I wonder if they need to be oiled periodically like horn, or something? The little Buddha and Tara statues I bought haven't cracked over 10 years, but they are substantially thicker than a pen blank...Brian, I have made quite a few pens from tagua nuts. The nut turns well and the aroma is exquisite. The down side is that over time, it cracks and you may have to repair as best as you can. I purchased my tagua nuts from Lee Valley Tools.
Well, crap. I guess I got a bit excited a bit too quick. I guess I'll need to get the nuts and see what I can get out of them, then. **grumbles** Thanks for pointing that out. I thought they had just layered slices or something.tagua nuts are indeed a nut - with a void in the middle. The item you linked to looks like a pale ivory-coloured polyester resin plastic...
. . . larger nuts having smaller voids. (Is it just because I'm a psychiatrist that that sounds vaguely obscene? . . . .