Lignum Vitae Color Changes

[khansen]

I'm a big fan of LV and I have purchased quite a bit of it - probably way more than I will ever be able to turn into pens. I have a variety of different 'shades' from a pale yellow to dark green. Often the more 'green' blanks end up looking kind of brown after I turn them, which is disappointing. Well, I was out in the shop this morning and pulled a piece out of a bucket and noticed that the top portion (which was above the rim of the bucket, facing the window) was darker than the lower portion. I wasn't aware that it would do this! So I took a bunch of my wood outside and set them in the sun before I left for work. When I got home tonight, the side that was 'up' was a nice dark green, when it had been brown this morning. WAY cool! From the edge, it doesn't appear to have darkened all the way thru, but this was only one day. My next plan is to turn one and set it in the sun (rotating it, of course) to see if I can darken it before finishing.

I'm a bit surprised I hadn't heard of this (or noticed it) before now -

 

[Chatham PenWorks]

I even made a two tone pen by exposing only half the blank to the sun for a while. It looked pretty cool, though I doubt the contrast lasted. It went to a coworker a couple jobs ago, so can't find out.

 

[crabcreekind]

You dont have to "color" the pens before you finish them. Unless you are using a UV resistant finish the color will change after the pen has been finished. I have done this on a couple LV pens.

 

[nanosec12]

I also love using LV...and my preferred finish on it is bare wood. I sand to 600 and then MM through all the pads (12000 i think) and then just let it be. The woods natural oils protect it, and it will continue to have that 'spice' aroma for a long time.