Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii)is a bright orange color when it’s freshly cut but quickly fades to a pretty reddish brown with exposure to light. The sawdust is strangely sticky, clinging to everything it touches, metal, skin, clothing, etc. This makes it somewhat difficult to work with because the dust tends to pile up on my knives as I work the lathe. I can’t pour or blow it off like other species and have to push it off with my fingers. However, it turns beautifully and takes a very nice finish. One of the things I really like about Padauk is its characteristic called chatoyancy – which is the appearance of depth in the finish. It has a 3-D effect when you look down into the wood, like you’re looking through its surface.This is the largest pen I’ve made to date, ideal for someone who is looking for a pen with a lot of well-balanced weight.Mechanism: Parker style rollerball with a rhodium-plated pen nib and premium Schmidt steel cartridge refill with a ceramic point. There’s a Swarovski crystal in the clip for an added touch of flair and all the furniture is cast, then plated with titanium nitride for an extremely durable finish.Finish: Hand sanded through 400 grit, then 00 through 0000 steel wool for a fine polished surface. The finish is mineral oil, bee’s and paraffin waxes melted onto the surface and polished in with a soft cotton pad.

Price: US$168
Item Ref No: PdkERP0042
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.

This pen was one that I’d actually forgotten I had a kit for.  I was looking through my stock of kits for something else when I found it.  The bushings that it requires to make as well as the necessary drill bit were also present, so I was set.  I had some Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) from an earlier project in the day and decided it was the wood to use. Other than the sawdust sticking to everything, Padauk is nice to turn. It smells pleasantly of a spice I can’t place and doesn’t require a lot of care at the lathe.  Some woods you really have to babysit but Padauk isn’t one of them.  The barrels on this pen are fairly thick, so if you like a pen with a larger diameter and some weight, you’ll like this one.


Mechanism: Parker style double twist pen.  The point rotates out if you twist the pen in either direction.  If you prefer gel pens, you can simply swap out the original insert for a gel insert.


Finish: Sanded to 400 grit, then 00 through 0000 steel wool.  Mineral oil, bee’s and paraffin wax.


Price: US$58
Item Ref No: PdkCP0043
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.