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Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:58 pm
by reible
My SIL has been to an art fair where she saw a stainless steel letter opener that in a booth and now would like me to make one that matches the pen I turned for her out of birdeye maple.
I looked at a couple of places for the blades so that I could do a round handle with but they seem to be different then the that and have flat tang... (If I look at other things then SS then they have the sort of thing I'm looking for but she is not interested in the plated gold that seems quite common).
Anyone making something like that or know a source for that sort of thing. I'm thinking of the same methodology as pen making.
Ed
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 3:59 pm
by benush26
Hi Ed.
I haven't made any of the Penn State or others of that ilk but have made my fair share of these.
- openers.jpg (17.79 KiB) Viewed 5386 times
And tried a couple like these before I figured out I was not a very patient carver
- fancy.jpg (4.55 KiB) Viewed 5386 times
But a while back ran across these in a search and thought they were cool looking so may try something like this
- Letter-opener+wooden.jpg (17.96 KiB) Viewed 5386 times
Not sure of the quality of the Penn State kits so have not bought one to try, but I think I like the idea of a non-metal blade so will stick with all wood.
Good luck in your search.
Be well,
Ben
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 7:47 pm
by S Brian
I have made several letter openers using the Penn State Deluxe kits. The Deluxe kit has three different finishes; Chrome, Satin Chrome and Gold. I use pen turning squares and it takes about 20 minutes to turn one. The threaded inserts are pressed into each end and the blade and top are screwed into the inserts. I put a drop of CA glue on the threads, before assembly.
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:44 am
by Gene Howe
Ben, Those letter openers are really cool.
I too, prefer ones without metal.
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:32 pm
by cooch366
Real nice job Ben.... Excellent work...... Beautiful.
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:45 pm
by charlese
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:58 pm
by charlese
Re: Letter openers, the kind you make with a kit?
Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 1:04 am
by reible
I do like the wood versions but since it isn't for me I'll have to guess that I will be making something with a metal blade.
I have not found a source of stainless steel in the type of opener she wants so I have forwarded the chrome and satin versions web pages off to her. In any case it is out of my hands for the moment.
Thanks for the sharing guys.
Ed