I swapped some blanks with Jonathon and got some of these black ash beauties. His timber is as stunning as his acrylic. Finished with some of my own "Doctors" mix of shellac, walnut oil, and Caranuba....many, many, many coats. Rhodium Jr. Gent w/Bock nib from Classic Nib.
Hi, I know that you didn't ask for comments or criticism but I would like you to allow me to give you my thoughts on this pen and keep in mind that, I only want to give you constructive criticism and express "MY" opinion...!
I like of the way you "rolled" the edges of the oversized top barrel, if it is going to be oversized, at least that edge finish is the best solution of the problem.
As for the finish, when I looked at your second pic, I was quite disappointed to see that, the finish didn't cover the wood surface as a uniform coat, the gloss produced from that finished made the little wood crevasses to show more and in my view, spoiling it.
I believe a proper CA finish would be a better alternative, if your intention was to make it look more like a "natural" wood finish, a matt or stain finish product would be more appropriate., in fact, for a natural look, I would do nothing else than to stabilise the blank, fine sand it and then polish it with a Novus-2 or any other polish compound, these would be my choices.
I don't go much for a gloss finish that doesn't have a mirror finish, sorry...!
Cheers
George