A pen for my mentor

[JimGo]

I posted a thread late last week asking for suggested materials for an Emperor pen, and of course got a LOT of great suggestions. Unfortunately, there wasn't one clear winner; everyone seemed to have a favorite wood. So, I decided to simply go with what looked most interesting from my stock when compared to the kit. After a consultation with my style consultant (a.k.a. wife), I decided on Box Elder Burl. I had a stabilized blank from Bill B., and it promptly exploded when drilling for the cap. Fortunately, I had another piece that was a close match, and the pen below is the result. CA and CA/BLO finish (several coats of CA as a sanding sealer, sanded to 12000 MM, then CA/BLO finish sanded to 12000 MM).

As always, comments, critiques, etc. are welcome. About the only thing I can see that's wrong is that the cap seems to not QUITE be square; I'll need to turn another set of "adapters" for my barrel trimmer next time I make an Emperor.

Oh, and please let me know which of the closed pictures you like better; I can't decide. I'm still working on my technique with my new photo booth.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my previous thread, and to those who respond here!

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/forum/albums/JimGo/DSCN3984a.JPG


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[PenWorks]

Good choice Jim, wonderfull pen, I am sure he will cherish it.

 

[LanceD]

The kit and the wood is a wonderful match and definately one to be proud of.

 

[Pipes]

Ditto very nice []





http://affordablepipes.com/

 

[airrat]

Nice match up. GratZ

 

[EdwinSSIV]

Another very beautiful pen Jim

 

[wdcav1952]

Jim, excellent work. I am sure that this pen will be a treasured possession for a long time.

In response to your picture question, I like the first picture best. At least on my screen the color is deeper. The second two pictures appear slightly washed out in comparison.

 

[pete00]

nice pen !! first picture looks better to me as well.....pete

 

[gerryr]

Good choice. The wood and the kit go very nicely together.

 

[alamocdc]

Jim you did a very nice job on the pen and I'm with Cav in that I prefer the first pic as well. [^] I'm not trying to be mean, buddy, but that looks more like Buckeye burl than Box Elder. Is it died? I've never seen spalted Box Elder so I don't know if it would mimic Buckeye like Cypress Knee does. One more thing. I've read (as have we all) that you don't really want a blank with a lot going on for an Emperor because it would compete with the detail of the hardware. I thought, "Yeah, right!... I'll show you!" But looking at this pen (as beatiful as it is) I think I'm beginning to see and a more understated blank may have been a better choice. But that's just me.

 

[Johnathan]

Great looking pen.

 

[Dario]

Nice pen and good save.

I agree the first pic is the best of the 3. Still have some flashed/bright area but much better than the other 2.

 

[OSCAR15]

awesome looking pen great job

 

[jdavis]

Mentor should be very proud. Very nice pen

 

[JimGo]

Thanks for all the nice comments. Billy, no offense is taken at all; I actually agree with you. I had been trying to find one or two blanks with as much grey as possible, to avoid the major color changes. I think a solid color blank probably would have looked better in the long run. This pen is still going to him, though!

As for the burl, you may be right; it may be buckeye. But I thought buckeye was from sunflower seed husks, where this stuff is actually harvested from a tree.

 

[alamocdc]

LOL!!! Jim, you're thinking of Dakota burl... it's made from compressed and glued sunflower seeds.

 

[its_virgil]

Jim,
An absolutely gorgeous pen. I too think the wood is buckeye and not box elder. I don't think the wood overpowers the pen kit at all. A great job on the wood and kit choice. I vote for the first picture, but the second pic is good too!
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Skye]

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />I'm not trying to be mean, buddy, but that looks more like Buckeye burl than Box Elder.

I was going to say the same thing. I figured it was Buckeye when I saw it.

 

[mick]

Jim beautiful pen. I too was of the opinion that you needed an understated wood for the Emperor...until I saw this one. I likes .........a lot!! []
Now to show I actually read your post...I like the first CLOSED picture best. Although both seem almost overexposed (can you overexpose with a digital camera.....lol), the first has deeper color.

 

[elody21]

Absolutely stunning! Alice

 

[Randy_]

Nice job, Jim!! That pen will be treasured by your friend. As to pictures, the first picture is the best. It is very difficult to get a proper exposure with a black background. Try something lighter like a gray or tan or beige. If you get one of the pen mags,look at some of their pictures and see what they use.

As to the sunflower husk blanks, CSUSA calls them "DAKOTA BURL."

 

[ed4copies]

Jim,

You don't NEED any more ooooohhhhs and aaaaahhhhhs,

so, woooowwwwwwww!

I also thought the emperor should use plain blanks, but this really does look good-nice job!!! And thanks for your e-mail advice, I am working on it.

 

[Draken]

Looking good there Jim, he'll certainly appreciate it. I concur on the photos, the third one looks a bit overexposed/washed out, the middle one is much better.

Cheers,
Draken

 

[badwin]

Great looking pen and wood choice.
Brian
http://www3.telus.net/public/goodwinp

 

[stinger]

I think the pen looks fantastic. I think the first photo looks best to me.