Guardians and a Slim

[D.Oliver]

Here is a Guardian dressed in Bocote.



This a Guardian Jr. dressed in Cottonwood crotchwood. Some of you might recall I posed a Cigar from the same wood a while back. Both pieces had some bug holes in them. On the cigar I filled the holes with sanding dust and CA. The dust turned a darker color than the surrounding wood and stuck out like a sore thumb. On this one I filled the holes with CA only and they are almost invisble.


The last offering is something from my "I gotta try that list". Its a slim in Honey Locus that I burned lines into.



Comments and critique welcome

 

[Jon-wx5nco]

That cottonwood looks great! I mean they all look great, but I really like that cottonwood blank
Jon

 

[seamus7227]

I love that honey locust slimline! Very well done on all 3!

 

[Rick_G]

Really like that cottonwood. Not sure about the kit but the blank and finish look great. As you found out small holes as long as they don't show the brass can be filled with CA and they will virtually disappear. Many extra coats but worth it in the end.

 

[D.Oliver]

That cottonwood looks great! I mean they all look great, but I really like that cottonwood blank
Jon

Really like that cottonwood. Not sure about the kit but the blank and finish look great. As you found out small holes as long as they don't show the brass can be filled with CA and they will virtually disappear. Many extra coats but worth it in the end.

Thanks Jon and Rick. That cottonwood pen really finished well despite my involvement! I made this for my grandmother who has arthritis and wanted a bigger pen and also it had to be ballpoint. I made a Guardian (top picture), Jr. Guardian (middle picture), an Atlas, and a Cigar (the one I mentioned that was made out of the same cottonwood) and let her test drive them all. She chose the Jr. Guardian.

I love that honey locust slimline! Very well done on all 3!

Thanks Seamus. I thought a light wood would show off the burn lines a little better and it just so happens that this was the first light colored wood blank I came across.

 

[Dalecamino]

Outstanding work Derek. Good job dealing with the holes. The burn lines are in good locations too. The finish looks good as well. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[WoodWorkinthe530]

Three great pens there, the Cottonwood has a fantastic silky look to it.

The burning on the honey Locus is a nice touch. I have been thinking of doing some burning but the question I have is how does the finish work? I do a CA finish on about 90% of my wood pens and stoppers and I'm concerned about the CA filling the burn lines. How is the Honey Locus finished?

 

[D.Oliver]

Outstanding work Derek. Good job dealing with the holes. The burn lines are in good locations too. The finish looks good as well. Thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks Chuck. Give me a metal lathe and a hundred or so years and I might even catch up to you!

Three great pens there, the Cottonwood has a fantastic silky look to it.

The burning on the honey Locus is a nice touch. I have been thinking of doing some burning but the question I have is how does the finish work? I do a CA finish on about 90% of my wood pens and stoppers and I'm concerned about the CA filling the burn lines. How is the Honey Locus finished?

I finished the honey locus with CA just like any other pen. Then I use the point of skew a make a groove through the CA finsish to the wood below. I then hold the wire in that groove until it smokes. Don't use a lot of pressure because it will cut through the wood and the tube, but you must use a little pressure to create the needed friction. It helps to speed the lathe up too. I would imagine there are other and probably better ways to do it, but that how I did it.

 

[jaeger]

How do you like the clicks on the Guardians? Is the Jr still kind of fat?

I probably should just try a couple click pens until I find one that I like.

 

[rizaydog]

Looks like some nice pens there. Great job.

 

[D.Oliver]

There is a little play in each of them. I have only done one other click pen so I really can't compare these to other styles. The Guardian Jr. is still a fat pen, but more comparable to the upper barrel of a Cigar style pen. Maybe just a smidge bigger than the cigar upper barrel.