Archive for the ‘Pens’ Category

9 May

Mahogany & Ash Lamination Slimline Ballpoint Pen

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Mahogany and Ash Lamination, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Sold, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

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 entire tiller only a few months before. An examination of the break showed that the Ash had dry rotted while the Mahogany was just fine. Water had intruded into the wood through screw holes for my tiller extension, and my refinishing had only made it worse by sealing the moisture inside. I decided to make a pen from the broken handle, and this is the result. A friend liked it and bought it from me.



Mechanism: Cross style, and refills are readily available in most office supply stores. The kit is a slimline.

Finish: Bee’s, carnauba, and paraffin wax with mineral oil.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MALSP0009
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Photo by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

8 May

Manzanita Burl Slimline Ballpoint Pen

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Manzanita Burl, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Sold, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

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 my brother-in-law when he admired the first one. I thought I was out of it, but found another smaller piece, just enough for one pen. This pen was purchased for a Father’s day gift and my client had it laser engraved with his dad’s initials.
The wood is nice to turn but because of the burl, the grain of the wood is going in all different directions. This makes for a pretty pen, but a headache for me. A normal pen takes about an hour to make while one of these is closer to three due to the time spent using cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to keep the pieces in one piece. It’s not uncommon to have to soak the pen in CA glue several times to stabilize the wood. You also spend extra time sharpening your tools because the twisted grain demands very sharp tools.

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, and then up to 0000 steel wool. I applied a coat of mineral oil followed by bee’s, carnauba and paraffin wax to put a nice usable finish on it.

Engraving: Laser engraved with initials in Amaze Bold 14 pt. font.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MBSP0008
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

7 May

Holly Slimline Ballpoint Pen

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Holly, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

A couple of years ago, a friend’s house burned down mysteriously. He would eventually sell the property it sat on, but not before cutting down a few trees that had been damaged in the fire. This Holly (Ilex …?, one of 600 or so species – your guess is as good as mine!) was right in front of the house and dying. He gave me several pieces about six feet long and around 8-10″ in diameter. What I didn’t realize when I went out to pick it up was how heavy it was going to be. It was a bit of a grunt getting all the pieces up into my truck, but I finally did.Holly is really nice to work with. It’s very hard, and machines almost like metal, taking a very fine finish right from the knife and doesn’t require a lot of sanding. I made this particular pen for my friend as a thank you & birthday gift. I’m looking forward to making many more things from the Holly he gave me.

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: HSP0007
Status: Gifted but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Photo by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

6 May

Ifil Slimline and Cigar Ballpoint Pens

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Ifil, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

I made these two pens for my brother and his wife. He has supported and encouraged my efforts getting Unique Treen up off the ground, plus he gave me the Ifil that they’re made from. Making pens from Ifil is always an interesting challenge because it’s so finicky. A normal pen takes around an hour to make, an Ifil pen takes more like two or three depending on how grumpy it’s going to be. The cigar style pen (top) takes even longer because they’re more complicated to make. The results though, are striking, don’t you think?
Mechanism: The mechanism in the slimline pen takes a Cross style insert, and a Parker style insert for the cigar pen.  Refills are readily available for both 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 hard candle wax.

Price: US$58 for Cigar Pen, US$35 for Slimline
Item Ref Nos: ICP0006, ISP0005
Status: Gifted but similar pens may be available. Click here to inquire.

6 May

Osage Orange Slimline Ballpoint Pens

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Osage Orange, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Sold, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

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 as shown in the bottom photo. I made the pen at the top for my wife more than five years ago and its original orange color was similar to the newer pens. It now boasts of an exotic golden brown.


Mechanism: Cross style, and refills are 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. They were then finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax and a final polish with paraffin wax.



Price: US$35 per pen
Item Ref No: OOSP0001-4
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

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