btboone
Member
Here's a rollerball version of my pen. It has African Blackwood spirals, and this one has a brushed finish. I kept the front barrel polished for contrast, and there's a nosecone for the rollerball refill that is brushed. I had to make a lot of fixtures for the parts needed to change it over. The Blackwood gave me fits trying to inlay it today. It is so hard that it's brittle and doesn't want to bend around the spirals. I think I might experiment with veneers to try and knock some time off the spiral part. It probably took 8 hours to do that part alone, and the results were not the same as the Olivewood. One spiral from both the back barrel and base broke out when turning it after gluing. I had to cut the remaining wood in the spirals out, laser cut another tube, and glue the new ones in. It's a lot of work. I'll probably try an all wood one with titanium fittings next. They could sell at a lower price point, and would be tons faster and easier to make.