Aroma Therapy

[Larry in Harrow]

A few months go I made an Olive Modified Slimline and applied absolutely no finish as a test piece. I wanted to see if the natural oils in olive would protect the pen and if the wonderful smell of the wood would last. So far so good. The family has been using the pen daily and it still smells great.
This is the slimline today:

I decided to expand the experiment, mostly because friends wanted some of the olive.
The results:

Two of the pens are Majestic Squires:

The other two are Perfect Fits:

The shop sure smells good. Great not having to play with all that CA and sanding/polishing.
You might ask yourself, if you had a pen that you know had no finish but you just loved the smell of it, "would you take better care of it?".
Anyway so far so good with my old Slim.
Thanks for looking.

 

[Crickett]

Great looking pens, Larry!!!
I'm wondering if another oily wood would have the same results?

 

[phillywood]

Larry, beautiful pens. As a matter of fact, a good friend her eon line sent me a blank of BOW and i only have one, but I was wondering why if this wood that smells good needs to be covered with CA and now I see it done the way i was thinking.
I have a qsn., doesn't the oil from the wood leave any smudges on the paper if you hold it in your hand and play with pen like when you are thinking of what to write. Olive oil+ body finger oil= any smudges?

 

[Larry in Harrow]

I'm wondering if another oily wood would have the same results?

Hi Marla,
The whole object is the great smell of olive but probably other oily woods are candidates for finishless.

Larry, beautiful pens. As a matter of fact, a good friend her eon line sent me a blank of BOW and i only have one, but I was wondering why if this wood that smells good needs to be covered with CA and now I see it done the way i was thinking.
I have a qsn., doesn't the oil from the wood leave any smudges on the paper if you hold it in your hand and play with pen like when you are thinking of what to write. Olive oil+ body finger oil= any smudges?

Haven't noticed any problem with smudging. The wood isn't that oily. Actually handling the pen warms it up and the aroma becomes stronger. Adds to the experience.

 

[Bellsy]

Great looking pens Larry.

Dave

 

[keithlong]

Great looking pens, Larry.

 

[Whaler]

Beautiful work Larry. I have never left a pen natural but it's a great ideas I did a Champhor Burl pen some time back and thought at the time it was a shame to seal the aroma in.

 

[David Keller]

Lovely work... Too bad I can't smell them through the monitor.

 

[boxerman]

Wow those pens are beautiful.

 

[greggas]

Many times I leave my pens simply burnished because they feel so warm and comfortable in the hand. I find many of my clients like wood unfnished and even though it ages with a natural "patina" they see, to enjoy that as well.

I do love both the look and smell of olive.

Never occured to me to leave it burnished for the aroma...nice idea Larry

 

[robutacion]

Hi Larry,

Great pieces of Olive wood you got on those pens mate, well done...!

I'm not surprised that you decided to keep the olive wood in its natural form, there is, no chemicals over the wood...!

I have many Olive wood made pieces that were left natural after sanded for the very same reason. There is no secret what Olive wood represents to me and how much I like to work with and smell it, I'm fortunate to have plenty of this wood to play with but there is a "natural" way to "preserve" Olive wood in its natural condition, something used in the old days when many items in the kitchen were made of Olive wood. Pure Olive oil is a wood preservative in any wood, a perfect "marriage" to protect natural Olive wood surfaces.

This will become more crucial when the surface of the wood has been exposed for some time. The natural oil in the wood does not "bleed" therefore is no problem in handling the olive wood made pen after is made but, after a little while the wood surface will start darken from constant use. This darkness is a combination of dust/dirt and the reaction of the salt from our hands.

One of the best ways to clean/replenish Olive wood surfaces that are natural (no chemicals used), is to use fine steel wool to clean the wood surface and then rub it with some pure Olive oil with a soft cloth. I like to apply 2 coats with 48 hours in between, the first coat becomes a protective coat and the second/last coat is the "wearing" coat. In a pen, and depending of how much use really the pen is subjected to, ideally the cleaning up should be done when the last coat/wearing is gone, this is normally noticed by the tendency of the wood to start darkening.

Natural Olive wood items, left in its natural condition, do require a little maintenance no doubt, something that most of those that make the decision of leaving that like are perfectly aware of, as the benefits/enjoyment/pleasures one can experience from its natural smells, is well worth it...!

Cheers
George

 

[Larry in Harrow]

Thanks George, I'm still saving up for that order. I really enjoy working this stuff. This particular olive came from California and it is very aromatic. It's just now getting dry enough to use.

 

[ctubbs]

That is a wonderful collection of gorgeous pens, Larry. Thanks for the great idea, and thanks to George for the related info, too.
Charles

 

[robutacion]

Thanks George, I'm still saving up for that order. I really enjoy working this stuff. This particular olive came from California and it is very aromatic. It's just now getting dry enough to use.

Yes, Californian Olive wood can be of high grade and quality, I have heard of its strong aroma. I can't really make any aroma comparably comments to any of the Olive woods I used since a little kid from different locations, including those that I have found her in my neck of the woods, the Fleureau Peninsula, is South Australia, as I never had any Californian Olive to compared with but, most of the best Olive tree species that have originated from Countries like Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal, and planted all over the world, are indeed, the best there are and the aromas are identical, as far as I know...!

One of the major problems in sending heavy/dense woods such as the Olive wood overseas, is the shipping costs that are a truly killer, particularly from Australia outwards and until very recently (a few weeks back) I wasn't aware of any limitation in the blanks size Canada Customs will allow in the country regardless if they are treated/sealed/waxed or not, or if they are in or within the 20kg limit box allowed, just ask Bruce (Gofer) about this, he will tell you a sad story...!

In any case, I hope that I will be able to help you out when you're ready...!:wink:

Cheers
George

 

[Rangertrek]

Great looking work on the olive wood, looks like you got carried away with it.
I have not tried it without a finish, but you have inspired me to give it a try. I have some nice blanks on hand.