Picturs of Hand Curd?

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marionquill

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Joined
Nov 25, 2007
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164
Location
Fort Belvoir, VA, USA.
I've read so much about the unbeatable durability of CA and how it's so much stronger than any other finish. I agree with that and use it on most of my pens but it sure would be helpful to see some photos of pens that were finished without CA that are at least two years old and used regularly. I have one that is nearly 2 years old made with purple heart that I carry with me to meetings and I take notes with it. It was finished using PPP wax only - it was one of the first pens I made; it still looks great to me. I'm really just curious about what the “hand curd†looks like and am also curious about how often customers return pens years later to be re-finished, buffed, or replaced. So far, I’ve not had any returned but I’ve only been selling pens for about a year.

I’m asking for a number of reasons but what really got me thinking about it is I recently met with one of the old timers that has worked on a project for us for over 10 years. I learned that he is an accomplished knife maker and while talking about different types of wood, he mentioned owning a “thin†pen made with East Indian Rosewood for “many, many†years before he lost it ~2 years ago. At that point I hadn’t mentioned that I made pens and thought I could make one and send it along with a thank you note for all his hard work he’s done for us for the last 10 years. Anyway, he mentioned that he doesn’t like the plastic look of CA (at least on knives) and really just likes a natural look and feel to wood. His knives sell for several thousand dollars so am sure he knows a little about wood finishes. I know CA can be dulled down using 0000 steel wool and that may be what I do. Any thoughts on the Birchwood-Casey Tru Oil products? The wax sounded interesting. I wonder how they would hold up on a pen. He is also an avid gun collector/user so that would be a product he’s familiar with…

I’ll take a picture of the purple heart I use tomorrow and post it as an example.

Thanks!
Jason
 
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Jason, I have a pen that my 22 yr old son made me when he was in 7th grade. I carry it daily and have since he gave it to me. He only polished it with a Carnuba stick back then and I've done nothing to it. It is spalted Pecan and is still as smooth and shiney as the day he gave it to me. Thanks largely to the natrual oils in the Pecan and my own body oils I'm sure. Some woods really don't need more than a protective coat of wax to get them to the natural patina stage. In my book, such woods are the dense oily woods like Pecan, Lignum Vitae and Cocobolo. I'm sure there are others. Two other woods that does quite well with just an initial coat of wax are Mesquite and Texas Ebony, adn I'm sure there are others here as well. I made a Padauk pen for a friend a few years ago and he uses it daily. I only used Mylands FP on it and today it looks as smooth and shiney as the day I gave it to him... but it has turned a deep red now. Conversely, I made a pen (by request) of Cherry and finished it with CA. Within 6 months it was looking dirty and dingy. I've begged the guy to let me refinish it several times, but he LOVES it. In fact, he just ordered two more pens for family members a few weeks ago. Go figure.[?]
 
First it is not hand "curd" but "crud".
crud: "a substance that is disgusting or unpleasant, typically because of its dirtiness."

This is just my opinion:
When selling to many, you never know the specific makeup of most individuals. I think that in making and selling non glossy pens finished in buffed wax only - will be acceptable for some. A "few" people will care for their writing instruments fervently. Waxed and buffed pens will work well and last a life time for most of these people.

A few of the "few" mentioned above may be the individuals who have sweaty palms or acid sweat which quickly destroy or break down the wax protection. If a person is like this and is diligent enough to give extra care because of the sweaty palms, then the pen will continue to look good over a long period of time.

For most people in normal situations, they want a good looking pen that they can write with (notice I did not write "instrument"). Over time, if they do not provide reasonable care for it other than just wiping it off, it will eventually show dirt and begin to discolor. This is particularly true if someone has excessive sweaty palms or acidic sweat.

On of my daughters cannot wear a normal $20 - $200 watch, ring or bracelet that is even gold plated. Her acidic sweat will eat through the plating and anything but solid gold or silver over a summer, and she does all she can to stay in cool places.

When considering the making of pens, do you feel confident enough to bring up the chemistry make up of individuals and or their pen writing habits? It is OK to know a customer and make it with a finish custom made to his or her needs, habits and characteristics.

The reason that most turners make pens with a shiny finish is because most writing instruments and pen buyers want that. So the bottom line is the choice between - do you want to make pens the way you want, or make pens the way the majority of the customers want them? There is nothing wrong with going in either direction since you are the maker.
 
Crud, Curd...malapropism [B)]

Thanks for the comments! I've just not seen how badly a pen could look from "acid sweat" and was wondering how "bad", or not so bad depending on perspective, it may look. I've used mine a lot more trying to see what will happen to it but it still looks fine. The goal of this post was to see some examples so when I'm talking with potential customers, I can talk about the possibilities of finishes with a reasonable degree of confidence that I know what really happens.

Jason
 
I had a lady buy a pen and come back like a year later the pen was finished with the HUT system and it looked horrible(she came back for me to install a new fill) I gave her a new pen finished the same way with carnuba wax and the pen still looks like crud. It must be her not the pen because I have seen pens that are even older finished the same way and they look fine, friction polish looks good when its done but does not last either, good luck Howard
 
Jason,

I know that you asked for pictures, and so far none have been posted. That doesn't mean that hand crud doesn't exist. It just means that so far, the need to photo a dirty pen hasn't existed, or at least to post as an example hasn't been a priority. I imagine that the first impulse of a pen maker is to see if the pen can be cleaned up or renewed.

I see hand crud often but then I "look" for it. Not on pens but in everyday life. Look at wall corners in houses of high traffic areas, particularly if lots of kids are present. Look at hand rails to stairs, particularly the end. The edges of kitchen cabinets near the handles. Light spots, dark spots due to hand oils and lack of daily or weekly cleaning. This occurs on waxed or paint finished areas. Waxed woods require the most care or it will show up fast.

This is the same thing that happens to pens with waxed finishes. But there are two differences - pens are held on to for writing much longer than one grips a rail or handle; pens will need more frequent cleaning due to the longer oil/dirt contamination periods.
 
Thanks for the inputs! I wouldn't want to take picturs of dirty pens either...my 2 year old pen doesn't look bad so not really a good example for posting here. I'll look around those high traffic areas to get an idea and go from there. I'm sure it'll be too soon that I see one come back like that. My mother-in-law bought one for her boss last year and she said it's starting to show hand crud. She told him I'd be happy to borrow it for a few days and buff it up but he refuses and loves how it looks...so, I'll not worry about it and if anybody comes back and demands a refund or replacement, will do so.

Thanks again!
Jason
 
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