You can get a matte finish with CA if you want protection. Some people do prefer the more natural look.
As to wax only type of finishes - Some people will take care of a pen like this, but from years on this forum, I have heard more that will not. I personally was embarrassed the first time I gave a pen that I "waxed" with EEE and spent a couple of hours doing it. While the recipient was holding it, wiping it and trying it out over an hour during our meeting, it began to develop dull spots. That was when I decided to use CA and not long after that, discovered that I could make CA have a matte finish.
I have a long woodworking background and love the look of natural wood with a patina hand rubbed shine. But fine wood finishes have to cleaned and waxed regularly to be at its best. A pen is hand held a huge amount of time as compared to how much fine furniture is touched. And a pen is placed into the humidity of a shirt pocket and faces caustic sweat of hands much more than fine furniture. This puts it into a different category.
IF the recipient knows this and takes care of (respects) the waxed pen as a work of art, then it will work. One of the complaints from some fine pen makers on this forum was that when a pen is sold with a natural finish and the buyer did not take care of it like they should, (even if they are told and warned to take care of it,) then the pen would display dirt and grime after months to a year. When this happens, the buyer will blame the seller and in some cases the seller's negative reputation is brought into play.
There are some pen makers that will not give away a pen that has a defect in it. I think we all think of doing that and my wife had a couple of mine that I was about to dismantle and just throw the blanks aways. Well, she didn't see the flaws like I did and showed them proudly to all. Guess what kind of reputation those gave for me! If a person does not take care of the waxed pen, you will be the one that carries the weight (reputation) of producing a grimy pen after it has been in use for a year or so and not taken properly care of. If your reputation of producing fine writing instruments is important, give a card with a detailed explanation of taking care and cleaning the fine writing instrument. Give a small cleaning cloth to go with it and adjust the price accordingly. Waxed wood, especially with pens take a special cleaning to keep it clean.
