Russknan
Member
I've just completed my first two pens made from ipe wood from the old Coney Island Boardwalk. For those who may not know about it, the Boardwalk was quite extensive, and has been there for over 100 years. It was made of ipe, a South American hardwood which may be difficult to come by now(?) Regardless, it is extremely hard and dense, requiring that chisels be sharpened at least a couple of times while turning one blank. It's also rather brittle when cut on the diagonal (blew out one blank while trimming.)
Anyway, for some reason, the City of New York decided to replace the whole boardwalk with a synthetic. (Don't get me started!) It's a pity because, if you could see a cross section of this wood, you would discover that, after 100 years, salt spray, all kinds of weather, and countless feet, the weathering extends only about 1/16" into the wood! It probably would have been good for a couple hundred more years. NYC's solution? Dump it in a landfill. Regardless, somebody managed to salvage some of it, and gave me a couple of small pieces. These are the first pens I've turned from it.
Each pen is of a design I haven't tried before. I've decided to experiment with various styles of click pens to see which one(s) I like. In terms of feel in the hand and quality of feel of the click mechanism, I like the Aero better than the Gatsby. Although I have turned a bunch of Gatsby pens where the refill is extended by rotating the top and I like them a lot, the clicker has a bit of a "rattle" when the mechanism is depressed and you are writing or moving the pen around. Otherwise, it feels good and writes well, too. I also discovered that, for me, it was best NOT to follow the PSI assembly directions. Doing so caused me to pop out part of the click mechanism initiating a treasure hunt in the workshop to go find it. Assembling the click mechanism from the top with a small pair of needle nose pliers worked much better. I've not heard anybody comment on this here before, so maybe it's just me . . .
The top pen was made with a straight cut, and the bottom with a diagonal cut. I like the looks of the straight cut a little better . . . and it's WAY easier to turn. Lesson for the future although, due to difficulty of turning (this stuff is HARD!!) I'm going to need a little time to forget the pain before I decide to turn another.
The first pen will go to the guy who supplied me with the wood. The second will go to my daughter who works at the Coney Island Museum. I think it will fit her hand a little better, too. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's really tough to get past the reflections from the barrel of the pen. It's essentially chrome and gun metal. There will definitely be more of that style of pen (albeit with different blanks) in my future.
Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or palm readings (in the spirit of Coney Island) are welcome!
Russ
Anyway, for some reason, the City of New York decided to replace the whole boardwalk with a synthetic. (Don't get me started!) It's a pity because, if you could see a cross section of this wood, you would discover that, after 100 years, salt spray, all kinds of weather, and countless feet, the weathering extends only about 1/16" into the wood! It probably would have been good for a couple hundred more years. NYC's solution? Dump it in a landfill. Regardless, somebody managed to salvage some of it, and gave me a couple of small pieces. These are the first pens I've turned from it.
Each pen is of a design I haven't tried before. I've decided to experiment with various styles of click pens to see which one(s) I like. In terms of feel in the hand and quality of feel of the click mechanism, I like the Aero better than the Gatsby. Although I have turned a bunch of Gatsby pens where the refill is extended by rotating the top and I like them a lot, the clicker has a bit of a "rattle" when the mechanism is depressed and you are writing or moving the pen around. Otherwise, it feels good and writes well, too. I also discovered that, for me, it was best NOT to follow the PSI assembly directions. Doing so caused me to pop out part of the click mechanism initiating a treasure hunt in the workshop to go find it. Assembling the click mechanism from the top with a small pair of needle nose pliers worked much better. I've not heard anybody comment on this here before, so maybe it's just me . . .
The top pen was made with a straight cut, and the bottom with a diagonal cut. I like the looks of the straight cut a little better . . . and it's WAY easier to turn. Lesson for the future although, due to difficulty of turning (this stuff is HARD!!) I'm going to need a little time to forget the pain before I decide to turn another.
The first pen will go to the guy who supplied me with the wood. The second will go to my daughter who works at the Coney Island Museum. I think it will fit her hand a little better, too. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's really tough to get past the reflections from the barrel of the pen. It's essentially chrome and gun metal. There will definitely be more of that style of pen (albeit with different blanks) in my future.
Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or palm readings (in the spirit of Coney Island) are welcome!
Russ
