- Fountain Pens
Full Size - Fountain Pens
Midi Size - Fountain Pens
Mini / Pocket - Fountain Pens
w-Metal Bands - Fountain Pens
w-Acrylic Bands - Other
Pens/Pcls - Desk
Pens - Other
Items - Contact
& Info
Ballpoint Kit / Classic Click or Twist |
Size: 5 1/2" long x .50" dia. Refill Style: Parker© Finish (either version): 24k Gold, Chrome, Gunmetal, and Brushed Satin. |
The CLASSIC is know by two different names. It was originally called the 'American Classic', but then later the name was shortened to simply as the CLASSIC. It is also available in two different mechanism styles: Twist and Click. The original pen was only available as a CLICK pen (known as the 'American Classic Click'). But then later, they came out with a TWIST version, and that's when they shortened the name. If you're familiar with the termiology, then the difference is obvious. If not, it's the difference in the way you retract the tip. With the CLICK, you PUSH DOWN on the the Finial (top) to extract the tip. With the TWIST, you simply twist or rotate the top section counterclockwise to retract the tip. The Click version was harder to make because you had to make sure the diameter at the top of the lower barrel was small enough to fit inside the base of the upper barrel so it didn't bind or drag across the acrylic (and scratch it) when the pen was clicked. When clicked, the upper section came down over the lower section. So the diameter of the barrel was important. But in my opinion, it also made for a bit of an odd looking shape with that narrow upper end. But with the Twist, the barrel was slightly larger so it didn't look quite as odd, but personally I still didn't like it. So I did a little tweaking of my own to make a pen that I thought was much better looking. See my CUSTOM TWIST versions at the bottom of the page. |
Classic Click
24k Gold & Carmine Acrylic | 24k Gold & Verde Acrylic | 24k Gold & Maple Syrup Acrylic |
Classic Twist
(Hardware finishes available for both styles)
24k Gold Material: Molten Metal Acrylic |
Chrome |
Gunmetal Material: Stablized Redwood Burl |
Brushed Satin Material: Amboya Burl wood |
My CUSTOM Classic Twist |
One of the things I like to do is to take a standard kit pen and see if I can customize it. Some of the various kits might use similar size clips, so you can switch out the clip. Or with some (as withthis Classic) you can actually adjust the size or shape of the parts. I always though the Classic was sort a bland looking pen, and as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I didn't care for the abrupt change in the diameter of the lower barrel just below the centerband. Because of the way the mechanism works on the Click version (you have to push down on the upper barrel forcing it down over the lower barrel) the lower barrels diameter must thinner than the upper barrel and be a very precise diameter so it fits inside the upper barrel. But with the Twist version, as the name implies, you retract the tip by twisting or rotating the upper barrel. So at least theoretically I thought the diameter of the lower barrel could be made larger allowing a smoother transistion below the centerband. So I decided to play around with it to see if it was possible to give the pen what I thought would be a more pleasing shape, and below are the results. I liked the new shape so much, I started recommending it over the standard version. About the new design... The main change I thought the pen needed was to enlarge the diameter at the top end of the lower barrel, so it was close to the same diameter as the band. The bottom edge of the band is rounded over, so I found that I slightly less diameter worked best on the barrel. I also added a bit of a 'swell' near the center of both barrels so they didn't look so 'stiff' (like a tin soldier). Lastly, I tried a few differently styled clips--I thought a straighter style clip might be more fitting to the overall straight style. |
With this Custom Classic Twist, I kept the same larger diameters, but used a different style clip (called Euro). Like the Seirra above, I think the straight clip is more fitting of the straight pen style. | ||
Material/Color: Key West Sunrise Italian Acrylic. Hardware: 24k Gold / Finial Black Enamel. Size: 5 1/2" long x .50" dia. Refill Style: Parker. |
||
(Click photo's below to view larger size) |
This Custom Classic Twist has my same custom shape, but this time I used the original tear-drop style clip. | ||
Material/Color: Purple/White Acrylic. Hardware: Chrome / Finial Black Enamel. Size: 5 1/2" long x .50" dia. Refill Style: Parker. |
||
(Click photo's below to view larger size) |
This Custom Classic Twist has both my same custom shape, and the original tear-drop style clip. The pen was a graduation gift so was made in the school colors (blue & gold). I added the gold stripe in the lower barrel to give more cohesion to the two solid colors. | ||||||
Material/Color: Gold: Mandarin Yellow Acrylic. Blue: Sapphire Blue Acrylic. Hardware: 24k Gold / Finial Black Enamel. Size: 5 1/2" long x .50" dia. Refill Style: Parker. |
||||||
(Click photo's below to view larger size)
|
Another Classic Twist in my custom shape |
|||
Material/Color: Pink Ice Acrylic. About the material... |
|||
(Click photo's below to view larger size) |