Before Thorn Mill: Building Model Steam Engines

Long before I started making mechanical lighters and writing instruments, I was fascinated by miniature machines.

One of the projects that occupied my workshop years ago was building fully functional model steam engines. Every component—from the cylinders and flywheels to the connecting rods and valve mechanisms—was machined individually from raw material.

There was no production line, no shortcuts and certainly no kits. The goal was never simply to make something that looked like a steam engine. It had to work, move smoothly and reflect the elegance of real mechanical engineering in miniature.

Looking back, I realize those engines taught me lessons that still define Thorn Mill today.

Working to tight tolerances, understanding how individual parts interact, balancing function with aesthetics, and accepting that precision takes time—these principles have remained unchanged.

Today, the products have changed. Steam engines have given way to mechanical lighters, pens and other handcrafted objects. Yet the mindset behind them is exactly the same.

Some of those early engines are still displayed in a dedicated showcase in the workshop. They serve as a quiet reminder of where this journey began and why I continue to build mechanical objects by hand.

For me, Thorn Mill isn't a new beginning.

It's simply the next chapter of a fascination with precision mechanics that started many years ago.