Recommendation Sought - Special pen material

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JimGo

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I feel confident enough in my turning ability now to make a special pen, but I'm stuck as to the material to use. I have a friend who has been my mentor since I started my legal career. He no longer works with my firm, but he's a great guy and gives me career advice to this day. I know I want to make an emperor RB or FP for him - like I said, I want it to be a special pen. I have managed to get my hands on a lot of different materials over the course of the past year, from various species of exotic woods to lucite, acrylic, PR, etc. He's not a woodworker, so the pen doesn't necessarily HAVE to be made from wood, but as much as I love pens from synthetic materials, there's just something about a beautiful piece of wood that really makes a pen distinctive, so I'm leaning in that direction. He grew up on a farm in Minnesota, so I was thinking of maybe a burl from a tree native to that area, but he's also done a lot of traveling and I thoguht maybe something from Hawaii, Europe, etc., would be a good choice. Then there's always one of my personal favorites, Cocobolo.

I want something that will look really classy, so he'll want to carry it all the time. So, what do you guys think? What material makes a drop-dead gorgeous Emperor pen with the black Ti finish?
 
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Hi Jim, I think the Emperor is rather large to be carried around in a shirt pocket but maybe the Baron would be nice. I am sure whatever wood you choose (and I agree that it should be wood) should have a lot of figure or character with maybe a CA finish. Good luck and please post a picture of it when you finish.
Janet :)
 
Get ahold of Jim Lambert and get some highly figured Bethlehem olivewood. Every one I've ever made has brought rave reviews...some have brought tears of joy. [8D]
 
Jim,

I have always been biased towards natural wood so I will say definitely wood. Which one will be tricky. From what I've seen (pics that are posted here), simple/plain wood works better with Emperor. JMHO.
 
Hi Jim,

Just go to the photo section and search for emperor, there is close to 50 photos of great looking pens there. It could give you an idea of different wood looks.

Alfred
 
I think that the best looking emperor that I have seen was the one made by Anthony a couple weeks ago. Here is the link.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14148&SearchTerms=emperor
 
Everyone has favorites. I have about a dozen boxes of blanks, probably thirty different woods in them. I'll spend as much time deciding on my next pen as I do turning. It's nutty but we care about the final product. My suggestion would be an 'ivory' look, always elegant. Holly is great, some antler is beautiful. Even....I'm gonna choke saying this..... [;)][:)] alternate ivory can look fantastic. Whatever you choose, he will be grateful because it came from a friend.
 
My Wife just gave her boss as he was heading to a new job a Red Amboyna Emperor and he loved it. By the way Jim, he is also a Lawyer. The other two woods that I have used for Emperor's that worked well were Holly and Curly Koa.

Wayne
 
Thanks for all the feedback! It's interesting...most have suggested either really light colors or really dark colors, which tends to be my leaning too.

Frank, I'm adding this thread to my "favorites" list, this way I can always be able to quote you on that! [:D]
 
Hi Jim!

What I like the best is some double-dyed boxelder from Bill Baumbeck. Here's a link to an Emperor I did with violet and teal:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11740&SearchTerms=scott,emperor

They are some of the most amazing wood blanks I've ever worked with!

Scott.
 
Just remember JimGo, what is special to you may not be special to them. However, having it come from you specifically for them will make it special to them. [:D]

I'd vote for Lacewood. [;)] Just ignore the fact that I've only done one Emperor so far, and it is done in Lacewood....

Cheers,
Draken
 
Jim: Is the guy married?? Maybe you could secretly get together with the lady and ask her if there is something that would be particularly appealing to him. Maybe he had a slab of wood from the old homestead laying around that could be turned into something nice. If the guy was a trial lawyer, maybe you could get a limb off the tree outside the courthouse where he did/does his work or off a tree on his current home?? Or maybe you could do something linked to his law school colors?? Use your imagination!!
 
Originally posted by JimGo
<br />Thanks for all the feedback! It's interesting...most have suggested either really light colors or really dark colors, which tends to be my leaning too.

Frank, I'm adding this thread to my "favorites" list, this way I can always be able to quote you on that! [:D]
Click to expand...

Always happy to provide a laugh....or straight line. [:o)]
 
After a careful review of my available pen blank inventory and consultation with a style consultant (i.e. my wife), I decided to go with Box Elder Burl. I turned the blanks yesterday, and although I blew up a half blank on the drill press, the pen should look great! I'm waiting for the current coat of TSW to cure, then I'll be assembling everything tonight. I hope to have pics posted either late tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks again for the feedback!

- Jim
 
Jim, Suggestion one. Make him the pen you would love to have. It will show and he will realize how much it means to you. not only in how much you like the pen but that his friendship has ment far more. I also like Cocobolo.
suggestion two. from my experience Buckeye Burl and Amboyna Burl run neck and neck as the wood of choice when a person is able to pick what they want. that is the no cost no strings attached type choice. I often tell someone to pick anything they want and I will make them a gift from it. spalted maple runs a close second to the other two.
suggestion three, I personally think African Blackwood would make a great looking emporer. no problem keeping it natural and the dork wood with Platinum fittings would be striking. of course you would need to find an exceptional piece of blackwood that has a consistant dark color.
 
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