USS Arizona Pen blanks?

[Guthriecb]

Does anyone know any info about the Pearl Harbor pen blanks on turners warehouse? I'm not knocking turners warehouse, I have no reason to do that. But I question the authenticity of a pen blank that has a piece of wood that's been submerged for nearly 80 years and is from a protected national shrine. I know it's a tiny piece of wood in the blank but I just have doubts to it's authenticity despite having a COA. After all, it is illegal to dive there. Does anyone have any insight into this? Am I way off? Thanks guys!


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[Woodchipper]

I would be skeptical about the claim. How did they come into possession of the wood? Due to the majority of the crew still on board, the Arizona has never been decommissioned. Therefore, it is still property of the U. S. Navy.

 

[Buckmark13]

Why not call and ask them directly?

 

[showcaser]

There were several salvage operations on the Arizona after the attack. The ship operated for 25 years before being sunk. There were also more opportunities than just the sinking for decking to be removed for maintenance.

 

[Edgar]

Their description says that "encased in the blank are small pieces of the USS Arizona and a Japanese Zero"

I would definitely contact them for more information before I ordered one. There does seem to be some nice engraving on the blank, but it doesn't even say what type of wood the blank is or how the pieces are "encased" in the blank.

 

[MPVic]

I have an uneasy feeling about the invasion of sanctity of the Arizona memorial. I am not an American but this just doesn't feel right somehow.

 

[wolf creek knives]

I've seen ad's for other USS Arizona pieces but have shied away from buying them. I was able to get 9 pieces, of 10, of wood off decks of existing WWII Battleships but it's taken me several years. My goal is to turn them and have my own "Battleship row" I am leary of getting pieces from individuals but instead go through as many museum's as possible.

 

[mark james]

Next rocks from Mars, Big Foot Nose Goo and Fairy Dust...

Buyer beware.

 

[Sly Dog]

Big Foot Nose Goo. . A good band name or perhaps a new resin blank?

 

[chartle]

There were several salvage operations on the Arizona after the attack. The ship operated for 25 years before being sunk. There were also more opportunities than just the sinking for decking to be removed for maintenance.

But pre 1940 I doubt they were like. "Hey should we chuck this hunk of scrap decking over board or save because in 80 year some guys that make pens may want it."

 

[Dalecamino]

A quick search revealed this info.

USS Arizona salvaged artifacts - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mark james]

There is also this... Shavings/dust?

 

[hokie]

There does seem to be some nice engraving on the blank, but it doesn't even say what type of wood the blank is or how the pieces are "encased" in the blank.

If you look closely at the pen, you can see a small white spot on both the barrel and cap which presumably have a grain of rice-sized piece of the Arizona and the Zero respectively within.

There was a brief discussion about "Certificates of Authenticity" with regard to wood used in blanks and I think the consensus was that they were essentially worth the piece of paper they are written on. If I were the proprietor of that site, I would not feel comfortable selling that blank set for the reasons stated in this thread (legality and respect for the grave that it is) as well as the CoA issue. The CoAs used in the sports memorabilia and entertainment industry are typically issued by respected and trusted companies with experts with reputations to maintain that can vouch for the provenance of an item. 3" x 5" pieces of paper printed by Joe Schmo mean nothing.

 

[showcaser]

But pre 1940 I doubt they were like. "Hey should we chuck this hunk of scrap decking over board or save because in 80 year some guys that make pens may want it."

I have a nice piece of trench art made from teak decking from the Arizona. I'm much more like MPVic I'm not going to be making pens or anything else out of it. Yes buyer beware,but just because you can't find historical material doesn't mean others can't and what they find isn't authentic. Do your due diligence and if you are uncomfortable don't buy it.

 

[Woodchipper]

A quick search revealed this info.

USS Arizona salvaged artifacts - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Nothing about selling the artifacts which are on display or on loan. IMHO, out of respect for the crew on the Arizona, I would not buy the blank. As for the Zero, there are wrecked Zeros all over the South Pacific. Have seen photos of them in the jungles of the islands. Anyone can carve off a piece. An uncle had a watch band made from one.

 

[Guthriecb]

There is also this... Shavings/dust?

Thanks. This is in line with the amount of wood I could see in the blank.


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[philipff]

I've seen ad's for other USS Arizona pieces but have shied away from buying them. I was able to get 9 pieces, of 10, of wood off decks of existing WWII Battleships but it's taken me several years. My goal is to turn them and have my own "Battleship row" I am leary of getting pieces from individuals but instead go through as many museum's as possible.

I have a piece of the decking of the BB-61 that was given to me by a friend who claimed it was taken during a rebuild of the main deck. I am planning on turning a couple pens but need to settle on something very special.

 

[Guthriecb]

I have a piece of the decking of the BB-61 that was given to me by a friend who claimed it was taken during a rebuild of the main deck. I am planning on turning a couple pens but need to settle on something very special.

I have some teak from the Mighty Mo, BB-63. I love putting it on PTownsubbie's 30 cal bullet pens. They make for a very special gift. I don't like doing CA for them though. I like for them to be able to touch the wood. It makes it really special.


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[wolf creek knives]

I have some teak from the Mighty Mo, BB-63. I love putting it on PTownsubbie's 30 cal bullet pens. They make for a very special gift. I don't like doing CA for them though. I like for them to be able to touch the wood. It makes it really special.


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My last quest for Teak decking was off the Missouri and finally connected with the ships store and bought the last plank (I was told) of Teak they had for sale. Is it an original WWII piece? Probably not, but it was attached to the ship after refitting at some time so It's still a piece of Teak decking off the ship. They sell Slimline pens with the Teak for $120.00. Not a bad profit from a relatively inexpensive kit.

Edit: The plank I got was not the last one that will ever come off the ship. It's the last piece from the current refitting and I was told no more will be available as planks for some time to come.

 

[Guthriecb]

My last quest for Teak decking was off the Missouri and finally connected with the ships store and bought the last plank (I was told) of Teak they had for sale. Is it an original WWII piece? Probably not, but it was attached to the ship after refitting at some time so It's still a piece of Teak decking off the ship. They sell Slimline pens with the Teak for $120.00. Not a bad profit from a relatively inexpensive kit.

Edit: The plank I got was not the last one that will ever come off the ship. It's the last piece from the current refitting and I was told no more will be available as planks for some time to come.

That's awesome. I helped them in 2018 pull the deck up and I was able to a few really good pieces. I spoke with the guy who runs the teak shop and he showed me how to tell the difference in time frames of the wood. The deck was completely replaced in the 80's and they used thinner pieces of teak laid on top of Douglas fir. Also you can still see the oakum on the old wood. The pieces they are replacing it with now are thinner than the original but not doubled up on top of fir. If I remember correctly this is the third time the deck has been replaced.

They have pallets full of the old wood on the pier behind the teak shop. They use the good pieces for plaques and stuff to sell, the scraps they put in a bin for active duty and veterans to take a piece. If you dig through you can find some really good pieces. So if you're a veteran and ever make it out to Hawaii, visit Ford Island, go to the Ship, turn right on the pier (headed aft) and look for that bin! A local pen turner make pens for them. I don't know who he is but he makes bolt action rifle pens out of the wood and they also sell those for $120. They even sell the plugs that come off of the rivets, so they wouldn't let me keep any of those. Lol.


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[wolf creek knives]

That's awesome. I helped them in 2018 pull the deck up and I was able to a few really good pieces. I spoke with the guy who runs the teak shop and he showed me how to tell the difference in time frames of the wood. The deck was completely replaced in the 80's and they used thinner pieces of teak laid on top of Douglas fir. Also you can still see the oakum on the old wood. The pieces they are replacing it with now are thinner than the original but not doubled up on top of fir. If I remember correctly this is the third time the deck has been replaced.

They have pallets full of the old wood on the pier behind the teak shop. They use the good pieces for plaques and stuff to sell, the scraps they put in a bin for active duty and veterans to take a piece. If you dig through you can find some really good pieces. So if you're a veteran and ever make it out to Hawaii, visit Ford Island, go to the Ship, turn right on the pier (headed aft) and look for that bin! A local pen turner make pens for them. I don't know who he is but he makes bolt action rifle pens out of the wood and they also sell those for $120. They even sell the plugs that come off of the rivets, so they wouldn't let me keep any of those. Lol.


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The piece I have is 1 7/8" thick. It's a solid piece of Teak, no Doug Fir or any other lamentations on it except the covers for the rivet holes. The COA is dated 1 October 2018. I'm pretty sure it's not from WWII but like I said, it was on the ship, taken off the ship and will be the last plank off the ship for some time according to the representative, so I'm happy with that. I do have a dilemma though, my intent was to make a pen out of each piece off the ships I have. This piece being as big as it is I'm thinking I'll leave it whole and see if I can't get a smaller piece for the pen. I think the value on this piece of Teak is in it's size, not in an individual pen.

 

[Edgar]

That's awesome. I helped them in 2018 pull the deck up and I was able to a few really good pieces. I spoke with the guy who runs the teak shop and he showed me how to tell the difference in time frames of the wood. The deck was completely replaced in the 80's and they used thinner pieces of teak laid on top of Douglas fir. Also you can still see the oakum on the old wood. The pieces they are replacing it with now are thinner than the original but not doubled up on top of fir. If I remember correctly this is the third time the deck has been replaced.

They have pallets full of the old wood on the pier behind the teak shop. They use the good pieces for plaques and stuff to sell, the scraps they put in a bin for active duty and veterans to take a piece. If you dig through you can find some really good pieces. So if you're a veteran and ever make it out to Hawaii, visit Ford Island, go to the Ship, turn right on the pier (headed aft) and look for that bin! A local pen turner make pens for them. I don't know who he is but he makes bolt action rifle pens out of the wood and they also sell those for $120. They even sell the plugs that come off of the rivets, so they wouldn't let me keep any of those. Lol.


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Being a veteran, I thought I would check out your suggestion while I'm here, so after I finished up today, I popped over to Ford Island. Unfortunately they have suspended the offer of allowing veterans to take a piece. It seems some people were abusing the privilege and using the wood for commercial purposes rather than personal use.

The lady I spoke to said that they would probably make them available to veterans again in 3-4 months. I'll check back with them next time I'm here.

 

[Guthriecb]

Being a veteran, I thought I would check out your suggestion while I'm here, so after I finished up today, I popped over to Ford Island. Unfortunately they have suspended the offer of allowing veterans to take a piece. It seems some people were abusing the privilege and using the wood for commercial purposes rather than personal use.

The lady I spoke to said that they would probably make them available to veterans again in 3-4 months. I'll check back with them next time I'm here.

That sucks. A handful ruining it for the bunch! I hope you got to go see the aviation museum as well. The holes in the hangar there are from the 7 Dec attack on Oahu.


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[Guthriecb]

The piece I have is 1 7/8" thick. It's a solid piece of Teak, no Doug Fir or any other lamentations on it except the covers for the rivet holes. The COA is dated 1 October 2018. I'm pretty sure it's not from WWII but like I said, it was on the ship, taken off the ship and will be the last plank off the ship for some time according to the representative, so I'm happy with that. I do have a dilemma though, my intent was to make a pen out of each piece off the ships I have. This piece being as big as it is I'm thinking I'll leave it whole and see if I can't get a smaller piece for the pen. I think the value on this piece of Teak is in it's size, not in an individual pen.

Even if it didn't see action in WW2 it definitely saw action in Korea and the Gulf War! It turns really well. But I don't do a CA finish. I want the user to know they are touching wood from the Mighty Mo!


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[wolf creek knives]

Even if it didn't see action in WW2 it definitely saw action in Korea and the Gulf War! It turns really well. But I don't do a CA finish. I want the user to know they are touching wood from the Mighty Mo!


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Gotta agree on the finish and the reason you mentioned you don't do a CA finish.