Pen for the President

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John you did a wonderful job of making this pen, especially considering the amount of time that was allotted to make it. As for the negative comments that you are receiving, don't pay them any attention. In my mind, it's just a matter of people who are jealous of the honor that has been bestowed on you. They know they will never have the honor of doing so, so, they'll be dammed if they would say anything nice to someone who has. Please enjoy the honor that comes with this request, you never know, it may end up in his Presidential library. If it does, can you imagine the pride and honor that would come with being able to say that you made that pen? Don't let the naysayers ruin this for you, enjoy this as much as you can. I would like to suggest though, and that is that you make a couple of these special pens to have on hand just in case you get another special order.
Len
 
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That people would say its wasted is just stupid. I don't like the president. But he is our president. And it is a serious honer to make a pen for him. Congrats on your accomplishments.
 
I may not be a fan of the man. But hey its not about him
It's about the honor that you have been given. I think it speaks highly of your skills and ability. I been threw NJ once and the people who say bad things about it arnt worth the breath to speak of them. I am glad to see something good has happened to some of the trashed docks.
 
Hi John,
I for one am watching this. I know the honer it is....
I hope the president shows and your gift is presented.

I was born and raised in Jersey not far from you, Blackwood met my wife in Ventnor got family scattered from A.C. through the Pine Barrons to Gloucester.

Anyway I'm on your side love the pen.
What a great honer, I would do it in a heat beat. I would try really, really hard to get a photo somehow of the presentation.

Let us know the outcome and don't let the politics and the negative comments of others deter you

.
 
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Thank you all for the positive comments and PM's. When I posted I was fully expecting critiques of the pen, not 'all the other stuff'. I personally do not like drama and as a Rotarian try to abide by the 4 way test and put Service Above Self. I was asked to make a pen for the President, and so I did. I was honored. I have also been asked to make a pen for Gov. Christie, and I did. I was equally honored. One of them I like, and one of them I dislike. It doesn't matter which is which.

For anybody wondering what the Rotary 4 way test is:

The 4 way test of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
 
Great looking pen. Love the knot showing.

The real question is can I have a piece of that plank so I can have a pen made from the same wood the president has one made of? Be the closest I get to a president I imagine.

Congrats on being chosen for the honor.

Phil
 
I am curious about these 4 test. When I look at them from what I have said earlier I see 2 no, 1 maybe but doubtful and 1 does not apply. My question is how did you apply these 4 questions to this project and at what point would you have decided it was not a good deal.
 
The 4 way test of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH? That's ok for what we say

Is it FAIR to all concerned? Well first of all fair is relative, what seems fair to one person may seem very unfair to another. In addition, life is not fair, in the nature of things some do better than others.

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?For most things I do or say this isn't relevant because the effects will most often be neutral in that regard, neither building or hurting.

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? I certainly hope not - When I do something for someone else, I want them to benefit, not myself.

I would replace the whole list with "Is it the right thing to do (say) and is this the right time to do (say) it"
 
First - That is a gorgeous pen, of it's own rite
Second - Even better that it is made from historic wood that will commemorate the previous life of the wood, long after the recent tragedy is swept away via rebuilding
Third - you were chosen to CREATE a gift for the 'Most Powerful Person' in the world, and the ELECTED leader of our country. Politics be damned, he was elected and Re-elected to be the leader of our country and the free world....relish in that, no matter who he is or what he stands for.
 
John its a great pen, what an honor. But knowing that most lefties have issues writing with a fountain pen I would say you should send it to a righty ...LIKE ME!!!!

Congrats on one He!! of an honor!
 
you did a fantastic job on the pen, when the time constraints presented were overcome in such a quality product the end result is astounding.

It really doesn't matter who the pen was for, the recipient should be proud of the gift they were given and the hard work that went into the product. Congratulations on being presented the honor of such a prestigious tasking as this, it will add to your portfolio well.

And for those of you who have a disagreeance with the end recipient, he made it for the governor who then re-gifted it. Set your opinions aside, he made something beautiful in a short period of time out of a material that most others would be happy to just have a pen blank of.
 
Smitty37 said:
The 4 way test of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH? That's ok for what we say

Is it FAIR to all concerned? Well first of all fair is relative, what seems fair to one person may seem very unfair to another. In addition, life is not fair, in the nature of things some do better than others.

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?For most things I do or say this isn't relevant because the effects will most often be neutral in that regard, neither building or hurting.

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? I certainly hope not - When I do something for someone else, I want them to benefit, not myself.

I would replace the whole list with "Is it the right thing to do (say) and is this the right time to do (say) it"
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Thank you for your feedback. Please feel free to pass your thoughts on this along to Rotary International directly. Here is their Contact Page.
 
edstreet said:
I am curious about these 4 test. When I look at them from what I have said earlier I see 2 no, 1 maybe but doubtful and 1 does not apply. My question is how did you apply these 4 questions to this project and at what point would you have decided it was not a good deal.
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You are like a dog with a bone. Let it go.
 
Great looking pen. Nice pic. Great story to the wood. Great honor to be asked to do this.

Lastly, I hope you don't like to sleep because I would spend days trying to catch a pic of the POTUS holding or better yet signing w/ my pen.
 
The local radio news led off this morning with the story of the President meeting Gov. Christie to tour the recovery efforts. I told my GF, "One of the IAP guys made an awesome pen that the president will get on that trip".
 
John
Congrats on the Honor of not only doing the pen for the president but for the governor and the prince. You should be proud of what you have done.

Alan
 
Well done. Sometimes it's difficult to work with historic/ famous materiel because it usually isn't pretty. Great piece of wood great pen. Also if he needs another one I would be willing to make one for him.
 
John,

I only wish I would someday be honored as you were, to make a pen for the President of the Untied States. It is a beautiful piece of work and you should be proud. Please do not let the detractors negatively affect your participation in the IAP.

Some people just can't feel good about themselves unless they can burst someone's balloon. I call them the "But" people. They are the ones who will say, "Great looking pen BUT,......." then criticize everything they can about it. Everything they say after, "But" erases everything they said before "But". Just like in any gathering of people, unfortunately, the IAP has it's share of "But" people. Ignore them.

Congratulations on your huge honor. The overwhelming, vast majority of us are envious of your accomplishment.
 
No Political Issues

I've followed this thread very closely and though by reading the comments one might think otherwise - there is not a single post, that I can find, critical of the OP for making a pen that we all hope will be presented to the President. There is one critical post (#14) and a couple of exchanges between that poster and the OP but the original criticism wasn't political.
 
Wow. What an honor. There are just some folks who can't pull their heads out of their...politics... long enough get a breath of fresh air and think. They are the ones I feel sorry for.
 
JohnGreco said:
edstreet said:
Seriously? HDR? You don't need HDR to take photo's of a pen.

I was having trouble getting a good set of both low and high tones, so yes- I went with HDR. Can a better photographer get the shot without it? Probably, but I'm a pen maker, not a photographer :biggrin:
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Ha! I totally understand that John! So many things I don't post because there is more time spent on the pen and not the picture and I just don't have the skill in the camera dept.
I know how rough Sandy was...our DMAT team was deployed to backfill hospitals that had a huge patient surge. Hope they all recover and get back to normal!! IAP folk sure do get around!!
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Smitty37 said:
I've followed this thread very closely and though by reading the comments one might think otherwise - there is not a single post, that I can find, critical of the OP for making a pen that we all hope will be presented to the President. There is one critical post (#14) and a couple of exchanges between that poster and the OP but the original criticism wasn't political.
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Read again Smitty. He said PM messages.
 
John, very nice pen! All of that in a day and a half - well done.

Thanks for sharing your good news and the honor of being chosen for the project.

I find my IAP experience is enhanced by using the "ignore list" feature. I enjoy being protected from posts by some members.
 
jttheclockman said:
Smitty37 said:
I've followed this thread very closely and though by reading the comments one might think otherwise - there is not a single post, that I can find, critical of the OP for making a pen that we all hope will be presented to the President. There is one critical post (#14) and a couple of exchanges between that poster and the OP but the original criticism wasn't political.
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Read again Smitty. He said PM messages.
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I know that John.

My point is we have dozens of threads publicly admonishing unknown people for private messages. I think Private message content should not be discussed on public forums.
 
Any jackass can kick down a barn,It takes a carpenter to build one.
Being asked to build a pen for any famous person is a great accomplishment but the prez?
Very cool. I would have to think that all the "wasted pen wannabe's" would build a pen in a
flash to be wasted by the President of These United States,They weren't asked you were.
Good Job!! Enjoy the thought,bragg on it as far as you can get the word to travel,and let not one of the prissy pen "experts" steal one bit of your thunder!
 
jeff_in_AZ said:
Was there any mention of the pen in the news?
I kept an eye out that day and the next but didn't
see anything.
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I looked a little I see he WAS there in Seaside Heights Tuesday. I am sure there is video somewhere but trying to find it. I would have made a point to get a photo somehow. But then again photography is one of my many hobbies.

Hope a photo shows up anyway great story love to hear it.

Good for you....

.
 
Jjartwood said:
Any jackass can kick down a barn,It takes a carpenter to build one.
Being asked to build a pen for any famous person is a great accomplishment but the prez?
Very cool. I would have to think that all the "wasted pen wannabe's" would build a pen in a
flash to be wasted by the President of These United States,They weren't asked you were.
Good Job!! Enjoy the thought,bragg on it as far as you can get the word to travel,and let not one of the prissy pen "experts" steal one bit of your thunder!
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Truely spoken by one who has likely never tried to knock down a well built post and peg barn. As one who has done such a thing I assure you "no jackass" could kick it down.:biggrin::biggrin: The joinery was supurb....:wink: Actually, today it doesn't take much of a carpenter to build one either. Pole barn construction has made it pretty easy.
 
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There was a scheduling SNAFU and the pen was not given to him during his trip. We are working on getting it to him now.

Thank you all for the kind words.
 
Smitty37 said:
I've followed this thread very closely and though by reading the comments one might think otherwise - there is not a single post, that I can find, critical of the OP for making a pen that we all hope will be presented to the President. There is one critical post (#14) and a couple of exchanges between that poster and the OP but the original criticism wasn't political.
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I would like to explain a few things on this as I feel that I may have been taken out of context somewhat.

edstreet said:
Seriously? HDR? You don't need HDR to take photo's of a pen.

1 1/2 days to stabilize and turn the pen? They really do not appreciate your talent if that is all the time they gave you. Couple that where they are going should be good reason enough to turn down the offer, and no that is not political minded.
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This is my post and the 1 1/2 day comment I felt was to short to do a very epic job and it also seemed a hasty rush job considering the processes that was involved. I did and do question a few issues such as off gassing from the stabilizing process. I also felt that given that short rush job was not very fitting for the office it was going to and see that as somewhat disrespectful.

The work performed was and is indeed a very good job and does reflect skill and time management. That much is very true and something that should have been said in my original post.

Not everyone has superb photography skills. All to often I see over-gearing and over-engineering thrown at a problem that could easily be solved by simple back to basics setup, i.e. the HDR comment. HDR does indeed have its place and the purpose of HDR is to expand details in zone III and zone II areas (shadow) while not burning out details in the zone VI + levels (highlights). Instead of taking 5-6 shots and overlaying them it would have been better to take 5-6 shots of various layouts, positions and angles.
 
:yawn: :beat-up: :neutral: :handshake: :beer:​

Please there are a LOT of us that want to know your pen has found it's way.​

Keep us informed don't let all the other stuff get in the way.​

:good: :good: :good:​

.
 
Number 1. That pen is gorgeous!
Number 2. The concept of using the boardwalk wood is inspired!
Number 3. Being asked make something for THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is an unbelievable honor! (This would be true regardless of the officeholder.)
 
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