Briar & Spalted Maple Burl Havanas

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woodpens

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Here are a couple Havana rollerball pens I made today. The first one is made of spalted Maple Burl. The second one is Briar like many pipes are made from. The body of the Briar pen was made extra large at the customer's request. I wish the finish would show up better in the pictures. I used CA, and they came about absolutely glossy. These are probably my best finishes yet, but you really can't tell by the pics.
SpMapleO.jpg

BriarO.jpg
 
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woodpens

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They are pretty easy to make, Lou. They do take a good 3/4" blank. The largest of the two lower bushings goes at the end of the pen rather than at the nib end like most kits. You part 1/8" of wood from the cap down to the brass to make room for the center band. I enjoy making them because they show off the wood real well, and the parts are very good quality.
 

woodpens

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Thanks for alll the comments! I don't have much experience with Briar, but all I have ever had were about the same shade as this one. I am sure Pipemaker could provide more info on Briar.
 

pipemaker

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Those are some great looking pens Jim.

Here are 4 pics of briar

U/L Natural color
U/R Black understain sanded off. This is actually leather dye. Most
pipemakers use some type of understain to highlight the grain. I don't see why this couldn't be applied to many of the woods used in penturning.
L/L Briar after 1 year of smoking and handling
L/R After 5 years

I have used briar for miniature file handles, and the darkening effect seems to be due more to handling than smoking.
A simple carnuba wax top coat allows the skin oils to penetrate the wood, and results in a nice satin patina effect

2005228163457_briar.jpg
<br /> .
 

Gary

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Very nice work, Jim. I have some similar briar that I'm anxious to turn. I hope mine looks that good.
 

woodpens

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Originally posted by wdcav1952
<br />Nice work, as usual, Jim. I thought I was going to get some briar on Ebay, but got outbid. How did the briar turn compared to the woods we generally use?
Briar turns easily. It had kind of a wet feel like Thuya or Desert Ironwood. It took a CA finish very well. Based on what Pipemaker said, I would consider putting nothing but a coat of TSW on my next one to promote the darkening. The grain looks pretty neat up close. There are rays shooting out from a spot on the cap. I can see why the pipe makers use the dye.
 
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