Civil War fountain pens make a wonderful gift for history-buff friends or coworkers. Maybe you need a gift to give to your employees or a client. In this article, I will tell you about these pens and how I made them.
Ever since I started researching my family history, I’ve become fascinated with the Civil War. I discovered that several of my ancestors fought in the Civil War. In fact, the picture you see above is my great, great grandfather. I also discovered a memoir that a great, great uncle wrote about his experiences during the war.
Take a close look at these pens. The pen cap and pen tip represent replica bullets used during the Civil War era. The kit comes with a nicely prepared pamphlet which explains the history on these bullets. See the picture below.
Here is a closeup of the pen tip—a replica of a 44 caliber 1860 Colt Army Revolver bullet.
Below is a closeup of the pen cap—a replica of a 58 caliber Minie Ball.
And here is a closeup of the pen clip—represents a model 1861 Springfield Rifle Musket.
If you want to know step-by-step how I made this pen, then please check out my guide How To Make A Wooden Pen. The pen in the guide is very similar to the Civil War fountain pen, however you will need to use the Civil War pen kit. All the steps I show you in the guide are almost identical for making the Civil War fountain pen.
I turned these pens on my JET mini-lathe and pressed the pen parts together using an ordinary wood vise. The other standard equipment I use:
Drill press (you could use a hand drill)
Barrel trimmer (you could use a belt sander)
Band saw (you could use a saber saw)
Lathe chisels
Here are the materials you will need:
These pens come with several metal platings—gun metal, chrome, satin, and antique brass. My favorite plating / wood combination is gun metal plating and walnut. Here are a few more Civil War fountain pens that I’ve made in recent years.
