What is this pen blank?

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Dan Masshardt

Dan Masshardt

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Got it in a box of stuff. Seems like wood but ?
 

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greggas said:
hard to tell from the pics but the side view seems to show an open grain structure ...perhaps bog oak or Asian Ebony
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I've worked with bog oak before. Doesn't seen like it In person. It doesn't seem heavy enough either.

I was wondering ebony or black wood? I've never worked with either.
 
NittanyLion said:
Slice off a very small slice and burn it. You will be able to tell from the smell if it is wood or horn.
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not a bad idea. The idea of smelling horn doesn't seem pleasant though. It would seem like horn would be hard and smooth? This seems to have grain and I can easily whittle off it with a razor knife.

I don't 'need' to know, I just wanted to know if there are pitfalls to turning / finishing whatever it is. And what sort of kit to use it with based his interesting it is.
 
Dan, to keep you from having to smell that horn (?) and encounter pitfalls, I urge you to box it up and send it to me. I will take care of it. hahahaha

Ray
 
I still have a few blanks of the Philippine Persimmon and that blank looks too small in diameter. My guess is that it is Water Buffalo horn. If you want to know for sure, make a really nice looking pen out of it and wait a month or so until a big crack runs up the side of the blank; then you'll know it horn;)

Jim Smith
 
SteveG said:
If it is horn, you should expect it to crack at some point after making the pen. Horn (nearly) always cracks.
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Incorrect. Not all horn cracks. A good bulk of the horn that is misused, abused, worked improperly, handled improperly and the like cracks etc.

Dan,

horn looks like this. Put it under strong light and you will quickly see it.
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Powder that crushes easily sounds like polyresin. The outside looks like polyresin (rarely see wood that shines from the outside and also rarely see wood in rods.)

Any horn will smell.
 
"Stink" is in the nose of the beholder!!

Dawn and I don't mind the smell of polyresin in the kitchen. There are many threads about the repulsive smell of polyresin.

As you play with exotic materials, you will learn the characteristic aromas (odors), then identifying becomes much easier. Unfortunately, we don't yet have long distance smell transfer, so I can't help you from here.

Ed
 
It's really hard to tell in the photos in your first post but does it look anything like this:



This is an acrylic with a good grain texture that is powdery when drilled.
 
The shavings is not that of ebony, ebonite or horn. Same with the color.

Few questions, you said flakes and crumbles. Is there a residue on your skin, it is chalky, soot like, paste?

From the shavings image it appears to be some type of compressed, composite material. Add to that the color change and reflection patterns in the first image I would have to wager $ on it being some type of man made material like that. M3 maybe?
 
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ed4copies said:
Powder that crushes easily sounds like polyresin. The outside looks like polyresin (rarely see wood that shines from the outside and also rarely see wood in rods.)

Any horn will smell.
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Gaboon (Gabon) Ebony is sold in dowels, turns to a powder, and polishes w/o finish. It's used a lot in making musical instruments (piano keys, fingerboards, tuning pegs). I'm going to pull out a piece when I get back to the house tonight and take a pic or two.

Wish I could remember the place that had the dowels so cheap, I'm running low. It wasn't a normal turners' shop, it was for luthiers.
 
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LagniappeRob said:
Gaboon (Gabon) Ebony is sold in dowels, turns to a powder, and polishes w/o finish. It's used a lot in making musical instruments (piano keys, fingerboards, tuning pegs). I'm going to pull out a piece when I get back to the house tonight and take a pic or two. Wish I could remember the place that had the dowels so cheap, I'm running low. It wasn't a normal turners' shop, it was for luthiers.
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Rob - If it is this, any problems with cracking etc?
 
This is one of my very first pens. Maybe even first 50. From over 10 years ago. I purchased the ebony as a pen blank. Probably turned it within a few weeks or month from purchase. And it cracked horribly within a few weeks. So I filled the lower crack. Still carry it around. Rotated the clip off the upper crack. Hope it shows through.
 

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Here's a pic of one of the dowels I have left. I used most of the darker ones. Gaboon comes in various shades from brown to pitch black -which is what is sought for musical instruments.

Yes, I've had problems with cracking. I know it does not like temperature extremes.
 

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