Barrel Wood Coming to McKenzie Penworks

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Joined
Mar 11, 2012
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797
Location
Fuquay Varina, NC
Do you have a market for pens, rings, etc made from barrel wood? McKenzie Penworks has partnered with a local family business to bring a HUGE selection of barrel wood to our website. We'll be launching it next week with pen blanks and ring blanks with mix and match discounts. To get notified when they launch head to our website ( http://mckenziepenworks.com ) and sign up for the newsletter at the bottom. We'll be providing a special offer for our newsletter subscribers.... You like free blanks right????

We'll be launching with 14 barrels (each barrel is listed separately and we number the blanks) and already have 6+ more waiting on the story cards to be completed. I know a lot of people offer barrel wood but we're hoping we can be your one stop shop with hard to find brands and great discounts!
 

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penicillin

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Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
1,036
Obviously the smoky black part comes off during turning, unless you cut and re-glue it or something like that. The question I want to ask is:

Does the pen blank retain some reminiscent fragrance of the aged liquor after pen is turned, or is it basically an oak blank with an interesting history and documentation?
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
797
Location
Fuquay Varina, NC
So you can retain the char if you do it right. You just have to drill offset a bit so you're right at the char on your finished diameter. I believe Stadium Pen Blanks has a great offset drilling tutorial either on their website or youtube.

Not my photo but this gives you an idea:
162751851_10106520866907607_995617971192019947_n.jpg

As for the smell, you'll ABSOLUTELY smell these when you're turning them. Once you put a finish on it, that smell will be covered up. You could retain a small piece though I suppose to go with it for the smell. We're making these a full 6" long so there's enough for 2 Sierra pens and leftover from a capped pen.

As with most things, it's really about the story. Bourbon/Whiskey is hot right now and it's a great story that sells pens. Each local area probably has a "Bourbon and Banter" type group on Facebook, etc that loves all things Bourbon. A local here that makes pens has orders for about 15-20 pens now after posting just one from blanks we sold him and not even really advertising.
 

penicillin

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Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
1,036
Thanks for the answers.

A CA finish would definitely seal and cover up the bourbon "bouquet", but I wonder if there are other finishes (say, a basic oil finish without wax) that would allow the fragrance to come through. An oil finish would be less durable than CA, obviously.

Sounds like a great opportunity for those who want to market to the "Bourbon and Banter" groups. I am not much of a Bourbon drinker myself, but am always on the lookout for unique gifts for friends and family.

Here is my favorite bourbon:

Red-Apple-Bourbon-Gouda-202005.jpg
 
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