I received my PITH from Mark James probably 3 weeks ago. (Mark should get his tomorrow!) Mark went above and beyond in my opinion. He produced a Statesmen RB with Cedar of Lebanon that was given to James Madison by Lafayette after the American Revolution! Being a bit of a history fan (especially of the American Revolution) this was beyond my wildest expectations! The work is awesome! Mark segmented very thin red, white, blue stripes and capped with Spanish cedar. He then burnished the body of the pen with the shavings from the original wood! He included a Certificate of Authenticity that I forgot to take a picture of and some blanks! I will update with that picture later!
Please excuse the photographic skills and just look at the work Mark did!
Thank you Mark!
You are very kind Keith, and I am glad it appeals to you!
Truth be told, I did not realize that you are a fan of Historical Woods (with some experience with them) until after the pen was done!
As for my comment on my finishing skills; I made several prototypes of the final pen with similar wood, and just did not like the appearance/finish. Tried CA, Danish Oil, Dr's Woodshop, Obie's shine juice, etc... Nothing appealed to me, and I really didn't want to screw up the Historical Blank!
So in the end, I went simple... I turned it and applied 1 medium coat of CA to stabilize it, and then turned it back down. Then I sanded it to 400 grit, then burnished it with the shavings - no further finish was applied.
So, an unfinished Statesman blank, from a Statesman's Tree, on a Statesman Kit!
(As a final historical note: I obtained this blank from a sale of DCBluesman's Estate. For those of you unfamiliar with Lou Metcalf, he was an important figure in the early days of IAP, a key member of the Pen Maker's Guild, and a skilled artist. I am proud that a portion of his remaining blanks has been put to good use).
I had never turned a Statesman Kit - That is ONE BIG handful!
But, in the end, notwithstanding the typical self-critique, I was proud to mail it off!
These PITH's are a lot of fun! I turn pens for family and friends and while they are appreciative - they really do not get the level of self-critique that we do to ourselves. Making a pen for another penturner that has made the same mistakes and appreciates the effort involved is a great event.
(OH, Thanks Cody for getting this done!!!)