Wood Information

Pen Descriptions

African Olivewood

African Olivewood is generally darker in color and has more dramatic and erratic grain patterns, it is not as fragrant but is equally as beautiful. Olive is our favorite pale wood.

Amboyna Burl

Has wavy grain and distinct features that make it highly coveted for veneer and small turning projects.

Ambrosia Maple

Ambrosia Maple is the result of regular maple trees that have been infested by the ambrosia beetle. The beetle bore tunnels and short galleries called cradles through the trees and as the tree grows these pathways grow fungus that colors the wood. The wood eventually heals the channels but the beautiful color streaks remain. This wood is stabilized by drawing out the water and air and replacing it with an

acrylic to prevent further decay and any possible exposure to fungus. It is fully sealed and waxed.

Bethlehem Olivewood

Bethlehem Olivewood is collected when the trees are pruned in October every year. Many of the trees are over 300 years old and some have been growing since the time of Christ. It’s possible to estimate the age of the piece by looking at the grain, the darker the grain, the older the tree.

Birch

Birch is light in color and has long sweeping grain structure. It transitions from a darker heartwood to a lighter sapwood and is luminescent when stained.

Black and White Ebony or Pale Moon Ebony

Black and White Ebony is beautifully ribbons of black grain that often create moon shapes out of the lighter wood. It is almost as rare as its all black ebony cousins.

Bloodwood

Bloodwood can range from pale red with even lighter streaks running through it to a deep crimson color. It is dense with fine straight grain running through it and a spectacular finish.

Bocote

Bocote is a wood found in Central and South America. The overall finish of this pen is most often visually striking because of the amount of grain lines running through the piece and the difference in color and tone. As it is known for dynamic contrast in grain patterns it is often used in fine furniture, instruments, and other small items like pens.

Bog Oak

Ancient Bog Oak from the Fens in England and is between 4-6,000 years old. It was buried in a peat bog which preserved them from decay. Its color is the result of tannins in acidic water that stain the wood. If left untouched it would eventually form into coal and lignite.

Borneo Rosewood

Borneo Rosewood Is one of our favorites, it was used for furniture making and cabinetry, but has fallen out of favor due to narrow supply and because the sap causes reactions similar to poison ivy in some people. It has beautiful dark rose grain and is dried and sealed to prevent any irritation.

Briar Burl

Briar Burl is found growing on roots in an often erratic pattern, unlike tree grain it swirls and grows in a pattern all its own. Frequently used for smoking pipes this wood is very hard and ranges in color from dark beige to a ruddy red.

Bubinga

Bubinga is memorable as much for its name as the delicate shimmer that it has when it has been polished, as well as the wavy contrast of reddish brown grain.

Camelthorn

Camelthorn

Originating from South Africa, a member of the Acacia family, this wood is spectacular, the extreme hardness of the wood and the beautiful depth of the dark rust color with a very intricate, swirling, grain pattern has made this wood a statement in itself.

Canarywood

Canarywood is found in South America from Panama to southern Brazil, it ranges in color from yellow to dark brown, usually with streaks of red brown to almost purple. Every piece we’ve worked with so far has been distinctly different.

Cherry

Cherry is one of the most popular and most commonly used woods for furniture, cabinetry, and flooring because it has stunning grain and texture, it is easy to work with and has a dramatic finish. It is also makes fantastic pens!

Cocobolo

Cocobolo

Cocobolo comes with a range of yellow, red, orange, and brown streaks through it. It has recently joined the rare wood collections and is increasingly hard to find. It has a spicy scent while being worked and can also cause allergic reactions while being cut or drilled in some people. This wood is heavily sealed and waxed to prevent irritation.

Desert Ironwood

Desert Ironwood is found in the Southwestern United States and Northwest Mexico. It is usually only found in smaller pieces and so the grain can be straight or gnarled.

East Indian Rosewood

East Indian Rosewood is a dense dark wood, it has tightly formed grain and will darken with age. The color and quality of the wood make this a subtle beauty.

Flame Boxelder

Flame Box Elder

Flame Box Elder is a soft wood that has red streaks running through the wood. Its startling colors are made brighter by the stabilizer that has been drawn into the wood so that it is hard enough to work with. It is, by far, one of the most spectacular natural wood color patterns.

Gaboon Ebony

Gaboon Ebony

Gaboon Ebony is a very rare wood, generally used for piano keys and small pieces. It is very dense with hardly any grain visible. It is one of the most expensive of all the hardwoods and equally hard to find. It is generally found in West Africa when available.

Koa

This is Koa that has been sustainably harvested from Hawaii, no trees were removed or cut down, and the wood has been harvested from trees that have fallen on their own, due to weather, pest or other natural causes. This wood is similar in coloring to Mahogany and has a beautiful sheen. Some sections of a tree will form a wavy pattern in the grain.

Lacewood

Lacewood

Lacewood is a South American wood that is known for its lace-like structure in the grain. When you cut the wood against the grain you get luminescent stripes that show off just how beautiful this wood can be.

Macassar Ebony

Macassar Ebony is dark brown with pale gold streaks through it. As with all ebony it is rare and hard to find and equally as stunning as some of it’s counterparts.

Maple

Maple is a common hardwood in the United States, curly maple looks like water ripples in the wood and makes for an interesting effect on pens.

Olivewood

Olivewood

Olivewood is a fragrant wood that comes from the olive tree. It is usually a pale gold color with dark grain lines running through it which tell its age. It is one of the easiest woods to work with and turns beautifully. 

Paduak

Paduak is a vibrant red-orange with a very fine grain pattern. It is easy to work with but extra care has to be taken because the powder coming off the piece has a tendency to stain skin and clothes. The wood is cleaned with alcohol until the cloth comes away clean and then it is sealed to prevent color transfer.

Pecan

Spalted Pecan

Spalt is formed by fungi that has attacked the tree and begun the process of deterioration. Pecan is very susceptible to fugal and insect attack and so has dark lines and some dark pores. This wood has been stabilized in an acrylic resin to ensure easier workability and a fine finish.  All of our materials with spalt have been sealed and waxed to prevent exposure.

Pink Ivory

Pink Ivory

Found only in Southern Africa Pink Ivory is rumored to be “rarer than diamonds” with a range of colors from a pale brownish pink to an almost neon pink.  Folklore in the region suggests this wood is reserved only for royalty.

Spalted Hackberry

Spalted Hackberry

Spalt is formed by fungi that has attacked the tree and begun the process of deterioration. Hackberry is very susceptible to fugal attack and so has dark lines and some dark pores where the fungus has spread. All of our materials with spalt have been sealed and waxed to prevent exposure.

Spalted Maple

Spalted Maple

Spalt is formed by fungi that has attacked the tree and begun the process of deterioration. Spalted Maple can come in a variety of colors depending on the level of decay at the time the tree was cut and creates striking lines and figuring in the wood. All of our Spalted Maple has been stabilized- a process in which the air and water are vacuumed out and replaced with a polymer plastic to allow us to work with it and to prevent exposure to fungi while it’s being used as a pen. This wood is sealed and waxed.

Spalted Tiger Oak

Spalted Tiger Oak is the result of decay and rot creating beautiful black lines running through the grain of an oak tree. This wood has been stabilized, a process that draws out the air and water and replaces it with an acrylic to prevent further decay and any possible exposure to the fungus. 

Tulipwood

Tulipwood

Brazilian Tulipwood is one of the hardest woods that we work with.  It has a unique floral fragrance when it is being worked and is a rare wood that can be hard to find as it doesn’t get much taller than a shrub so most of the pieces are too small to be used for anything but small items like pens.

Walnut

Claro Walnut looks like milk chocolate and has a beautiful smooth finish with wide grain lines and subtle color changes.

Wild Olive

Wild Olivewood is generally darker and has more erratic grain than some of the more carefully tended olive trees.

Wild Olive Burl

Wild Olivewood is generally darker and has more erratic grain than some of the more carefully tended olive trees. A burl is a large growth on the side of a tree that usually forms from some kind of damage to the tree in that area. This causes crazy, erratic grain patterns and makes for beautiful small decorative items.

Ziricote 

Ziricote is a wood that shows its age, the dark rings that run through the wood are growth rings that create great depth and color variation. These pieces have been “cross-cut” to show more of the variation through the wood.

Other Materials

Acrylic Acetate

Acrylic Acetate is a semi-flexible plastic that is often a swirl of colors and designs. With this material the colors are opaque and give the pen a solid look and feel that will resist scratching last a long time.

Inlace Acrylester

Inlace Acrylester is a type of acrylic that is designed to enhance the color pigments in the piece. These are some of the most beautiful pieces because of their depth of color, interesting patterns, and high shine when polished.  It is one of the more brittle acrylics and should be treated with care as it may crack if dropped.

Special Abalone Shell

Special - Abalone Shell

This pen is made with real Abalone shell cast in resin giving the user the opportunity to see all of the beautiful natural colors of the abalone. A little piece of the sea to carry with you.

Special Japanese Paper

Special - Japanese Paper

This pen is made with beautiful Japanese paper. Cast in resin, sealing and enhancing the color and intricate detail this pen is a work of art many layers deep.

Special - Florentine Paper

This pen is made with beautiful Florentine-patterned paper. Cast in resin, sealing and enhancing the color and intricate detail this pen is a work of art many layers deep.

TruStone

Banded Chrysocolla  is a stone composite that is very heavy and hard. This one is striped with blue and green.

Banded Black & White is a stone composite that is heavy and hard. This one is striped with black and white.

Dragon Skin Trustone is a stone composite that is heavy and hard. This one is designed with beautiful sky blue and black webbing.

Wild Horse Jasper Trustone is a stone composite that is heavy and hard. This one is designed with streaks of rust red, blacks, and blues through a white base.

Teal w/ Gold Web Trustone is a stone composite that is heavy and hard. This one is designed with a Teal blue base and has metallic gold webbing throughout.

Azurite/ Malachite Trustone is a stone composite that is heavy and hard. This one is blues and greens and looks like the world.