Unique Treen » Pens

Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pen

uniquetreen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:08:22 +0000

This pen could be named serendipity. While working on a couple of other pens made from Mpingo, I managed to break the wood on one of the barrels of each. Several weeks went by and the individual barrels got lost in the shuffle on my assembly bench. Yesterday, I found both of them. On a whim, I fitted them together and the wood patterns lined up perfectly! Pleased with my good luck, I put the pen together with some gold fittings.

The sharp variations of the sap & heart wood grain as well as the striking differences in colors makes this a very pretty pen. I’m quite pleased with the result.

Mechanism: The mechanism is Cross style and refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Finish: The pen was sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$35

Item Ref No: MSP0059

Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.

A slimline pen made solely out of the black heart wood of Mpingo is also available. Click here to view it.

Ipé Slimline Ballpoint Pen

uniquetreen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:00:39 +0000

This pen is made from Ipé (Tabebuia chrysantha) which is incredibly dense, so much so that it won’t float in water or sustain a flame. I made it with matte black fittings so it’s very understated while still stylish with a nice weight. I really like turning Ipé because it takes an incredible finish, even though the silica in the wood is tough on my tools. You have to sharpen your tools much more frequently when you’re turning it.

Mechanism: It’s a Cross style ballpoint with a twist mechanism. The fittings are a matte black with an epoxy coating for a very durable finish. Replacement inserts are available at any office supply store.

Finish: The pen was sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: IpeSP0039
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.

Peruvian Walnut Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Peruvian Walnut (Juglans neotropica) is very similar to American Walnut but it’s difficult to work because it’s very prone to splintering and tears out. However, it takes an incredible finish and it’s grain is very pretty. The wood I used to make these pens were off-cuts from a dining table I built for friends a few years ago.

Mechanism: Cross style and refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Finish: The pens were sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: PWSP0032 (top) and PWSP0033
Status: 0033 is sold but 0032 is still available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.

Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:32:00 +0000

This pen is made from Mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon) commonly known as African Blackwood. Some folks like a thicker barrel on their pens, so I turned this one to a larger diameter than I usually do. The extra wood gives the pen a bit more heft, so it feels nice in your hand.

Mechanism: The mechanism is Cross style and refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Finish: The pen was sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MSP0036
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

This pen I turned to a slimmer profile than the one listed above, but it still has the lovely subtle red undertones in the grain. I’m quite pleased with this particular pen, and I think you will be too.

Price: $35
Item Ref No: MSP0037
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing this pen.

Mpingo .50 Caliber BMG Pen

uniquetreen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:20:38 +0000

I made another pen from a once-fired .50 caliber BMG (Browning Machine Gun) shell casing, this time with Mpingo (African Blackwood). It is the pen in the right in the above photo. Making these pens is kind of fun. There’s only one barrel to be turned and there are only a couple of tricky spots. I made the barrel on this pen a bit longer to give it more weight at the tip for counter balancing the heft of the shell casing at the other end. Mpingo is one of the heavier woods I work with, so the extra weight helps. The photo collage below shows the dramatic variations of the sap & heart wood grain as well as the striking differences in colors from dark black with some subtle reds of the heart wood to the creamy yellowish white of the sap wood.

Mechanism: Cross style twist ballpoint mechanism.

Finish: The wood was sanded to 400 grit then polished up to 0000 steel wool. A wax & oil finish was then applied. The brass shell casing was sanded to 800 wet & dry, then up through 0000 steel wool, and finally polished with silver polish to a soft luster, then given three coats of gloss lacquer to preserve the shine. Since these are once-fired brass, there are dings & scuffs from the firing, extraction and collecting processes.

Price: US$40
Item Ref No: M-50BMGP0054
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing.

Padauk Executive Rollerball Pen

uniquetreen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:30:43 +0000

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.

Black & White Ebony Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:02:00 +0000

These pens are made from Black & White Ebony (Diospyros embryopteris) which is also known as Pale Moon Ebony or White Ebony. There are so many species of Ebony in the world that it’s sometimes difficult to classify what you’re working with, but I’m pretty sure this is correct. I bought the wood from a woodcraft store that offers off-cuts from custom shops.

Mechanism: The mechanisms are all Cross style and refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: BWESP0021
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing this pen.

Photo above by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

Another pen from Black and White Ebony with gun metal gray mechanism.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: BWESP0025
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

A third Black and White Ebony pen in black livery.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: BWESP0026
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Alder Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:54:00 +0000

These two pens are made from Alder (Alnus rubr) harvested from a friend’s swamp he was trying to reclaim. I probably pulled close to three cords of it out of the mud and blackberries on his back forty. Although it’s technically a hardwood, Alder is very soft and surprisingly difficult to turn at the pen scale. However, it’s pleasant wood to work with, it smells nice and you can use the sawdust to smoke meat on your grill.

Mechanism: Cross style, and refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Finish: The pens were sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$35 per pen
Item Ref No: ASP0023 (right) and ASP0024
Status: Available. Click here to inquire about purchasing these pens.

Locust Burl & Osage Orange Premium Classic Rollerball Pens

uniquetreen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:32:32 +0000

Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a very close grained wood, one of the heaviest woods in North America. It burns nearly as hot as coal when used for firewood. This pen is made from a burl which is sort of like a wart or cancer on the tree. The grain in a burl is typically very convoluted and this one is no different. Drilling the blanks was difficult, and turning the wood on the lathe was no easier. The wood likes to split and the little eyes in the grain readily pop out. Think Marty Feldman’s character Igor in Young Frankenstein. Fortunately a little patience and cyanoacrylate solved solve the challenges and the pen turned out beautifully.

Mechanism: 24-Carat gold plated classic 1920s classic Parker style pen design. If gel rollerball is preferred, inserts are available at most office supply stores.

Finish: The pen was sanded up to 400 grit, then burnished with 0000 steel wool to bring up a smooth surface. It was then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.

Price: US$78
Item Ref No: LBPCRP0051
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

This second rollerball pen is made with Osage Orange wood …

Osage Orange is a much easier to turn wood than Locust Burl. I like that it’s a very tough wood but takes to the lathe knife really well, peeling off fine curls of shavings as I go. Besides, it smells nice and takes a beautiful finish. This pen took less than half the time to make compared to the above Locust but a lot of that is simply climbing the learning curve for a new style of pen and a new wood to work with. If you like a rollerball that has a nice slim profile and gratifying weight, you’ll like these!

Price: US$78
Item Ref No: OOPCRP0052
Status: Presented but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Replacing Ink Cartridge in Slimline Ballpoint Pen

uniquetreen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:31 +0000

Replacing the ink cartridge in your Slimline Ballpoint pen is easy.

First, pull off the top barrel of the pen by pulling it straight back. You may need to rotate it a bit to free it as it has a tight friction fit. Once you have the top barrel off, you’ll be able to see the top of the cartridge which is generally a black knurled plastic cylinder. Rotate it counter-clockwise to unscrew it from the holder and pull it out. Put in the new cartridge in reverse order, i.e. insert it into the holder, screw it in clockwise until it stops and slide the top barrel back on. Your pen is ready for use again!