I've always been kind of amused by dealers that sell wood of historical or popular importance. While I don't have reason to believe they aren't selling something legit, the little printed out pieces of paper that pose as a "certificate of authenticity" always crack me up. Short of there being some evidence the wood was associated with the place (like familiar paint or markings on the actual wood), I don't feel confident buying it.
I recently visited Easter Island and I bought some wood from a woodworker there. I took half a dozen pics of the guy milling my boards so that I have at least *something* to point to if I ever wanted to sell a blank or a finished pen.
Because the majority of the crew is still on board ship, the Arizona will never be decommissioned. If they get the wood, they would have to use scuba gear.
BTW, I have some wood from Noah's ark. You would need to clean off the animal do-do before turning. Dulls the tools and requires good ventilation.![]()
I would be interested ONLY if you have appropriate authentication signed by both God and Noah.Because the majority of the crew is still on board ship, the Arizona will never be decommissioned. If they get the wood, they would have to use scuba gear.
BTW, I have some wood from Noah's ark. You would need to clean off the animal do-do before turning. Dulls the tools and requires good ventilation.![]()
It's easy with MS Word. Do you want it in Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin or Greek?I would be interested ONLY if you have appropriate authentication signed by both God and Noah.
The only historical wood I have is a couple of 1 foot ends of the beams from the old Union Station in Downtown Nashville. If I hadn't have gotten them myself I would not have believed it. I have bought "historical wood" and found out it isn't. Craft show critters.....
I have some of the dated Irish bog oak that appears for sale on this website (penturners.org) every once in a while. I also bought some from the same seller via eBay. The certificate that comes with it is a full page lab report, not suitable to give to a pen recipient.
I wrote and printed my own certificates with a clover border, an Irish Claddagh symbol, and text. Despite my best efforts, I could never be absolutely sure that the symbols I copied were truly free to use and not pirated, so I won't post them here. Here is the text I wrote, which I release to the public domain. Feel free to edit, plagiarize, or steal all the credit.
"This pen was made with ancient bog oak from Ireland, a rare, limited resource. An acorn sprouted 6,500 years ago. It grew into a mighty oak. While it lived, humans were in the earliest stages of developing agriculture. After it died, the oak tree fell into a peat bog. Plants, moss, and swampy water covered the oak and preserved it, beginning the first stages of fossilization. Tannins disolved in the acidic water darkened the wood over the millennia. The wood in your pen was dated by matching the tree ring spacing with known, dated trees. Treasure your pen. It took 6,500 years to make!"
For proper authentication shouldn't it be in Old Canaanite? As I recall that's what we spoke as I loaned Noah some Festool track saws for the interior work.It's easy with MS Word. Do you want it in Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin or Greek?
Thank you. I have no customers, only gift recipients. I view certificates the same way you do - something that enhances the pen for the recipient.Well said! Your description does a great job of explaining what makes the wood so unique (which I'd assume translates to more customer interest).
Out of curiosity, should woods such as this (or older woods in general) be stabilized in some way? I'd hate to pay a premium for it only to end up with blowouts on every blank.
Thank you. I have no customers, only gift recipients. I view certificates the same way you do - something that enhances the pen for the recipient.
For my needs, I am less concerned about authenticity, so I am willing to accept claimed sources on face value. It doesn't really matter if the beautiful olive wood in that pen really comes from Bethlehem as long as I have made a good faith, reasonable effort. Within the limits of web research, I have to trust the blank seller. That's good enough for me and the recipient. These won't be going to the Smithsonian.
I did not stabilize the 6500 year old Irish bog oak that I bought and it turned okay. The wood was very dry and very brittle, so I took time and care to turn it. There were minor chip outs to fill on an early pen, but I learned from it, and was more careful after that. I kept my tools extra sharp and was very gentle when turning, but they always say that.
I cannot speak about the need for stabilization for other "special" woods.
-> To return the thread to the original topic, I believe that the thread is centered around woods that come from historic sources and famous places, like historic Navy ships, famous homes and buildings, old sports arenas, stuff like that.
Without naming places, my ever thinking eldest daughter toured a famous landmark house of one of our nations founding fathers with many old trees around it. She noticed a crew of 5 or 6 men doing a clean up of the area after a rain/wind storm. She walked out and asked them what they were going to do with the limbs, some 2 to 3 inches in diameter. They said "burn it". She got a limb and brought it home and asked me to make a pen from it, several actually.
No way to document that if I were to sell it, but for her and her own sake she can say that it came from . . . and probably . . . planted it, or it was there when he was president.
That said, one famous congressman lived in a particular house as a child (and it is documented) - I had a relative that lived in that house until 2010 when he passed away. I got several gnarly limbs from an old tree in the yard and made pens from it. A couple of my hometown elders who knew the man were happy to have those pens - from a tree that the famous congressman played under as a child.
Any some cases, newspaper articles can document the historicity, but only forensic can truly establish if it is or isn't.
Would Ham do?I would be interested ONLY if you have appropriate authentication signed by both God and Noah.
Well you know what they say about off-spring!Would Ham do?![]()