Ugliest Pen

[ChrisMathes]

:crybaby2:Well, I came in contact with someone who had Osage Orange Burl pen blanks. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them...thought it would be beautiful and unique. The below pic is a result of one of the blanks I bought. The color is a little odd and the burl does not 'show'. I hate it, unfortunately...looks like one I may be hanging onto for a while.

Anyway, I was hoping to start a thread where people show their work that they expected something but were disappointed with the end result...:-D

 

[jeff...]

:crybaby2:Well, I came in contact with someone who had Osage Orange Burl pen blanks. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them...thought it would be beautiful and unique. The below pic is a result of one of the blanks I bought. The color is a little odd and the burl does not 'show'. I hate it, unfortunately...looks like one I may be hanging onto for a while.

Anyway, I was hoping to start a thread where people show their work that they expected something but were disappointed with the end result...:-D

Chris I see nothing wrong with that pen, I think it's very nice work :icon_thum.

But if your unsatisfied , contact the seller of the pen blanks and voice your concerns, don't be silent about it. I doubt the seller tried to stick you, it's more likely he doesn't know his blanks are bum and you'll help him by letting him know your unsatisfied. Dave taught me that you may think the blanks are good because they look good on the outside, but burl can be very thin and turn away. So with burl blanks I examine them extra close and make sire the burl runs through the entire thickness of the blank, else it goes in the trash.

Every batch of blanks I've sold for green dollars, I've always tried to remember to tell the buyer let me know if there are any issues and I really expect them to let me know if there are any issues...

 

[ChrisMathes]

Jeff, that's great advice and I appreciate your support. In actuality, there is nothing wrong with the wood...it is osage orange burl all the way through. I wasn't aware that the look of the burl is obfuscated on this type of wood. On all the other burls that I have worked, the grain pattern is vivid and beautiful. This wood, however, is different. The wood is yellow with some dark streaks in it, which IMO makes it look 'dirty'...like holly if you sand the bushings into the wood. The birds-eyes are the same color as the heartwood...unlike other woods where teh birds-eyes take the finish like end grain...there is no 'pop'. So, from my perspective, this supplier is completely on the up and up..the blanks were what he promised...they just didn't turn out to be what I hoped for and I learned about a new wood

Cheers!
Chris

 

[cskipper]

I have turned blanks that I thought would be beautiful and were duds. When sanding I use DNA between levels and pretty much know how it will look. If I don't like it, I don't "waste" a pen kit on it. I've also turned a blank that looked like a dud and found the most beautiful wood. I realize that the grain may not have been as vivid as you expected, but it is still an attractive pen (at least in the picture).

 

[Big Mike]

Chris, it may not be the most intense color or burl figure but I still think it is a nice pen. I don't know that I have seen osage orange burl before. Perhaps it is not as intense in color. I think you did all you could to make it a lovely pen. I like it.

Somewhere around here I have my first pen. You wanta see the ugliest pen in the history of the world, well, this one is it. It is a bumpy stick with pen fittings stuck on it. If I can find it I will take a picture and show you what a real ugly pen looks like.:rolf:

I will say one thing about your picture, the large hot spot of reflected light along the length of the pen hides some of its beauty...

 

[DaveO]

Chirs, I like it. It may not have spectacular figure or outstanding color, but the fit and finish look great and the plating looks good with the wood. Like others have said it's unique. I have never seen Oagae Orange burl before, so that make it special

It ain't as ungly as this one -

Which looks much worse in person...it's well posed for the pic Or my first pen -

The friction finish and plating rubbed off within a week :eusa_doh:

Dave

 

[dozer]

Just a suggestion but try getting some food coloring past and use it to dye the blanks right before you do your finish. The dye will bring out all the figure and eyes in the burl.

By the way I like the pen also

 

[jeff...]

Chris here a pic of what I would consider a good burl blank, it's solid burl and has some, well burl figure, plus some curl. I'll send it to you, next week. After you turn it, try and guess what kind of wood it is. If you cant figure it out, I'll tell you.

It's one blank picture is of two sides...


Thanks

 

[cskipper]

WG, Clay and/or Brandon can correct me if I am remembering incorrectly, but I am pretty sure WG has used permanent markers to color some wood when turning. That wasn't on pens that I recall, and don't know if that would make the difference. Just a thought.

 

[ChrisMathes]

Hey Dozer...yah...I have some dye that I have used in the past to bring out the chatoyance in highly figured woods. That works GREAT, but with the osage orange, I was hoping to maintain the uniqe color of the wood. It's just one of those things where the wood doesn't show the crazy grain...unless it's cracked haha...it kind of blends too well..kind of like trying to take a pic of our yellow lab..he's practically white and the characteristics of his face are about impossible to capture. :-( I may try to do something different with another blank..like adding blue dye or something to see if I can get the figure to show and have different colors....:eusa_thin

 

[ChrisMathes]

Wow, Jeff...you are too generous..can't wait to see it. It will be fun to try to figure this out.....

Cheers,
Chris

 

[ChrisMathes]

I know Eagle has done that with a pen he made...looked great. I have done some coloring on some tops I made for Lindsay's class....(Lindsay is my daughter who is in kindergarden). She is sitting here with me and thinks it's really neat that her name is on the bb..lol

Cheers,
Chris