First stab at showing my pens

[altaciii]

I really not sure I'm doing this right. This is an unknown root I found in a sandero while hunting. I suspect it prickly pear cactus root torn up while grading the sandero. It looked really interesting and I thought it might make a cool pen. It was also my first attempt to use a ca/blo finish and I seem to have left a couple of small spots dull. They say you are your own worst critic, but I need someone to tell me the truth. HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOTS.

 

[dalemcginnis]

Looks pretty good to me.

 

[Tanner]

Looks OK from here. If you can see dull spots , be careful in heavy handed sanding.

 

[rlharding]

The nib end of the first pic appears to have smudges. It's a well made pen, the fit is good. The body doesn't shine so I like it. I find the CA/Blo finishes to look and feel like plastic.

If you make them all like this, make sure they are nice and clean for pics, improve finish if you wish, you are doing great.

 

[Dan_F]

Looks good from here, interesting blank and history. For finish, if you are not in a hurry, Enduro or Unaxol are easy and durable finishes. Check out the finishing forum using the above products as keywords and you will find a wealth of information.

Dan

 

[R2]

Your hunch was right. That did make an interesting pen.[^]

 

[Ligget]

Beautiful pen, fit and finish is perfect![]

 

[Mather323]

I think that they look very nice, good work!

 

[MichaelS]

Nice pen, always rewarding to make them out of found wood. I also agree that the CA/BLO looks like plastic and would try other finishes. When I hold, use and sell a pen made from a wooden blank I think it should feel and look like wood, not plastic. But then I came to this obsession loving wood and like to turn nothing else. JUST ME AND THE OPINION IS WORTH IT JUST TO ME.

 

[altaciii]

Dan,
I have tried the enduro finish but have found that the finish doesn't harden very quickly. I have had pens sit for 2 days and still have a tendency to come out of the display box with strap marks clearly endented in the finish. I'm now a little gunshy about the enduro on my nicer work.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Well done and a beautiful job of mating the wood color to the kit and plating.
Wats a sandero?

 

[altaciii]

a sandero is the firebreak crisscrossing all the ranches in south texas. If the fire break is used by some of the drilling co. to get to their wells it will have a caliche top. If not, then every year the ranch clears the sandero with a grader.

 

[rjwolfe3]

very nice indeed