Recent Pens (gifts)

[ChrisMathes]

Hi All...I haven't posted any pics in quite a while, so I thought I would share some pens that I completed recently.

First is a pen that we are giving to the lady who teaches 'Kingdom Kids' at our pre-school. She is fantastic! It is BOW with a cross inlay made of abalone shell. The 'hill' and lower section are made from bubinga. The five abalone dots on the lower section represent Jesus' wounds.


Next is a pen I made for my son's teacher. It is a combination of curly sycamore, very dark walnut, amboyna burl, pink ivory and purple heart. I probably wouldn't put some of those woods together again, but I liked the overall look and it will calm down some as the woods darken.


Finally is a pen that I made for the doctor who delivered three of our four kids. He is great at what he does! The pen is an amboyna burl Statesman.


oh...all are CA finish

Cheers,
Chris

[mbeach]

very nice pens... how do you do the inlays?

[nelsone]

Great looking pens Chris! The cross is an exquisite piece of work! How is the abalone to work with? I've never played with it. Do you turn it or sand it or...

[woodArtz]

Absolutely stunning work. For those who have recently joined, this guy is a master penmaker. Very nice Chris!

[MikeL]

WOW. The inlays are awesome and that Statesman is a beauty! Great work.

[PChristy]

Great work Chris -I can't say I like one better then the other - because they are all beautiful -

[skeeter]

Awesome job.

[ChrisMathes]

Thanks for the compliments, all! (especially the master penmaker one )

The abalone is hard and brittle, so it can be difficult to work with. A pen that I made in the past, I bought a shell and was cutting pieces for the pen and turning the dots on the lathe...mainly b/c I want the pens to be made by hand..not laser. I found this to be quite an effort, so I am ordering the abalone pieces. There's no harm in using pre-cut strips and dots, eh? I typically will do some sanding with 60 grit paper to get the size right. Then, it will turn with a very light touch, but will dull your tools fairly quickly. I try to stay away from the skew chisel when working with it...that can get a little too 'exciting'. I love the look, though, so it's worth a little extra effort!

Cheers,
Chris