ArtFire

This is a Cigar style Ballpoint pen turned out of Amboyna Burl with Satin Gold hardware. It is 6 inches long and weighs about 2 ounces. It uses a Parker refill. This pen has a double-twist mechanism.

Amboyna Burl is one of the most distinctive and sought after burl woods available today. With heartwood ranging in color from golden yellow to deep red, and with beautifully contrasting, straw-colored sapwood - not to mention an inherent, often spectacular, wavy grain pattern - Amboyna Burl makes this pen gorgeous. The specimen used for this pen revealed a neat bit of the burl on the section used for the barrel.

It is a very comfortable pen for those with larger hands or for those who have trouble grasping smaller objects. It's about 11 mm in diameter where I grasp it for writing.

A bit about of the process of creating these pens: I start with a hand-selected section of wood and the components that make up the mechanism of the pen. I then cut the wood to length and drill holes to make room for the mechanism. The prepared blank is set up on my lathe, and I then spend a fair amount of time working the wood down to the proper diameter and shape to match the mechanism. Sand paper is applied, through a number of grits, to get a nice, smooth surface. Several coats of finish are applied and buffed. The wood and mechanism are then combined to create a fabulous writing instrument.

amboyna, burl, metal, ballpoint