Clip placement

[bohdon]

The other day I was about to put a pen together when a friend walked in.

When I got to the clip I asked him where he thought I should put it. Usually I look for the worse spot on the pen & try to cover it up with the clip.

He looked at the pen & said it should go here, which happened to be the nicer side of the pen, then he said he would put it there so that when in use the nice side would be facing the person using the pen....Now why didn't I think of that, it makes sense to me now but all this time I've been doing the opposite.

This got me curious and I wonder what everyone else does. So where do you guys & gals put your clips on the good side or do you look for something to hide with it?

I'll try to make this thread a poll....That is if I can figure that out.

TIA

[penmanship]

Hi Bob ~ I'm the "other" vote. I try to pay attention to the grain patterns, or a nice detail on an acrylic. I press my clip in, so when the pen is placed down, the grain/detail faces up. :)

Tim

[gwilki]

Hi Bob

I'm another of the "other" votes. Like Tim, I go with grain or pattern. (My pens don't have a bad side. :D:D:D:D)

[Marcel]

I have to say that it depends on how I feel at the time. And this would apply to the shape of the pen too.:rolleyes:

I tend to put it right beside a nice pattern or in such a way as to attract attention to a nice detail, unless there is a problem to hide such as a small chiping I couldn't remove without affecting the whole design and where the fill-in I did doesn't look like a feature:o

Regards,

[bohdon]

Thanks for the replies.

In my mind every pen has a good side & a bad side, it has nothing to do with the quality of the work.

Every piece of wood or acrylic has a side that looks better, even most antler has this.

So going with the way I look at it all three replies would be to put it on the good side. At least that's the way I see it, you are all saying that you are putting the clip on or near the good side so that the good side shows whether you are holding the pen or setting it down.

That's all I was after, Thank you very very much.

I didn't vote because I had explained my position in my original post, & from the looks of it so far I will be changing the way I put my pens together.

Any and all comments on this subject are more than welcome.

Edit; I see that the 4 other voters at this time are a split decision. It will be interesting to see where this poll goes.

[Scheuer]

Hi Bob,

And one more "other". I would say you don't need the coices of "good or bad side". Only "i don't care" or on the good side. If you make a mind on which side you should place the clip, it will always be the good side. Even if there is something you want to hide. Afterwards it's the good side, isn't it? ;)

Stefan

[slivermetimber]

I try leave the better side away from the clip, so that any not so nice grain etc is under (hidden) by the clip. Often it's very subjective as to what's good & whats bad, there's sometimes not a lot of difference. I guess best "figuring" opposite to the clip side, so it can be seen more clearly.

[Mike in Nanaimo]

I believe that when you look at a pen it is usually viewed looking at the clip side. This is even more important when they are in a display because that is what they see is the clip side. I always have my clip positioned so the pen shows it's best overall view.

[keithyoung]

Hi
I place my clip so that the most attractive part of the pen is not obscured by the clip its-self. Although Lillian has a point also in that the clip is usually up on display. Guess that covers most of the options as it would really depend on the workmanship and whether the clip is an attractive design. Hiding a bad defect is not considered proper by most craft jurying professionals.

Keith

[Rick Gibson]

I'm in the other group as well. I usually just rotate the clip and see where it looks good and that's where it goes.

[stacker]

Hmm, I'm of the "other" as well. I don't believe that every pen has a bad side so to speak.
I'm always choosy when it comes to assembling the pen,I look for the most chatoyance or when using Amboyna with sapwood,I put the clip on the boundary of the 2. That's not to say the other side isn't as beautiful,I would just need a pen with 2 clips. :D

[keithkarl]

really depends what kind of pen your making if its one with a cap anywhere will do if its a twist pen when the nib is retracted i'd like to have it on the side facing you when it is retracted looks better this way when displaying it for customers

[simomatra]

I am in the other group as well. The clip goes where i think it will best set off the pen and bring attention to the pens features.

[BigShed]

I am in the other group as well, it depends entirely on the blank. I have been guilty of attempting to hide an imperfection with the clip, but normally I rotate the clip to see where it will look best, that usually turns out to be the "good side".

Having said that, there quite a few blanks that don't have a bad or a good side. My latest pen, a Chrome Baron closed end pen in Black acrylic, is the same everywhere!:rolleyes:

[luvjohnnydees]

I generally put the clip at the non writing end.....and try to put it so as when laying on table with clip facing towards you the best part of pen is facing up.
Kim

I'm loving the height of that canola Bohdon

[bohdon]

Thanks guys I appreciate all your responses.

Kim That is yellow mustard. I'm not sure but I don't believe canola can ever be considered Organic again. We are 100% organic.

The height lol actually I was kinda squatting a little bit for that picture that's why I have the silly grin. But it was a beautiful crop for sure.
Unfortunately mother nature was not on our side that year, we lost everything we had to an early frost. That field & anything near it did not even see a combine. The few fields we did try to harvest produced nothing. I forfeited my bonus that year:(

[Lilian]

I've always wondered a bit about that crop in your photo...and now I know. As a farm girl myself, I'm always interested in crops:). And I work for an organization here in Ontario that represents crop and hort farmers on environmental issues...