'Nother pen

[DaveO]

I know another slimline pen by DaveO, :roll: getting old. But I am hooked, I love it. This one is a little unique by the wood it is made out of. It is White Heath (Erica arborea)root burl, which is better known as Pipe Briar. It is the wood that is used to make tobacco pipes due to it's hardness, high resistance to heat transfer, and porosity (it absorbs the moisture giving a dry smoke). I got a box of this from my wife's Grandfather (who also was the owner of my lathe) and planned to try my hand at making a tobacco pipe. Tonight, I thought that it would make an interesting, if not cool pen. The really cool thing about this wood is that it takes between 50-100 years for the burl to form at the base of the tree, and it only grows in acidic, sandy soils in the Mediterranean. The burl is cut from government controlled trees (to not deplete the resource) and then boiled to remove all dirt and gunk. Then the burl is sliced, and dried for 3-5 years before it is graded and sold to pipe makers across the world. My wife plans to give it to her Aunt, the original owners daughter :-D

Thanks for looking and reading through my long narative...you can wake up now :lol: :lol:
Dave

 

[NCPete]

cool pen Dave!

 

[yellofins]

:sleepy1: :sleepy1: Huh....
Oh.... nice pen Dave.
That's got a real history and another great DaveO pen.
It looks like another pen that pictures don't do justice.


Ron

 

[DaveO]

It looks like another pen that pictures don't do justice.
Ron

Is my photography that bad...I thought it was a pretty good pic :lol: :lol:
Dave

 

[jeff...]

Dave cool pen and hard as a rock I'm sure, great fit and finish.

Hey if you ever do get into pipe making, I've been looking for one like Gandalf had from Lord of the rings. Now I bet you that pipe would smoke cool because it was so long. If you know where I can find one like that please let me know.

Thanks

 

[cskipper]

Sharp pen and cool history!

 

[Splinter]

Is my photography that bad...I thought it was a pretty good pic :lol: :lol:
Dave

Great looking pen Dave. You are getting good at those pens.:eusa_danc Nothing wrong with your photography, but you might want to try a contrasting color for the background, so the object (pen) will stand out and not blend in with the background. Just a thought.:eusa_thin

 

[clowman]

Nice Pen dave! The hooks on pen turning dig deep indeed.

How was that wood to turn?

 

[NZAPP1]

A monster has been created :lol: :lol: Nice pen and cool history Dave. I am sure that the gift will be well received :icon_thum

 

[Travis Porter]

Looks good Dave. How much is it costing you to make a pen excluding the wood? I thought the kits were kind of high, but the rate people turn them out they must not be that much.

 

[yellofins]

Dave,
The camera cannot capture the intracacies or the character and feel of the wood.
Seeing your last pens in person has shown me that.
(Is that an acceptable recovery?).

Ron

 

[clowman]

How much is it costing you to make a pen excluding the wood?

The cheapest I have found a slimline kit is about $1.75 each. The better platings cost significantly more. Upwards to 6-7 bucks

 

[jeff...]

Good overview of Briar burl and pipe making, worth the time to take the Factory tour.

FACTORY

Just a teaser Dave :lol:

 

[sapwood]

Nice pen Dave! The history certainly adds to its appeal.

And the photo . . . it's fine, may just need a better rock and new carpet :lol:

Roger

 

[jeff...]

I think that's a hunk of Briar burl, not a rock. Although I'm sure it's just as hard as a rock.

 

[sapwood]

I think that's a hunk of Briar burl, not a rock. Although I'm sure it's just as hard as a rock.

Duh, oh :eusa_shhh
You're right Jeff. The cut marks on top just reminded me of a really dull bandsaw blade. Tough stuff

Roger

 

[michaelgarner]

great job Dave, your knocking those out fast bro.

 

[DaveO]

Great looking pen Dave. You are getting good at those pens.:eusa_danc Nothing wrong with your photography, but you might want to try a contrasting color for the background, so the object (pen) with stand out and not blend in with the background. Just a thought.:eusa_thin

Good tip, but that would require me getting new carpet :lol: :lol:
I need to pay more attention to taking better pics of my work, especially as I give most of it away and the pics are the only record that I made something.
Would you recommend a darker background or lighter, or just a color that is more different than the pen color?
Dave

 

[DaveO]

Nice Pen dave! The hooks on pen turning dig deep indeed.

How was that wood to turn?

Clay, I thought it was the hardest wood I have tried to turn a pen out of. But not as hard as the Am. Elm I tried turning. It sanded extremely well though, I probably could have just gone through the Micromesh grits and called it a day instead of doing a whole CA finish.
Dave

 

[DaveO]

Good overview of Briar burl and pipe making, worth the time to take the Factory tour.

FACTORY

Just a teaser Dave :lol:

Cool site Jeff... Thanks for the link.
Dave