Ipé (Tabebuia chrysantha) is an incredibly dense wood, so dense it sinks in water, and won’t sustain a flame. It’s most common use in the US is for making decks. It’s naturally insect & rot resistant, and a number of famous boardwalks are made from it, like the one in Ocean City New Jersey. It’s [...]
Archive for the ‘Sold’ Category
7 Jun
Madrona Slimline Ballpoint Pen
Madrona (Arbutus menziesii) is known as Madrone south of the Siskiyou mountains on the California / Oregon border, Madrona to the north, and Arbutus up in BC, Canada. It’s also the only broad leaved evergreen in Canada. This particular piece came from my brother’s back yard in Gold Hill, OR. This particular pen was sold [...]
3 Jun
Alder and Ifil Slimline Ballpoint Pens
These two pens were custom ordered for my client to be used as gifts on a trip to Japan. The pens are made from Alder (top), and Ifil (bottom). Alder is technically a hardwood, but is actually very soft and surprisingly difficult to turn in small scale. When turning bowls, it’s a lot of fun [...]
11 May
Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pen
This pen is made from Mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon) commonly known as African Blackwood. Turning this particular pen was fun because it was the first time I’d made anything from it. I was pleased to learn how easy it was to work, and how nice a finish it took. Although the pen looks like it’s all [...]
9 May
Mahogany & Ash Lamination Slimline Ballpoint Pen
The wood for this pen is laminated Mahogany (which has many different species so it’s hard to tell which one this specifically is) & Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) from the ruin of a broken tiller from our sailboat. The break happened on one of our recent trips and I was dumbfounded because I’d just refinished the [...]
8 May
Manzanita Burl Slimline Ballpoint Pen
Manzanita is of the Genus arctostaphylos and means “little apple” in Spanish. My brother gave me a box full of small off-cuts from his bow making efforts a while back and in it was a small piece of Manzanita Burl. I made a couple of pens out of it, one for him, and another for [...]
6 May
Osage Orange Slimline Ballpoint Pens
These pens were made from Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) wood that was harvested by my brother from the Yreka area in Northern California. The wood is difficult to work with, splintery and splits easily but is a rich golden color when finished. Osage Orange wood darkens with exposure to light and elements in the environment [...]
