Special order!

 Just a quick one. I got an order last week as a result of a word-of-mouth recommendation, which is always gratifying! The order was for four slimline pens and a nut bowl in cherry. Happy to oblige!

Although these are relatively simple pens, each one has its own characteristic. The red pen has been made from padauk, which is a beautiful crimson red when first turned and smells strongly of incense as the wood is cut. I think the customer's choice of gold fittings for this pen was a good one.

The very pale pen with the darker patch on the top barrel has been made from hazel, which was specifically requested by the customer. The dark area is the remains of a knot in the original piece of wood that the pen blank was cut from and I think it makes a nice contrast detail on this pen.

The slightly darker pen has been turned from spalted beech and part of the spalting can be seen at the top end of the upper barrel. Spalting is a natural process that occurs mostly in dead wood and is caused by fungi. It causes no damage to the wood at this stage and is highly sought after by many woodworkers and turners for the stunning patterns it can leave in a finished piece. 

The pen with the black chrome fittings has been made from a piece of ash, specifically a broken bell stay from the belfry at the Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, here in Wisbech. I can certify that this is from a bell stay as I was the person who broke it during a bell ringing practice a couple of months ago! For information, the stay is attached to the headstock of a bell to stop it rotating through a full 360 degrees when being rung. However, whilst they are very strong they are not indestructible, as I found out that evening. As a way of making amends, I have taken the bell stay and made some pens from it. This is the last one and all proceeds from this and the other pens from that stay are being donated back to the Bell Fund at St Peter's. 

Finally, the customer also asked for a cherry wood nut bowl, which I was very happy to produce. This particular bowl has a pronounced 'foot' which is a lot smaller in diameter than the actual bowl. By undercutting the base of the bowl between its edge and the foot, the bowl appears to float above the surface it is sitting on.