13 Jul

Peruvian Walnut & Osage Orange .50 Caliber BMG Pens

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Osage Orange, Pens, Pens - 0.50 Caliber BMG, Pens - Ballpoint, Peruvian Walnut, Sold, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

49OO-50PW-50BMGP2
49OO-50PW-50BMGP

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.

13 Jul

Osage Orange & Mpingo 24-Carat Gold Fountain Pens

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

45OOFP2

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.

45OOFP

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 …



48MFP

48MFP2

48MFP3 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.

29 Jun

A fresh look and some new treen …

Posted by uniquetreen in Handmade, Treen.

We thought a ‘greener pasture’ with more defined columns in contrasting colors provides for a better showing of unique treen and hope that you agree. The paging features of this new template also allow me to easily share treen care tips and interesting wood-related tidbits as well as some FAQs that are expected of shopping sites. These pages will be up in the near future.

Meanwhile, here’s a peep at more pens, two wine bottle stoppers and a bowl I made in between trips to acquire some exotic wood these past two weeks …

PenStopperBowl

I’ll describe each item in their individual stories, coming up next.

9 Jun

Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pens

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

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

8 Jun

Ipé Slimline Ballpoint Pen

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

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 density makes it difficult to work, and it quickly dulls your tools. I acquired this particular lot of Ipé from a guy who started building a deck from it and discovered he was allergic to it. He sold me all his decking and was glad to see it gone. Although the wood is a dark brown in color, the saw dust is actually green for some reason. It’s also a pretty good irritant, so, if you don’t wear a mask, you’ll probably be coughing for a couple of days afterwards. The wood takes a lustrous finish and you’ll like the heaviness of the pen.



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: IpéSP0028
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Photo by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

4 Jun

Black & White Ebony Slimline Ballpoint Pen

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Black and White Ebony, Handmade, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

This pen is 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. 

The two blanks for this pen were cut from the same piece of wood but the black lace only showed up in the upper piece. Striking, huh?

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: BWESP0015
Status: Gifted but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.

Photo by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

3 Jun

Alder and Ifil Slimline Ballpoint Pens

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

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 because it’s very straight grained and easy to turn, but when turning pens, it likes to split on the brass barrels when it gets thin, making it a pain to deal with. Still worth the trouble as the pen is an elegant piece.

Ifil on the other hand is almost schizophrenic, the dark wood you see is hard as rock, and the lighter beige is almost rotten soft. I have to turn the blank down close to it’s final dimension, then soak it in cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to stabilize the punky beige part so it’ll turn more like the harder dark sections. In the end it makes for a beautiful pen, and the two-tone look is very striking. My brother gave me the Ifil which is a South East Asian wood as far as I know. I have not been able to find more information about this wood. The Alder (alnus rubr) is from a fallen tree on a friend’s property in Sultan, here in Washington State.

Mechanisms: Both are Cross style mechanisms, made from Slimline pen kits.


Finish: The Alder pen was finished with mineral oil, bee’s & carnauba wax. The Ifil pen was finished with a mixture of turpentine, shellac, bee’s & carnauba waxes and mineral oil.

Price: US$35 per pen.
Item Ref No: ASP0020, ISP0019
Status: Sold but similar pens may be available. Click here to inquire.

31 May

Osage Orange Salt Bowl

Posted by uniquetreen in Available for Custom Order, Bowls, Handmade, Osage Orange, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

This little bowl is made from Osage Orange and is designed to hold sea salt for the cook who likes to be able to pinch in some some salt to whatever they’re cooking. It also serves very well as a saucer for dipping sauces which is what my wife is currently using it for.


Finish: The bowl 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.



Dimensions: 2-inch diameter, 1/2-inch deep.


Price: US$23
Status: Available for customer order. Click here to inquire.

11 May

Mpingo Slimline Ballpoint Pen

Posted by uniquetreen in African Blackwood, Available for Custom Order, Handmade, Mpingo, Pens, Pens - Ballpoint, Sold, Treen, Unique Gifts, Wood.

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 black, there are reddish undertones that just don’t seem to photograph well, but take it into the sun and you’ll be surprised to see that it’s not actually black.

Mechanism: Cross style Slimline pen kit. Refills are readily available in most office supply stores.

Finish: Sanded to 0000 steel wool, then finished with bee’s, carnauba & paraffin wax with mineral oil.

Price: US$35
Item Ref No: MSP0012
Status: Sold but a similar pen may be available. Click here to inquire.



Photo by Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

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

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