Writing on Bows

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Maybe this has been asked several times so sorry for the repitition... What do you guys use to write on bows? I just went out and purchased a Cross fountain pen thinking that would be the best after hearing something about a smooth writing pen. I figure you would want to put a few coats of oil on the bow to seal the grain first so that it does not bleed into the wood. Is this correct?

[Pat B]

I use India ink and a quill pen. Some use Sharpie but I have found that they fade oner time. India ink never fades.
 I usually do a quick spray of satin poly, let it cure out well then write over that. I use Tru-Oil for a finish so I just put that over the writing.

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Did yo ke the quill pen Pat?

[Pat B]

I have made a few but I also use store bot dipping pens or make one from a small diameter piece of bamboo.

[osage outlaw]

I use a Sharpie brand fine point paint pen.  I picked it up at a craft supply store.  It works fine but I hate writing on bows.  My poor handwriting kept me off the honor roll all through grade school.

[Gordon]

The ink from a regular Sharpie will fade with certain finishes. I use an Industrial Sharpie or India Ink.

[bow101]

I use India ink and a quill pen. Some use Sharpie but I have found that they fade oner time. India ink never fades.
 I usually do a quick spray of satin poly, let it cure out well then write over that. I use Tru-Oil for a finish so I just put that over the writing.

Tell me something. Wouldn't exterior clear coat polyurethane or any other Exterior
 clear coat offer better protection from UV rays than Tru Oil and/or most oils and/or stains...? 
We have to think about this for a moment because UV rays cause more damage to anything besides water. That would be the likes of Cars, Houses.......etc....etc...

[Catahoula]

Hi,

I have had problems with sharpies and recently woodburned an ironwood bow that turned out fine.  I do a lot of woodburning (Colwood) on my flutes and after awhile you get used to controlling the tips.  Some of the bows I have have the sharpie wearing off...

I know this is off the subject but my wife and I as artists won't buy others art if they don't document who they are and such...my kid is gonna wind up with all our junk and she sure needs to know who made what so she can hock it all on ebay after we croak!

Catahoularand

[Hrothgar]

I've never thought about the sun damage, interesting question. A person could always use a marine grade polyurethane which offers more uv protection- available from most places that sell regular poly.

[BL]

I had no luck with the fine-point sharpie paint marker.  Maybe I was doing something wrong but the hard plastic nib was less than pleasant to work with and it dumped out blobs of paint several times before I gave up on it.  Glad it tested on some scrap first!

I've got a set of artist's Pigma Micron archival ink .05 markers by Sakura that were a gift some years ago.  They say chemical-resistant but I put a light pass with some spray clear-coat before I started the poly just in case and it came out really clean.  No idea how they hold up long-term to UV... "fade resistant" according to their website.

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Hmmm... Well I found a video on the net for making a quill pen out of turkey feathers. I might give that a go. The fountain pen I bought is very fine and does a great job I just don't know if it will smeer once I put a clear coat over it. Maybe if I use a spray it wont move. I may have to give it a go and will find out. Another thing is what about if you put a black finish on a bow. My next bow I make I want it to be totally black "Black Ops" do the silver sharpies work?

[Gordon]

I use white acrylic ink with a calligraphy pen for writing on dark surfaces.

[Badly Bent]

If you like white ink on a dark wood or darker stained bow I use a pen from Pentel, get the one labeled 'sunburst'. I find them at craft stores and they give me very fine line writing without any blotching. Lay down a coat of your clear finish first then write, then put more
coats of clear finish over it.

[Dane]

Ive found writing on wood to be really hard not to make it look terrible. I refere you to page five and six of my recent Spanish crossbow thread. Scroll down almost all the way to the bottom of page 5, and then again, about halfway down on page six.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,36198.60.html
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,36198.75.html

The technique I found was really slick, was easy to do, and gave me great results. I am guessing graphics, like a logo or line drawing would work well, too besides just lettering. Of course, you have a much smaller area to write on with a bow than a crossbow stock, but it may be useful for you to see it. I did seal the wood beforehand, and had no issues with the Tru-oil finish and the red acylic paint I used.

Dane

[dwardo]

I use white acrylic ink with a calligraphy pen for writing on dark surfaces.

Are there any problems with tru-oil straight over this Gordon?