Pretty Wood Pen - few weeks late

[Dehn0045]

I intended to make a Panache for the BASH pretty Wood Pen contest. Turns out I spent all my time finishing up other projects and working on Edgar's puzzles, so I missed the deadline. I should have saved this one for the next contest, but can't help but share it right away. It's curly cottonwood that I stabilized with CJ. I put a bit of effort into the grain alignment, it ended up not being that noticeable, but if you look close you can see it.

 

[Sly Dog]

Magnificent grain in that pen! Great job!

 

[SteveJ]

That's a great looking pen!

 

[magpens]

Beautiful "pretty wood" pen .... always a welcome display !!!!

The grain alignment really "makes it" !!!! . Very well done !!

 

[TDahl]

That's really nice. I think the alignment of the grain does standout (especially in the first photo). Great job.

 

[Alan Morrison]

It would have got my vote

 

[greenacres2]

Love that blank, and the turning/match are excellent!! That one may have impacted the outcome.
earl

 

[KLJ]

I would have voted for it. The grain alignment does show and will always make a pen look better.
I know what you mean by doing puzzles instead of turning.

 

[KLJ]

It is a beautiful piece of wood. Did you torch it or is the coloration all natural. Winner either way !

 

[leehljp]

Pretty wood IS what that IS! Beautiful!

 

[LouCee]

That looks great! The grain, turning, and alignment all look great.

 

[Dehn0045]

It is a beautiful piece of wood. Did you torch it or is the coloration all natural. Winner either way !

The colors are natural, but may have darkened slightly when I dried in the toaster oven. I think the darker colors are from a little bit of spalting. Thanks for the positive feedback!

 

[Dieseldoc]

We have a lot of cottonwood around, never gave it look for making pen blanks. Need to check them out. Outstanding blank with superb workmanship, Awesome.

 

[Edgar]

Beautiful pen, Sam. Thanks for spending more time on the Puzzle contests than on the PWP contest.

 

[Sataro]

Pen looks great!

 

[TattooedTurner]

Beautiful! And the panache is a great kit to show off that gorgeous wood.

 

[Dehn0045]

Beautiful! And the panache is a great kit to show off that gorgeous wood.

Thanks Jay! The size of the pen really shows a lot of a blank, but at 0.788 for the largest diameter you really need an oversized blank. This one was about 7/8" minimum but thankfully the one end was a little larger, so I was happy I was able to make it work. If I had a little more skills I would try the Blingless Harvest like @Fred Bruche but for now I'll stick with the Panache for PWP contests.

 

[wizard]

That looks absolutely beautiful! I had not heard of curly cottonwood before. I will not forget it after seeing your pen. You did a wonderful job displaying all the features of the wood using the larger area of a Panache pen. The alignment is great...you have a great eye for composition.
Impressive! Best, Doc