reaking Down Barriers My inspiration for this pen came from the story in Ezekiel 26:9 where King Nebuchadnezzar used his trusty battering ram to destroy the gates of Tyre. A battering ram was a siege weapon used in ancient times to break open fortification walls or doors. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against an obstacle such as the gates or doors of a fortress. The momentum of the ram would be sufficient to damage the target if the log were heavy enough, or if it were moved quickly enough. My creation started coming together in April. I wanted the wheels to have the feel of logs fastened together, so I segmented and turned each wheel from 15 pieces of wood and veneer. Each wheel is attached to the frame using 7mm tubing for the axle, slimline finials inside and an unknown cap finial for the outside hub. I made washers from cork as spacers between wheel and the siege engine. The frame is built from reclaimed tornado damaged oak using rough cut lumber to simulate battle worn wood. The roof was stripped with oak also for the additional protection it would provide. I took tanned cow leather and cut it to resemble animal skins before attaching them to the roof (these would be soaked with water before battle to extinguish the fiery arrows). I painstakingly made each arrow with toothpicks and what I believe to be pieces of pheasant feathers, attaching each arrow as if had been shot as the attack was starting. The pen is semi kitless. I used tubes from an Imperial for the pen body, and the nib and feed section from an old Olympian that I had parted out previously. The Ebony is charred on the back end as if it had been burned by a fiery arrow. The cap is the all business end of this one. I took copper pipe and split the end to make the spikes to hold the fire. I secured it to the end by using wooden spikes made from toothpicks. After completion I took a limb saw to scrape the ram to create
