strawberry wood pen

[MedWoodWorx]

First of all i would like to apologise for this simple pen and mediocre photos. I know its like a child's work compared to others shown here. Anyway the point is not the pen per se but the wood used. The scientific name is arbutus unedo,(in some places is also called strawberry tree, in Greece is called koumaria) is a hardy, extremely slow-growing shrub that produces small fruits. The picture is not much but you can see the subtle grain patterns. I ll be back with better pictures, promise!

 

[Rodney W]

It's a nice looking pen. No apologies needed.

 

[Jim15]

Good looking pen.

 

[Humongous]

Nice looking pen. What kit is that?

 

[penicillin]

I had a similar issue with a pepper tree branch that broke and blew down in our backyard. I cut and turned a small piece to see what it was like, and it was beautiful. I cut the rest into pen blanks, put candle wax on the ends, and left them to dry for six months.

When I turned a pen from one of the blanks, the beautiful colors appeared. Then they turned off, leaving a mostly bland pen. I had not turned my test piece as thin as a pen, and it made a difference.

 

[magpens]

@MedWoodWorx

I find your pen quite attractive !!!! . . . Thanks for showing ! ! !

What pen kit did you use, please ?

 

[MedWoodWorx]

I had a similar issue with a pepper tree branch that broke and blew down in our backyard. I cut and turned a small piece to see what it was like, and it was beautiful. I cut the rest into pen blanks, put candle wax on the ends, and left them to dry for six months.

When I turned a pen from one of the blanks, the beautiful colors appeared. Then they turned off, leaving a mostly bland pen. I had not turned my test piece as thin as a pen, and it made a difference.

View attachment 322393

maybe it's because i used ca glue as a finish that preserved the grain pattern (?). Sometimes you can never tell how a wood will "evolve" in time (especially with uncommon woods) but that's the beauty of it i suppose. I think (and also practice it, dunno if it's really working or if it's my idea) that using shellac, no matter what is the finish, can tone the grain of the wood. cheers

 

[MedWoodWorx]

@MedWoodWorx

I find your pen quite attractive !!!! . . . Thanks for showing ! ! !

What pen kit did you use, please ?

it's a jazz bolt pen bought from ukpenblanks. it's a well made, one-piece kit that i will certainly buy again!cheers

 

[magpens]

it's a jazz bolt pen bought from ukpenblanks. it's a well made, one-piece kit that i will certainly buy again!cheers

@MedWoodWorx . . . . Thanks for the info . . . I rather like that pen kit and would like to try

Here's a link to the Jazz Bolt pen kit at . . . ukpenblanks . uk . co . . . . However, I don't see an instruction sheet ( probably no big deal ! )

Jazz Bolt Pen Kit - Click Action | Pen Turning UK | Pen Kits

Jazz Bolt Pen Kit, platings, gold, chrome, copper, gun metal, satin nickel. Jazz pen turning kit for pen turners, wood turners & pen makers UK

www.ukpenblanks.co.uk

EDIT :- I found the instructions at a separate portion of the website. . Here's the link to the instructions :

Jazz-Bolt-Click-Pen-Kits-Assembly-Instructions.pdf

drive.google.com

 

[penicillin]

maybe it's because i used ca glue as a finish that preserved the grain pattern (?). Sometimes you can never tell how a wood will "evolve" in time (especially with uncommon woods) but that's the beauty of it i suppose. I think (and also practice it, dunno if it's really working or if it's my idea) that using shellac, no matter what is the finish, can tone the grain of the wood. cheers

In this case, the colorful wood simply turned off the lathe, leaving the plain wood that was around the pith. The finish did not make the pretty colors in the wood go away; it was the turning tools. :-(

The pen in the photo was finished with Hut Crystal Coat, a friction polish with alcohol, shellac and carnauba wax. I do NOT recommend it.

Most of the time, I use a CA finish (GluBoost). Sometimes I choose an alternative, because I have found that CA finishes can turn very dark woods to solid black, hiding the subtleties and grain of the wood. Examples of pen blanks where CA finishes turn the pens into solid black for me include very dark rosewoods and that dark bog oak.

 

[magpens]

Most of the time, I use a CA finish (GluBoost). Sometimes I choose an alternative, because I have found that CA finishes can turn very dark woods to solid black, hiding the subtleties and grain of the wood. Examples of pen blanks where CA finishes turn the pens into solid black for me include very dark rosewoods and that dark bog oak.

Thanks for these comments, @penicillin .

I have had the same experience ( rather recently !! - I posted about this ) with a not-so dark rosewood . . . ( Honduran Rosewood, I believe )

 

[MedWoodWorx]

In this case, the colorful wood simply turned off the lathe, leaving the plain wood that was around the pith. The finish did not make the pretty colors in the wood go away; it was the turning tools. :-(

The pen in the photo was finished with Hut Crystal Coat, a friction polish with alcohol, shellac and carnauba wax. I do NOT recommend it.

Most of the time, I use a CA finish (GluBoost). Sometimes I choose an alternative, because I have found that CA finishes can turn very dark woods to solid black, hiding the subtleties and grain of the wood. Examples of pen blanks where CA finishes turn the pens into solid black for me include very dark rosewoods and that dark bog oak.

did you use wood from a branch or from the trunk?

 

[mark james]

Very nice pen Mike. I believe most blanks have some nice qualities and can be turned into an attractive pen. This is certainly true here - subtle, but attractive; and the unique timber is an added element.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

In this case, the colorful wood simply turned off the lathe, leaving the plain wood that was around the pith. The finish did not make the pretty colors in the wood go away; it was the turning tools. :-(

The pen in the photo was finished with Hut Crystal Coat, a friction polish with alcohol, shellac and carnauba wax. I do NOT recommend it.

Most of the time, I use a CA finish (GluBoost). Sometimes I choose an alternative, because I have found that CA finishes can turn very dark woods to solid black, hiding the subtleties and grain of the wood. Examples of pen blanks where CA finishes turn the pens into solid black for me include very dark rosewoods and that dark bog oak.

bog woods are tricky
https://www.wood-database.com/bog-oak/
The extremely low oxygen conditions of the bog protect the wood from normal decay, while the underlying peat provides acidic conditions where iron salts and other minerals react with the tannins in the wood, gradually giving it a distinct dark brown to almost black color.

 

[penicillin]

did you use wood from a branch or from the trunk?

bog woods are tricky
https://www.wood-database.com/bog-oak/
The extremely low oxygen conditions of the bog protect the wood from normal decay, while the underlying peat provides acidic conditions where iron salts and other minerals react with the tannins in the wood, gradually giving it a distinct dark brown to almost black color.

It was a thin branch from a very large tree. I found it on the grass after we had high winds. See the attached photos. I can't believe that I took photos of the tree and the branch, but for some reason, I did.

Yes, bog oak is tricky. It is very dry and brittle. When you turn it, it smells like charcoal. Turning bog oak gives a kind of gritty feel like you might imagine if you tried to turn charcoal.

I like to make bog oak pens because the wood is thousands of years old and has an interesting story behind it. That makes the pen extra special for the gift recipient.

Photos:
* Brazilian Pepper Tree in Our Backyard
* Windfall branch from that same tree, which I made into pen blanks. The turned test sample also comes from the same branch. For scale, the small squares are 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches and the largest rectangles are 8-1/4 x 11 inches.

 

[sorcerertd]

I like it. Simple is not a bad thing. That looks like one of those woods with some chatoyance that's hard to show in pictures and I really like that kit, too.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

It was a thin branch from a very large tree. I found it on the grass after we had high winds. See the attached photos. I can't believe that I took photos of the tree and the branch, but for some reason, I did.

Yes, bog oak is tricky. It is very dry and brittle. When you turn it, it smells like charcoal. Turning bog oak gives a kind of gritty feel like you might imagine if you tried to turn charcoal.

I like to make bog oak pens because the wood is thousands of years old and has an interesting story behind it. That makes the pen extra special for the gift recipient.

Photos:
* Brazilian Pepper Tree in Our Backyard
* Windfall branch from that same tree, which I made into pen blanks. The turned test sample also comes from the same branch. For scale, the small squares are 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches and the largest rectangles are 8-1/4 x 11 inches.

View attachment 322405 View attachment 322406

that tree looks majestic!wow!, well i suppose you removed all the cambium and after that the wood was different. bog wood is not technically wood anymore, of course it's interesting cause it's really old but behaves in a totally different manner than ordinary wood.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Thanks for these comments, @penicillin .

I have had the same experience ( rather recently !! - I posted about this ) with a not-so dark rosewood . . . ( Honduran Rosewood, I believe )

i hope there is a chemist among us who could answer why this happens, i mean it is because of the tannins, the oil in the wood reacting with ca or smthing else...?

 

[MedWoodWorx]

I like it. Simple is not a bad thing. That looks like one of those woods with some chatoyance that's hard to show in pictures and I really like that kit, too.

if only i had polished it better..it was one of my first ca finish attempts and i sanded it to 2000 grit aprox. i didn't know about micromesh then...i have another blank of this wood which i ll use when the pen kits i ordered arrive. cheers

 

[flairwoodworks]

I like the look of the pen kit, and wood. Nicely done!