Sorry this comment is a little late. I've thrown it on the lathe before, but never in the form of a pen. It is fairly easy to turn, but the piece I had (about 3/4" wide) was fairly open-grained without much tight figuring. A larger, older vine like the one you have might have a tighter grain than what I turned. It has nice alternating bands of black and white. Good luck, and post some pictures of your finished products!