Second Magnetic Rollerball in Cocobolo

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egnald

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
3,061
Location
Columbus, Nebraska, USA
Greetings from Nebraska.

I made another one of the Magnetic pens from Crooked Mill this afternoon. This time with Gold plating and a Cocobolo blank. This one also has the straight clip instead of the wavy one. I think I am starting to really like this kit because of the long, single tube design.

Regards,
Dave

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sorcerertd

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Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
2,655
Location
North Carolina, USA
That is a beautiful piece of Cocobolo! Nice finish, too. I just checked them out on the Crooked Mill site and it looks like they changed up the clip on those. They look just like the Eco Zens at EB.

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ccccchunt

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2020
Messages
168
Location
Silverdale, WA
Greetings from Nebraska.

I made another one of the Magnetic pens from Crooked Mill this afternoon. This time with Gold plating and a Cocobolo blank. This one also has the straight clip instead of the wavy one. I think I am starting to really like this kit because of the long, single tube design.

Regards,
Dave

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Outstanding looking Pens. I love the balance and weight of the Mag Pens and they have been a TOP seller and selection as gifts! Was wondering if you might share a good source for Cocobolo??? I have been looking for some King quality Cocobolo for some time now with no luck and not sure which vendor might be best. Any recommendations??
 

egnald

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
3,061
Location
Columbus, Nebraska, USA
Outstanding looking Pens. I love the balance and weight of the Mag Pens and they have been a TOP seller and selection as gifts! Was wondering if you might share a good source for Cocobolo??? I have been looking for some King quality Cocobolo for some time now with no luck and not sure which vendor might be best. Any recommendations??
I really can't provide any solid recommendations, but I can tell you my story if it helps.

Before I retired I used to travel quite a bit on the company's dime. I always kept my eye out for interesting bits of wood to support my pen turning habit. I had engineering teams in Israel so that's how I know my Bethlehem Olive Wood is the real deal, but that's another story. I also had occasion to travel to our corporate headquarters which was in Malvern, Pennsylvania. About a hour Northeast of Malvern in Sellersville, I met a fellow named Kevin Yardley who had a hand crafted furniture business. He hooked me up with some Cocobolo that was drop shipped to me directly from Costa Rica.

For around $300 I wound up with enough Cocobolo to make about 300 to 400 pen sized blanks. I picked through them and reserved about 70 of the most interesting pieces, i.e. the pieces that appeared to have some kind of interesting grain or color patterns or little knots and stuff. About a fourth of it had varying degrees of sapwood mixed in and I kept a few of the more interesting ones for pen blanks too. (I've made a couple and found I'm not really a big fan of the sapwood/heartwood combination). The rest was all what I would call run of the mill having a uniform color and straight grain patterns pretty uninteresting stuff.

I guess my recommendation would be to check with some of the higher quality suppliers of exotic woods like Bell Forest Products, Cook Woods, and Griffin Exotic Wood. Of course I would also check with the pen companies like Exotic Blanks, WoodTurningz, and PSI for their premium blanks as well. To steal a phrase from Forrest Gump, I've often considered Cocobolo to be like the box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.

Dave
 

derekdd

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2023
Messages
1,052
Location
Wisconsin
I really can't provide any solid recommendations, but I can tell you my story if it helps.

Before I retired I used to travel quite a bit on the company's dime. I always kept my eye out for interesting bits of wood to support my pen turning habit. I had engineering teams in Israel so that's how I know my Bethlehem Olive Wood is the real deal, but that's another story. I also had occasion to travel to our corporate headquarters which was in Malvern, Pennsylvania. About a hour Northeast of Malvern in Sellersville, I met a fellow named Kevin Yardley who had a hand crafted furniture business. He hooked me up with some Cocobolo that was drop shipped to me directly from Costa Rica.

For around $300 I wound up with enough Cocobolo to make about 300 to 400 pen sized blanks. I picked through them and reserved about 70 of the most interesting pieces, i.e. the pieces that appeared to have some kind of interesting grain or color patterns or little knots and stuff. About a fourth of it had varying degrees of sapwood mixed in and I kept a few of the more interesting ones for pen blanks too. (I've made a couple and found I'm not really a big fan of the sapwood/heartwood combination). The rest was all what I would call run of the mill having a uniform color and straight grain patterns pretty uninteresting stuff.

I guess my recommendation would be to check with some of the higher quality suppliers of exotic woods like Bell Forest Products, Cook Woods, and Griffin Exotic Wood. Of course I would also check with the pen companies like Exotic Blanks, WoodTurningz, and PSI for their premium blanks as well. To steal a phrase from Forrest Gump, I've often considered Cocobolo to be like the box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.

Dave
Yeah, I buy most of my wood from Cook when it goes on sale then saw it up into pen blanks.

What I like about them, in addition to free shipping for orders over $75, is you get to look at each individual board you buy if you wish. Cocobolo has some of the widest range of coloring out there and is a true rosewood. They also have a rewards program. I've saved a good bit using points I've earned.
 
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