Chased Patterns - How do they do it?

[haroldawerben]

Hello there,

As I have been wandering through the fascinating realm of vintage fountain pens, I discovered various patterns that intrigued and, at the same time, aroused my awe and admiration. The range of materials and molds cannot be approximated without the risk of spilling a drop of vulgarity on these pieces of art. Mother of pearl, red mottled, hard rubber, engraved silver, filigree and all sorts of designs the mind and imagination of artists could envision! But, while I figured out how most of them are made, one still pushed hard and did not allow me to unlock its secrets! We are talking about what is commonly referred to as BCHR or Black Chased Hard Rubber. While the tehnique of manufacturing that particular kind of rubber does not seem a huge task at all, the imprints of most such barrels is not only amazing, but also impossible for me to decipher! I tried all my best and no conclusion was reached at. I know there is a knurling tool, but it is far from that peculiar effect! I also found there is a very intricate and minutely designed lathe machine called `Rose Engine Lathe`, but that did not help much as well, since it is used for engraving flat surfaces in general (for example, the cap of a pocket watch). Could someone please explain me the mechanism behind this pattern? Your help would be highly appreciated. Thanks!
EDIT: Sorry for the upper right corner of the image!
s-l1600.jpg

[Wile E Coyote]

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/design/chasing.htm

[haroldawerben]

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/design/chasing.htm

Hey, Wile, thank you for your time.
I read the entire article, but found no eligible explanation whatsoever!
The point is that I tried to search for a chasing machine, but only found something to cut walls
Another aspect discussed there, was with regard to something called black diamonds, which also did not disperse my cloud of ignorance!
Any other information would be highly appreciated!!!!!

[Detman101]

"In the 19th and early 20th centuries, chasing was applied by pressing an industrial black diamond into the surface of the pen or pen cap and dragging it along that surface to create a pattern made of a series of lines drawn one at a time. (Parts were ganged in the chasing machine so that six or eight could be chased at the same time.) This method created V-shaped grooves with slightly raised edges where the displaced material flowed outward. Some modern makers of BCHR pens use a laser to machine the grooves, and the result is square grooves with a rough-surfaced flat bottom, while others use a cutting tool that makes a V-shaped groove but does not raise material above the surface."

No diagram of the "Chasing" in action though...

[Wile E Coyote]

I have never seen the equipment but the machinery would be similar to modern day jewelry engravers except would be designed to work on the outside of a cylinder. After all, a lot of old pen makers were jewelers.

Based on Richard's description there would be multiple diamond engraving styli connected to the pattern reading stylus so that multiple pens could be chased at the same time.

[An old bloke]

Looking at my Conway Stewart No. 479 which has chasing the obvious answer is that it was turned on a lathe with the pattern created with a knurling tool.

Link to image: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...b97c417c8f.jpg

While the image shows this being done on metal, the same technique would be used for ebonite. Different tools could be used to create different patterns.

[FredRydr]

...No diagram of the "Chasing" in action though...

I've started to yank open the drawers of my pen chest hoping to catch some chasing in action, but every time I try, there's just staid silence.

[Ron Z]

The chasing machine would hold the barrel at the ends and work the cutting edge forward cutting the line, and then rotate slightly and do it again. A system of cams and wheels controlled the pattern. They were designed to do several at a time. Lynn Sorgatz had one at the Ohio show years ago. They engine turned/chased one of the hotel pens. I'll have to look in some of the pen books to see if I see any in the background of the factory shots.