Heavy wood?

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secureideas

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Hi all,

Dumb question probably, but I am hoping you all can help. I have a friend that has asked me to make a pen. She is looking for a heavy wood. (She has carpal tunnel and finds that heavier pens help.) So I am looking for advice on what would be a heavy wood but pretty and easier to turn.

Thanks
Kevin
 
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I think Honduran Rosewood Burl would be a great choice. Dense and Beautiful, and it makes a great looking pen.
Best of luck to you.
Rod
 
Heavy generally means that the wood is dense & is generally not easy to turn, so use very sharp tools & be patient.

Some good candidates: most any type of ebony, Osage Orange, lignum vitae, most rosewoods, & one of my favorites - Olivewood!

Here's a link to a wood hardness table that might be helpful. The higher the Janka number, the harder the wood.

Janka Hardness chart for Exotic Wood and Domestic Wood | Bell Forest Products

Janka Harndess is a quick way to compare exotic wood and domestic wood.
www.bellforestproducts.com www.bellforestproducts.com
 
secureideas said:
Hi all,

Dumb question probably, but I am hoping you all can help. I have a friend that has asked me to make a pen. She is looking for a heavy wood. (She has carpal tunnel and finds that heavier pens help.) So I am looking for advice on what would be a heavy wood but pretty and easier to turn.

Thanks
Kevin
Click to expand...
As far as I know, Lignum Vitae is the heaviest wood. It doesn't float. Here's a link. There are other sellers. If I remember, it's about 60 pounds per cubic foot. Extremely hard and closed grain. Sands down very smooth. If you choose to add polish, any friction polish is fine.

Lignum Vitae (Argentine) Pen Blanks | Exotic Wood | Bell Forest Products

Browse & Buy Lignum Vitae (Argentine) Pen Blanks Online.
www.bellforestproducts.com www.bellforestproducts.com
 
If your friend doesn't mind a material other than wood, take a look at Corian. I have made a couple of them and they have a good weight to the. Gonna be a but heavier than wood. My mom has a bit of arthritis in her hands, and that Corian pen is her go to pen.

Dan
 
Does your friend want a heavier wood or a heavier pen overall? I also like a heavier pen and find that added weight of the wood after turning is negligible - though I keep my turns pretty straight without a lot of extra bulk.
 
Plus one for Lignum Vitae;
Ironwood;
Leadwood;
some Amboyna burl heartwood is very dense;
several Aussie "eucalyptus" varieties are very dense.

But - as Darios said, after drilling the barrels out and turning them down, there is not much wood left to add weight. If it's the pure weight your friend would like (as opposed to barrel diameter) just choose a kit with lots of metal that's well balanced.
 

TOP TEN HEAVIEST WOODS

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by Eric Meier
There's just something within human nature that loves to see things ordered and ranked: we want a champion. One might watch a basketball game, where the two teams battle back and forth in lock-step into double overtime, only to have the winning team go ahead by a single basket at the buzzer. Did this necessarily determine who the better team truly was? Maybe, maybe not; but we need finality, we need separation, we need a champion.
With this intrinsic urge in mind, I've compiled a top ten list of the heaviest woods in the world. Keep in mind that wood density can vary by an average of plus or minus 10% between samples (called the coefficient of variation), so it's entirely possible that a sample of the tenth-ranked wood on this list could easily weigh more than a sample of the first ranked wood on this list. Some of these species weigh, on average, only a few tenths of a pound more per cubic foot than their nearest rivals: certainly no conclusive ranking should be inferred from the list. But nonetheless, we want someone to take home the gold medal—we need a champion crowned—so here are the top ten heaviest woods in the world:
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argentine-lignum-vitae-sealed-200x200.jpg

VERAWOOD

(Bulnesia arborea)

74.4 LBS/FT3 (1,192 KG/M3)

Sometimes called Argentine Lignum Vitae, this wood is a gem: inexpensive, great olive-green color, beautiful feathery grain pattern, and it takes a great natural polish on the lathe.
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kingwood-s-200x200.jpg

KINGWOOD

(Dalbergia cearensis)

74.9 LBS/FT3 (1,200 KG/M3)

Kingwood supposedly got its name from several French kings (Louis XIV and Louis XV) that preferred the wood in the use of fine furniture.
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desert-ironwood-134x200.jpg

DESERT IRONWOOD

(Olneya tesota)

75.4 LBS/FT3 (1,208 KG/M3)

This wood is a hobbyist favorite. Too small to be a viable timber tree, this wood's colorful grain and high density are restricted to small specialty projects.
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snakewood-bookmatched-200x200.jpg

SNAKEWOOD

(Brosimum guianense)

75.7 LBS/FT3 (1,212 KG/M3)

It's easy to see what makes Snakewood so unique–its patterns and markings resemble the skin of a snake. Limited supply and high demand make this one of the most expensive woods on earth!
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leadwood-rw-200x200.jpg

LEADWOOD

(Combretum imberbe)

75.8 LBS/FT3 (1,215 KG/M3)

Another exceptionally hard African wood, the name says it all. Leadwood is seldom seen for sale, and is reported to be protected in South Africa–a very elusive timber.
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schinopsis-balansae-145x200.jpg

QUEBRACHO

(Schinopsis spp.)

77.1 LBS/FT3 (1,235 KG/M3)

From the Spanish "quebrar hacha," which literally means "axe breaker." Aptly named, wood in the Schinopsis genus is among the heaviest and hardest in the world.
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lignum-vitae-200x200.jpg

LIGNUM VITAE

(Guaiacum officinale)

78.5 LBS/FT3 (1,257 KG/M3)

Widely accepted as the heaviest wood in the world–this wood has been listed as an endangered species and is listed in CITES. Consider Verawood as a very close substitute.
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african-blackwood-sealed-200x200.jpg

AFRICAN BLACKWOOD

(Dalbergia melanoxylon)

79.3 LBS/FT3 (1,270 KG/M3)

In some parts of the world, this wood has achieved an almost legendary status. Historical evidence points to this wood (rather than Diospyros spp.) being the original "ebony."
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itin-200x200.jpg

ITIN

(Prosopis kuntzei)

79.6 LBS/FT3 (1,275 KG/M3)

This small South American tree could be considered a super-mesquite. Related to mesquite, it's very dark, very dense, and very hard; a good substitute for ebony.
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black-ironwood-148x200.jpg

BLACK IRONWOOD

(Krugiodendron ferreum)

84.5 LBS/FT3 (1,355 KG/M3)

Pieces are very seldom seen for sale, as this tree is too small to produce commercially viable lumber. Like the unrelated Desert Ironwood, Black Ironwood is an excellent choice for small turning projects.
 
Darios said:
Does your friend want a heavier wood or a heavier pen overall? I also like a heavier pen and find that added weight of the wood after turning is negligible - though I keep my turns pretty straight without a lot of extra bulk.
Click to expand...
This statement is dead on. You are not going to notice any difference in weight of wood when turned down as thin as we turn our blanks. You may have to step up to a larger kit such a full size Majestic or Statesman.
 
+1 for deseret ironwood, African blackwood, and any type of rosewood
I often find the denser woods are a joy to work with. People will say "make sure your tools are sharp," and you do have to be a little more vigilant with denser woods in my experience, but we should be making sure our tools are sharp regardless of the wood.

Also +1 on the kit being a bigger influence on the overall heft than the wood, although the wood can make a noticable difference.
 
I no longer use ebony and snakewood. My wood is cracking. Usually not immediately, but sometimes even after more than a year. This wood is very sensitive to heat during drilling, turning and sanding.
 
Lignum Vitae is dense but when turned down , as has been said it's not appreciable "heavier in the hand". Maybe larger kit allowing you to use bigger wall thickness?
Lignum can smell off to some people but finishes beautifully with oil.
 
wimkluck said:
I no longer use ebony and snakewood. My wood is cracking. Usually not immediately, but sometimes even after more than a year. This wood is very sensitive to heat during drilling, turning and sanding.
Click to expand...
Your doing something wrong ! My guess is your cowboying your wood as its not cure/dried/seasoned properly.
Or your not stress relieving the wood ...
Stress relieving is like taking 0.030 amount of wood off the OD and then putting the wood aside for 3 months and then taking another .030 off.
repeating this until the od is the size to want.
I bought out a cue maker, all of his wood had been drying for a decade, that was thirteen years ago.
Most my wood has been drying for 15 to twenty years before I start turning it .
Never had ebony crack on me , never had snake wood crack on me either but haven't turned allot of snake wood like Ihave ebony .

Drill bit getting hot means your not getting the wood chip/cutting out of the hole . and your bit is dull.
 
wimkluck said:
I no longer use ebony and snakewood. My wood is cracking. Usually not immediately, but sometimes even after more than a year. This wood is very sensitive to heat during drilling, turning and sanding.
Click to expand...
I never had that problem with ebony but snake wood is notorious for cracking, usually a few months after turning. It's a beautiful wood and pricey. Someone told me that to prevent this, wait a few months before drilling, drill slowly and then wait a few months before gluing in the tubes. I don't know that will work and I don't want to go through the trouble and expense to find out. I was also told that snake wood can't be stabilized. It's a shame because it's a beautiful wood.
 
BULLWINKLE said:
I never had that problem with ebony but snake wood is notorious for cracking, usually a few months after turning. It's a beautiful wood and pricey. Someone told me that to prevent this, wait a few months before drilling, drill slowly and then wait a few months before gluing in the tubes. I don't know that will work and I don't want to go through the trouble and expense to find out. I was also told that snake wood can't be stabilized. It's a shame because it's a beautiful wood.
Click to expand...
I believe the more dense a wood is the harder it is to stabilize.
 
Lignum vitae does make a nice pen, and as others may have already commented, a finish like Pens Plus seems to work better on it than CA (for me anyway). I typically use it when I am going for a historic or technical aspect as I personally don't find Lignum Vitae particularly attractive.

Coming in just a little lighter than Lignum Vitae however, is Sonoran Desert Ironwood which is one of my very favorites when it comes to color and grain variations. I have also had very good luck finishing it using my standard CA regimen.

Make sure to use a heavy kit to start with. One of my favorites in that category are the Cigar styles. One of my every day carries is a gold Cigar made with a segmented blank of Malachite Simstone and Sonoran Desert Ironwood. I would definitely consider it as being heavy. (pic below).

IMG_2752 Cropped.jpg

Regards,
Dave
 
wimkluck said:
I no longer use ebony and snakewood. My wood is cracking. Usually not immediately, but sometimes even after more than a year. This wood is very sensitive to heat during drilling, turning and sanding.
Click to expand...
I had the same experience with snakewood. I recently heard that someone successfully found a way to stabilize it. Not sure how as it's very dense. Looking into it but it's probably super high priced if it exists. It's expensive enough when it isn't stabilized.
 
BULLWINKLE said:
I had the same experience with snakewood. I recently heard that someone successfully found a way to stabilize it. Not sure how as it's very dense. Looking into it but it's probably super high priced if it exists. It's expensive enough when it isn't stabilized.
Click to expand...
I do stabilize wood myself. Still learning. Dense woods and woods that consists "grease" are not easy to stabilize.
But there are pro's who are able to do it. https://www.kouto.eu/product/snakewood-pen-blank-n001-stabilized/
Yes nice prices.
 
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