My PITH to Martin

[NewLondon88]

It's on the way. My camera kinda sucks.
(that's true except for the 'kinda' part.) But I got a snapshot of the pen
before I sent it off.

It is Verde Antique on a Majestic Squire. Verde is sometimes called
green marble or Connemara marble or serpentine marble. It isn't really
a marble at all, it is one of the serpentinite stones that Vermont is known
for. Doesn't look like much when you see it on the ground or in the river.
But it looks nice when you grind and polish it.

I found drilling and polishing to be an interesting experience.

 

[Lenny]

It looks just like the one I saw on Facebook! :tongue::biggrin:

It's a beauty! Can't begin to imagine how much work it was to get that shaped to size and polished .... to say nothing about drilling a hole in it!

 

[Craftdiggity]

It looks like soapstone, Charlie. Is it soft and workable? I usually get good results working with soapstone and alabaster. The soapstone is generally pretty easy to work with as long as you don't get too aggressive.

 

[TerryDowning]

Awesome pen!

soapstone can be carved by hand with ordinary carbon steel carving tools and can be crumbly.

 

[NewLondon88]

It looks like soapstone, Charlie. Is it soft and workable? I usually get good results working with soapstone and alabaster. The soapstone is generally pretty easy to work with as long as you don't get too aggressive.

I work with soapstone every day. This is much harder than soapstone,
slightly softer than quartz. Roughly 6 or so on the Moh's scale.
(talc is 1, diamond is 10.)

I should mention there are different types of soapstone, too. I'm talking about
the stuff they make countertops and stoves out of. The carving soapstone is
VERY soft because it is mostly talc.. probably 80%. Architectural soapstone
might be only 50% talc. That might be 3-4 on the Moh's scale. Carving soapstone
is probably 1-1.5

 

[MartinPens]

I'm still stalking the postman!
Amazing pen Charlie. I tumble and polish stones from the Oregon coast. I'm gonna love it. I need to get a bigger collection case.
I am sending Charlie all of my alabaster. I can't fathom trying to drill the stuff, let alone work it down to match bushings!
Thanks Charlie! I can't wait and will post more pics on this thread once it arrives

Martin

 

[NewLondon88]

It looks just like the one I saw on Facebook! :tongue::biggrin:

It's a beauty! Can't begin to imagine how much work it was to get that shaped to size and polished .... to say nothing about drilling a hole in it!

I enjoyed drilling the hole so much that I did it about 20 times. :biggrin:

Once I realized it wasn't going to work on the lathe, the hardest part
of grinding was the waiting. You grind until it gets too hot to hold onto,
then put it down to cool off. Every once in a while you'll hit an iron deposit
and watch it turn bright red (polishes up bright silver, though)

 

[Lenny]

Check your inbox .... You've got an order for 4 more for Christmas! :wink: :biggrin:

 

[NewLondon88]

Check your inbox .... You've got an order for 4 more for Christmas! :wink: :biggrin:

um.. my dog ate my lathe. :biggrin:

 

[Jjartwood]

NOW THAT'S A PEN!!
Beautiful work.
Mark

 

[Brooks803]

All the hard work paid off Chuck! I had a hell of a time with basic lapidary work back when I was a kid bc of how patient I had to be. Your finish is stellar! I don't envy you though :tongue:

 

[MartinPens]

As soon as I get unburied from the weekends events I will post more photos. Amazing pen Charlie.