I like it!

It's definitely C)... that looks really good.

Larry,
After tying many many different ink and pen combinations, we have finally settled on a very fine tipped quill pin by speedball.

[www.dickblick.com]


The material we use for the writing is Testors model paint.

One thing that is important is to get "fresh" paint. If the paint has been setting on the shelf for too long a period of time, it will have gotten a bit on the thick side.
It is tough to thin the paint to the right consistency - if it isn't right from the bottle.

Another thing is to be sure to clean the pen after every use. I use Xylene because it is a good solvent for the paint. You do have to be careful about the use of the solvent on the plastic quill. The Xylene will melt the plastic.
So, only dip the nib into the paint when writing and do not get the solvent on the quill or it will melt.

Some folks have had good luck with India ink. Unfortuantely, I have never been able to get it to work well.


Another thing that I do, is to do a good wipe down of the blank before lettering with Xylene. This will remove any finger prints, or any other contaminants - that might cause a poor writing job.

Once in a blue moon, I find that I don't get good adhesion to the blank. If this happens, I will do a very light scuffing of the surface with scotchbrite to get better adhesion.

Take care
Roger

It is great-lots of character, is personal, honest, very legible, if I could do it that well I'd give up on decals. It really just doesn't get any better than what you've done.

It would appear that the 4wt has a ring around the writing, is it a label that has been affixed?

looks fine to me. no problems to me at all.

Andrew Metzger Wrote:
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> It would appear that the 4wt has a ring around the
> writing, is it a label that has been affixed?

Handwritten then water transfered, yes.

That looks good.
mikeb

Looks real good to me, would love to see what it will look like with an extra fine pen.
Keep it up it adds a real personal touch!

Better than my and I'm jealous...

I have no idea what the previous guys are talkjing about....i don't believe ANY handwriting can compare to a properly applied Decal Connecttion decal...period. So drop the pens and go with clean-professional looking decals...

Just have to be honest with ya and pick option "A".

And respectfully,
Paul

A lot better than mine
Ken

Larry Damore Wrote:
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> Handwritten then water transfered, yes.

That looks good, I was pretty nervous recently with a build of mine, for a local fishing show, they wanted the shows name handwritten on the blank. About 3 hours of practice on scrap blanks later I got it done, not nearly as good looking as yours though. I spent another 2 hours working on it for a build I finished this past week and it looks much nicer, I'm sure it will come out nice on a fullsize rod. Ice rods are a pain to write on.

I'd go with B. Its looking pretty good IMO. Those uchida markers can be tricky. Not enough pressure and it doesnt mark at all, too much pressure and you get more ink than you want

I had attempted hand writing inscriptions early on in my rod building adventures and gave up because it just wasnt good and I developed a few different label making skills instead. However, after having seen some artfully done handwritting recently I've spent about an hour over the past couple days working on my on technique. I have to say that I am getting much better. Having the rod level with my hand was key to improving the results. I am going to try the caligrophy pen method next....but I'm running out of scraps on which to scribble! I'll have to start marking up the handle areas on some stock blanks soon.

A little # 400 and water and you can start over. Saves on your scrap. LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Ron,
Just wipe the blanks down with Xylene and the ink and or other writing right off the blank.

Take care
Roger

Where might I take a look at this hand writing? I am very inerested in giving it a try.

WOW! That's really nice. Even at my best, I could never get remotely close to that kind of penmanship. I finally had to go to decals.

Even as a rodbuilder myself, I'd be proud to have a rod with that kind of inscription on it.

Can I grade your spelling? Just foolin' with you! Your handwriting on the blank looks great!

Larry,

Looks great! Hope I can do as well someday. I could not see your photos before because I was at work and the government put a block on the photos.

Mike Edmonds
Captain Mike's,LLC