Wood choice

[seht]

I'm sure this question will get lots of different answers, but here goes.

I have been making pens for about a year now, and most of my wood choices have been pretty what I would call Generic.

I have the opportunity to show some pens to a local gallery and I was looking for some wood choices that would WOW.

So if you got to bring 2 pens what would your wood choices be?

Thanks

Scott

 

[jthompson1995]

good amboyna burl and curly koa

 

[Dario]

Scott,

Lets back out a bit...what kit are you going to use? What plating?

These info will help determine your best choice.

 

[seht]

Originally posted by Dario
<br />Scott,

Lets back out a bit...what kit are you going to use? What plating?

These info will help determine your best choice.

Well the plating will depend on the colors of the wood. Since my plating choices are limited and the wood isn't, I always try to match the plating to the wood.

As far as kits go, I'm probably going to end up with Barons and Cigars. I don't have enough confidence to buy the really expensive kits yet. But I'm also not going to pass up the opportunity to show them my pens. I was recommended by a mutual acquaintance who liked the pen I had made for her and thought that her friends who owned the gallery would like the pens also.

So while the pens may not be comparable to some of the works of art I have seen here, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to show my work to them. That's why I am looking for a stunning wood to help offset the fact that it isn't an Emperor pen.

Thanks

Scott

 

[wudnhed]

Dario is right, not knowing the kit and plating would be hard to pick wood. I do like the wood that Jason picked. I keep trying to get some two tone amboyna burl but the bid always gets too high on ebay[!] Goo Luck in your choice!

 

[kent4Him]

I would add Buckeye Burl, Bethlehem Olive wood, Good Costa Rican Cocobolo, Ambrosa Maple, Cherry Burl to Jason's list.

 

[Dario]

Scott,

Didn't say you need upscale kits...the reason I asked the kit and plating is that some wood may look stunning on a certain kit/plating and not on another. You definitely don't want to pass up this opportunity and we will help you as much as possible []

I love using darker woods or rich colored ones as much as possible.
You can't go wrong with;
Amboyna, Afzelia burl, curly Koa, Cocobolo, Desert Ironwood, Buckeye, Red Mallee, Snakewood, Bubinga, Buckeye, etc.

That said, wood varies so much unless we see the choice we really can't tell.

Good luck!!!

 

[seht]

awesome that gives me some woods to look for. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Dario]

Also, I find that Platinum is usually easier to match with any wood (Chrome is too) as compared to Gold (TN or not)

 

[KP]

Scott, I'd say it also depends on your intended "audience". I find that the pens that get a lot of attention when I carry them (I don't sell, just a hobby) are woods with a dramatic appearance that most non-woodworkers don't realize exists. For example, I had a tulipwood pen at work yesterday, and folks were amazed by the red and yellow colors - they'd never seen wood that looked like that. So you might want to think about some exotic, such as the bloodwood that has yellow streaks in it that Beartoothwoods had recently. Or something like macadamia, I just got some blanks from Rob here, and they are astonishing even to me.

Just a thought.

Ken

 

[seht]

Well I found a good deal on some Koa on ebay tonight. I'll post some photos when I get them built. Thanks for the suggestions!