Unique Treen » Sold

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.

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.

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.

Peruvian Walnut & Osage Orange .50 Caliber BMG Pens

uniquetreen — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:57:54 +0000

These pens are made from once-fired .50 caliber BMG (Browning Machine Gun) shell casings. The turning of the pens is relatively straight forward but the assembly was less so and took some figuring out.

The Peruvian Walnut (dark brown, left in top photo) has some nice grain to it and I’ve always liked turning this particular species. The Osage Orange has some nice cathedral grain and I cut a faux cannelure groove into it to simulate a real bullet using an AP round that was given to me as a gift.

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. Since these are once-fired brass, there are dings & scuffs from the firing, extraction and collecting processes.

Price: US$40
Item Ref No: OO-50BMGP0049 (Osage Orange) and PW-50BMGP0050 (Peruvian Walnut)
Status: Sold but similar pens may be available. Click here to inquire.

Osage Orange & Mpingo 24-Carat Gold Fountain Pens

uniquetreen — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:14:34 +0000

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) is one of my best selling woods, and with good reason. It starts out as a bright orange color when freshly cut but mellows to a very nice dark orangy-brown with exposure to light and use. I try to make my pieces from wood that I find and this one is no different. My brothers and I split this tree for bow staves a few years ago and I now use the smaller pieces for turning on my lathe.

Mechanism: A classic Parker style nib and reservoir. The finish is 24 carat gold plate with an epoxy coating for a very durable surface that comes with a lifetime guarantee. This fountain pen has a postable insert, which means that the end can be inserted into the cap while you’re writing to keep it in place. There is room for an extra ink reservoir inside, so you don’t have to worry about running out, and it comes with a cleaning tool to flush the mechanism for maintenance.

Finish: Sanded to 400 grit, then 00 through 0000 steel wool for an extremely smooth surface. An oil and wax finish was then applied.

Price: US$78
Item Ref No: OOFP0045
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

A second fountain pen (with similar mechanism) made out of Mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon) also known as African Blackwood …

I chose a piece of cut-off Mpingo that had such a variety of colors and grains, it cried out for a nice-looking pen.

Price: US$78
Item Ref No: MFP0048
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Black & White Ebony Bottle Stopper

uniquetreen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:46:41 +0000

Black & White Ebony (Diospyros embryopteris) is one of the prettier woods I work with and when it’s paired up with a solid piece of chromed steel, you can get some striking looks. This bottle stopper was made after a conversation with one of my best friends. I’d made a wine bottle stopper for her some time ago as a gift, but it was too tall for the capped bottle to fit into her fridge. She reminded me of it recently, so I gave this stopper a wide button shape instead of the long hand-gripping shape we normally see.

The stopper is equally useful for protecting your oil, vinegar and other liquids in storage bottles, and adds a touch of class to your kitchen counter.

Materials: Black & White Ebony wood, chrome steel, silicone O-rings which help seal most wine bottles.

Finish: Sanded to 400 grit, then 00 through 0000 steel wool.

Price: US$28
Item Ref No: BWEBS0041
Status: Sold but a similar one may be available. Click here to inquire.

Osage Orange Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:27:00 +0000

This pen is made from Osage Orange wood ((Maclura pomifera) which is also known as Horse Apple or Bois ‘d Arc (Bodark). Osage Orange is a very hard wood that, while it has a tendency to split or check, is a very nice wood to work with, plus you can use the saw dust and shavings in your smoker. It takes a very fine finish and will darken with age and exposure to light. This particular pen I cut the blank to expose part of the creamy sap wood along with the darker and harder heartwood, which made for a very nice looking pen, don’t you think?

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

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: OOSP34
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

This Osage Orange pen has nice straight grain with some slight inclusions that add interest to the barrels. My two brothers and I harvested this wood for bow making. I don’t make bows, but both of them do. We split out around three dozen bow blanks, and I took home the wood that wasn’t suitable for bow making, but very nice for other projects.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: OOSP0035
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Ifil Slimline Ballpoint Pen

uniquetreen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Ifil wood makes some of the prettiest pens I’ve made. This particular piece was harvested about 23 years ago on the island of Guam by my brother. He brought me a a long thin chunk of it some time ago on a trip up here, and I’ve made several pens from it. There is a sharp distinction between the sap wood and heart wood, and a huge difference in density of the two. The sap wood is the lighter color, and has about the same density as balsa wood, and the darker heart wood is very hard. The sap wood has also spalted, which is caused by a fungus that makes the dark lines in it. This makes it difficult to turn on the lathe because the knife cuts into the wood at different rates. The solution to this is to use very sharp tools, and soaking the workpiece in cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. Doing so effectively plasticizes the wood, making it much easier to turn.

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.

Another view of the pen showing the heart wood side and the line between it and the sap wood.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: ISP0030
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pens

uniquetreen — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon) is commonly known as African Blackwood and frequently used in the manufacture of musical instruments due to it’s high density and ability to take a fine finish. While this pen looks like it’s all black, there is actually some swirling grain that shows up as reddish undertones that’s difficult to photograph. You’ll really like the weight of this pen because the wood is very dense, so the pen is heavier than you expect and feels nice in the hand.

Mechanism: Cross style in gold with black accents.

Finish: Bee’s, carnauba and paraffin wax with mineral oil. Sanded to 0000 steel wool.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MSP0029
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

While this pen looks like it’s been cut from two different blanks, there really was that sharp of a demarcation in the wood. Mpingo is a joy to work with. It’s hard and tools almost like a plastic, and takes a wonderful finish. The nicest parts are the red undertones that you simply can’t see in the photo, especially on the lower barrel where it appears black, but if you bring it out into the sun, you’ll see the red beneath the surface. Beautiful!

Mechanism: A Cross style mechanism in gun metal gray.

Finish: Bee’s, carnauba and paraffin wax with mineral oil. Sanded to 0000 steel wool.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MSP0022
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Photo above by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry