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How to hone/dress and use a ruling pen


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This is a topic I have been meaning to do for some time as there is little reference material on the subject directed at model work.

 

First off you will need a ruling pen:

IMG_2440.JPG.3a9dd6a00388316105822099fe30a6f7.JPG

 

Above are various ruling pens from my collection starting with cheapish ones on the left through various vintage pens in the middle to a relatively modern Kern pen on the right.

 

Cheap brand new ruling pens can be bought on a well known auction site for as little as £3 however as you might expect you tend to get what you pay for. Try and go for pens with relatively thin blades rather than the ones that are on the thick side.

 

Before use, it is worth examining the blades under magnification to see it they need dressing/honing. Most pens will require this. So can a cheap pen be honed to give acceptable results? Yes it can to a degree and the first video covers the honing process in some depth. The same honing process applies to any pen, a gentler version for a higher quality pen will follow.

 

 

 

 

Edited by MikeTrice
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My last video uploaded to YouTube covered how to hone a cheap ruling pen. I took some drastic action to get it into a working state, but what happens if you have a better quality pen to start with?

 

For years I have kept a lookout for old drawing instruments at boot fairs, antique fairs and online auction sites. Generally speaking the older instruments are usually of a finer quality and need to be dressed with a little more finesse that I did in the YouTube video. As I wanted to be able to add closeup images I decided simple photographs would suffice along with some descriptive words.

 

My starting point for this exercise is an unbranded pen bought as a job lot. As is often the case it has no handle however the blades are in good condition and nice and thin:

IMG_2394.JPG.6017f33abcc11f3f8ba1720259bfe0de.JPG

 

I mentioned in the video that I have been known to make a new handle out of aluminium tube. In this instance I also needed a length of brass tube to act as a spacer. Both were cut to length:

IMG_2396.JPG.088a02f6891040a41688ec5ee8eddd2d.JPG

 

5 minute epoxy has been used to glue the inner and outer handle together and to the pen:

IMG_2398.JPG.4796f13bc87a5ea456cf995ef8fba564.JPG

 

Only 1200 grit wet and dry was used in the dressing process along with a good magnifier:

IMG_2400.JPG.688347a1a029733ae2dfb11f6861ae19.JPG

 

As in the video the blades were carefully reshaped:

IMG_2401.JPG.6b244ceb957c4e712703312d20b43c0d.JPG

 

Under magnification the tips look like this. The tip ends are a slightly different profile:

S20200423_0003.jpg.29e691a7b8753225a1050428580f445d.jpg

 

The tips are slightly different lengths. Some thinning of the blades can also be done:

S20200423_0006.jpg.ceb5180d51ac61bdfd4bce2747dcbf0f.jpg

 

Using 1200 grit wet and dry the first task was to get the tips to match so they are the same length:

S20200423_0008.jpg.3a9f28df89305deb10184dc0302fa69a.jpg

 

and the same profile:

S20200423_0009.jpg.4b0bade2816912b0e98316565ddacafb.jpg

 

Working slowly and with constant reference to the magnifier I have refined the tips with the 1200 grit smoothing them off and thinning the edges:

S20200423_0013.jpg.055901f8af66d7351e28cf5968fb624e.jpg

 

S20200423_0014.jpg.f96a77c15ca8480413967921bc39468b.jpg


With the pen prepared I could now try and see what it could achieve. It also managed to draw thinner lines but the pigment in the Humbrol Enamel could not be seen:

IMG_2404.JPG.494fc4bdf5b67affaad9173bc62f4548.JPG

 

Honing can be addictive. I thought I could probably improve the pen still further so thinned the blades a bit more and polished them with jeweller's rouge in a minidrill:

S20200427_0008.jpg.cbddee2a8828cf954ac991a444b2d1d7.jpg

 

And after retesting:

IMG_2433.JPG.14ef7d90d647f6389684cb997e9707c3.JPG

 

So with a pen prepared time to actually use it for lining.

 

Part 1:

 

Part 2:

 

Something that does not come over very well in the videos is how to fill the pen.

 

A tin of Humbrol is stirred using a cocktail stick:

IMG_2428.JPG.c39a7293c470cdee11d16c0f6686b4e3.JPG

 

Some of the stirred paint is transferred to the pen:

IMG_2429.JPG.c2f58215472ca397bbf9d5be7d36c7a5.JPG

 

The transferred paint is wiped over the blades leaving paint between them:

IMG_2430.JPG.db424afe48a0700db76b26cf726d13a3.JPG

 

Finally any excess on the outside of the blades is wiped off (the grot behind the pen on the tissue is where I had cleaned the Humbrol paint lid and rim previously ensuring the lid would go on and give a good seal):

IMG_2431.JPG.df92ffd8cd7942e4a8962f24d610d206.JPG

 

Once again some aspects could be imroved in the videos so I took the opportunity to reshoot:

 

Hope this topic proves of use. Happy to attempt to answer any questions.

 

Edited by MikeTrice
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It's wonderful to see such care and attention put into classic tools like this.   Sadly my Father's set of these (and compasses) got water damaged after a hurricane a few years back.   I'm currently on the lookout for some quality replacements because of these guides.   They are inspiring.

 

Ross.

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One thing I mention briefly in one of the videos is how should the ruling pen be held, vertical or angled to the workpiece? In a lot of cases it does not seem to make a lot of difference however the design of the pens means for the thinnest lines they need to be held at 90 degrees to the work surface as the tip is the thinnest part.

 

Always orientate the pen so that the blade without the adjuster is the one held against the straight edge or tempate (remember I am left handed):

IMG_2447.JPG.d969bf4b047fa6f98e6a78cbd20c438b.JPG

 

The blade away from the adjuster is usually less prone to flex. If I rule against the more flexible blade on the adjuster side too much side pressure could cause the gap at the tip to close resulting in uneven width lines:

IMG_2449.JPG.2dba5184409112d9ec255d33f71dcb42.JPG

 

Repeating the same test on the non adjuster side the blades are far less easy to deflect:

IMG_2450.JPG.c4e518f7d9c246b6d2f971a7a660394d.JPG

Edited by MikeTrice
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I should probably point out some differences between pens. Here are four variants of pen. The one the left has fixed blades usually machined from a single piece of metal. These are very common especially in cheaper makes although some high end pens also produce them. The next one along is a vintage pen from a set manufactured by Norton & Gregory in London (or sold under their name). Close examination reveals a hinge where the blades meet at the handle. The third pen is a Swiss Kern pen where one of the blades can be rotated for cleaning and be placed back without losing the line thickness. The one on the right is a vintage compass useful for lining curves or by replacing the point with a piece of brass tracing around a contour.

IMG_2463.JPG.20b2b4874cdd4d90b3a2be85aa8d0ee6.JPG

 

A closeup of some pens where the blades are hinged:

IMG_2465.JPG.dce53fcc66177ac567c09e2a99b0373d.JPG

 

By removing the adjustment wheel the blades can be opened up making cleaning easier:

IMG_2467.JPG.e79bf7da872f9f80551d4c681bcf9d22.JPG

 

Finally here are the Swiss Kern pens showing the blade rotating mechanism. Some cheap pens also offer this option however on the one I bought the method of aligning the blade correctly was too inaccurate for me to even be able to hone the pen. On the Kern pens this is not an issue:

IMG_2469.JPG.07c33827f73bcf1fec90b3f4dd6cc2db.JPG

 

A while back I was extremely lucky to find a Swiss Kern Aarau set on a well known auction site. For some reason no one  else bid and I got it for the princely sum of £15. I dread to think what it might have cost new. I was also surprised to discover on receipt that most of the blades were of the rotating type. Kern do do fixed blade pens and you pay a premium for the pivoting type so exceptional value:

IMG_2460.JPG.24a254422c71db57481f51ff0d8db704.JPG

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Larry zGoddard always added a drop of lighter fluid to a tin of Humbrol Paint. It makes it flow easily.

 

Have you tried Tamiya Acrilics for lining? I seem to be able to get much thinner lines with it. Great for coaches but a bit of a faff for corners.

Baz

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Lighter fuel is suggested for the Bob Moore lining pen as well. I tried it in my Moore pen no obvious differenece, it still blocks up every 10 seconds !!. I now have a Kern pen which works really well without honing (thank god) !!

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Since I have been going through Model Masters lining like nobodies business I am interested.

 

I have a cheap pen I am now going try to dress.

 

I did try a few years ago but ended up respraying and transfers. Will use transfers for last few of a couple of sets currently in the paint shop.

 

Anyway I want to try again, will be using white, which one is best?

 

And how to do the little curves at the end.

 

Stock is a mix of Comet sided Lima, detailed up Airfix and Lima, and some Joueff. The non resided look like they crashed into a Shawplan stand.

 

All in same blue grey livery.

 

HMRS I find awkwards to use and MM slow and fragile.

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Humbrol gives good results used unthinned. Some people add a little black to it just to make it less bright. Little curves? Do you mean the white in between the blue/grey? Probably by hand and carefully cleaned up but you could try a styrene template with a corner rounded.

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4 hours ago, MikeTrice said:

Humbrol gives good results used unthinned. Some people add a little black to it just to make it less bright. Little curves? Do you mean the white in between the blue/grey? Probably by hand and carefully cleaned up but you could try a styrene template with a corner rounded.

 

Yes BR corporate livery.

 

Template - good idea thanks!

 

As to bright, that would be fine.

 

Would be on top of Precision BR Blue Grey. Been using it since I first found it in my teens. I had two model shops and one model paint company within 3 miles of home, and another shop about 8 miles.

 

Still have a lot of the Churchdown stuff in my paint biscuit tins.

 

 

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