Easy Inlay Opals. You can also get them from Easy Inlay directly, but if you have a Woodcraft nearby, you can avoid delivery fees.

[@josephharwood1370]

Hi, which bushing do you used on the pen. I think it is Absolutely gorgeous and I just have to make one.

[@derekdodson5623]

How did you do the conversion? Did the sharpie refill just fit?

[@ufcfanatic73]

I have this same question.

[@llewellyngrace4781]

Aloha nice pen where do you get that pen kit at?

[@johnfritz3477]

Does the opal dull your tools quickly?

[@TheTacticalPainter]

I use carbide tools, and I can feel that the stones are definitely hitting them a little hard and struggling with the cuts. I make very shallow and intentional cuts on them to prevent fracture and excessive wear on the tools. I would not do this with carbon steel, possibly high speed steel, but carbide tools would be my recommendation. Great question!

[@johnrosen9616]

what was the refill conversion?

[@lawrencealdridge-yk6dm]

basicaly what parts kit did u use?????

[@stevecorry2118]

What is a g2?

[@TheTacticalPainter]

A G2 is a type of ink refill, it uses a fast drying gel ink that writes extremely smooth. Plus, most stores carry the pens because they're extremely popular, look up Pilot G2 in your search browser.

[@Reviews-Tidbits]

I can’t get my glass beads to adhere to the ca.

[@TheTacticalPainter]

Did you rough up the glass beads at all with done light sand paper? CA had a hard time agreeing to smooth surfaces, so giving it some light scratches to fill in and grip into will give it a better mechanical bond. Also make sure the glass is clean, you might give it a Denatured Alcohol or Acetone bath.

[@Reviews-Tidbits]

@@TheTacticalPainter to small to sand it’s almost powder .

[@TheTacticalPainter]

@@Reviews-Tidbits you might try an epoxy or even a uv resin. These are stickier and more adherent to tougher and smooth surfaces. I've even had epoxy be so sticky the it ruined silicone molds. UV is a great way to go for inlay, it's thick and stays out, but won't set up till you hit it with UV. If you mix a toothpick sized drop of polyester resin activator into it, it'll guarantee that the resin sets up, even in areas where the UV light can't reach it.

[@gregwilsonnaturephotography]

Awesome looking pen. Mind my asking, where you found the opal? And is the black marker used to give black accent lines and hide the brass tube? I am new to pens and your channel. I subscribed and mashed the like button. Greg

[@TheTacticalPainter]

@@gregwilsonnaturephotography thank you so much. The opals are from Easy Inlay, you can order them direct or you can get them at Woodcraft. The black both hides the tube but the primary reason is the black causes this opal to reflect it's colors more vibrantly. Different colors of opals need a different background color to get their vibrance to come out, so you have to test to see what works best for each opal color.