Is there Hope?

[egnald]

I was going through some of my pens recently and found that one of my favorites has developed a crack. It's not a horrible crack, but still it's a crack. I made it in October 2020. I don't know when the crack appeared. It is a gunmetal Cigar style and the blank is Black and White Ebony.

I am planning on knocking it apart to sand down and re-finish the upper tube which is the one that is cracked. I don't know how long it will take for the crack to worsen or re-appear, but I am going to give it a go. I've always liked the pattern in the blank. It reminds me of an Ostrich or some kind of bird with a long neck.

Wish me luck.
Dave

PS The thought of cracks developing has kind of put me off on using Black and White Ebony (or any Ebony) in the future. It is such a cool wood though. In addition to the Black and White Ebony from Laos, I have some Gaboon Ebony from Africa and Mun Ebony from Laos which is considered critically endangered and is no longer exported.

 

[leehljp]

I do not think there is a 100% cure because of the different situations and stresses within the pen making world.
IF one writes down all of the different situations that can cause cracks, and makes adjustments to allow for it, you still may have a crack now and then.

green wood/not dried enough
temperature swings
humidity swings
ebonies prone to crack for seemingly no reason
crossgrain cuts and wood not stabilized
hole too tight for tube (barely fits)
glues do no allow expansion/contraction on some woods
wood not stabilized
wood gets too hot from drilling (ebonies and dense woods)
glue inside of tube, and fittings forced into tube
leaving pen in a hot car
leaving pen on a desk and window allows sun to directly shine on pens for an hour or two.

Others?

 

[qquake]

If anybody can fix it, you can Dave!

 

[rherrell]

Fill the crack with used coffee grounds and drizzle thin ca over it. You might need to make the crack bigger with a Dremel tool.

 

[mark james]

It's a beautiful blank and I see why you want to fix it.

 

[derekdd]

What an interesting blank, Dave.

I stopped using ebony for pens for the very reason you mention. I switched to Wenge instead.

I have no suggestions but wish you luck with the repair. Please let us know how it goes.

As an aside, I know Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, has initiated an ebony recovery program in Cameroon West Africa where they source their ebony. They purchased a mill there several years ago to make sure the harvesting is done right, and to take care of the workers. They've invested over $1m and have planted tens of thousands of ebony trees to try and help bring some sustainability to the species there.

 

[Darios]

That's good to know - I thought it was my inexperience that was causing me problems with black and white ebony cracking.

 

[bugradx2]

really neat design, hope you can save it

 

[MedWoodWorx]

I do not think there is a 100% cure because of the different situations and stresses within the pen making world.
IF one writes down all of the different situations that can cause cracks, and makes adjustments to allow for it, you still may have a crack now and then.

green wood/not dried enough
temperature swings
humidity swings
ebonies prone to crack for seemingly no reason
crossgrain cuts and wood not stabilized
hole too tight for tube (barely fits)
glues do no allow expansion/contraction on some woods
wood not stabilized
wood gets too hot from drilling (ebonies and dense woods)
glue inside of tube, and fittings forced into tube
leaving pen in a hot car
leaving pen on a desk and window allows sun to directly shine on pens for an hour or two.

Others?

Bad karma ?

 

[carlmorrell]

I made this pen out of ebony, at least 20 years ago. I made it my daily carry. Within a few months, both parts cracked. At the time the upper tube was a hairline crack. The bottom tube was worse. I had some crushed turquoise product from Craft Supplies that I filled one of the cracks with. Here after 20 years the repaired crack is still good, and the upper crack has opened a little more, Glad I still have it, but it did take a while to find!

 

[wimkluck]

I don't make pen of ebony and snake wood anymore. It always cracks here. Use african blackwood and Bog oak or ebonite.