Rosewood, with Hints of Spirit Stain, and Chrome
Fountain Pen
Rosewood - Pterocarpus Indicus
Rosewood is also commonly known as Amboyna and Narra. Some reports say that the name amboyna only applies to the veneer made from the burl.
A rare, exotic hardwood that grows in Southeast Asia and has a fragrant aroma. It can vary in colour from yellow to golden brown to red, and is generally considered excellent for both turning and finishing. Heartwood of East Indian Rosewood can vary from a golden brown to a deep purplish brown, with darker brown streaks. The wood darkens with age, usually becoming a deep brown.
This timber is beautiful to turn and sand. Although the grain can be a bit cranky it machines extremely well. It is also very stable so tends to behave when sawn down to smaller boards. Rosewood routs and sands very well and takes any kind of finish you want to put on it.
Christmas had been a very busy time for us. With the trip up from the Shropshire Union canal the long way and the weather turning a little more wintery I slowed down my pen turning and gave some time over to the growing list of Christmas presents that needed turning. Whilst Deb was busy crocheting and knitting I was on the chilly back deck making vases, lidded pots, pot pourri containers and pendant necklaces in all different shapes, sizes and colours, Enjoyable, but with the last flurry of the Christmas pen orders and a busier than expected floating market (the weather was foul) my pen stock was depleting fast. I had promised myself that we would be starting the new year with a stock of around fifty pens, we had six.
Leaving the marina at Hawne Basin on new year's eve we moored up at the Black Country Living Museum and headed into Tipton to meet up with some friends for a bit of a doo. We had just about recovered from our excesses and on a very gusty January the 2nd we headed the ten miles and three locks into central Birmingham where we will hide away from the worst of the weather in the BCN’s basins and loops.
We were feeling a little guilty a week later as we had been enjoying catching up with more friends in the restaurants and bars in the city centre so I started to make a rough plan for the next pens to be made. First a day or two of cutting, drilling and gluing brass tubes into various pieces of wood and colourful acrylics.
Another fortnight of the delights of all that Birmingham has to offer went by rather quickly and after a short day cruise we moored up within sight of the Sealife Centre and the Barclaycard Arena on this very modern part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
With this pen I used a little deep purple spirit stain sanding most of it off just to enhance the natural colours and grain pattern. Pen #439 was turned on January 26th outside the entrance ramp to the Barclaycard Arena in central Birmingham.
Rosewood - Pterocarpus Indicus
Christmas had been a very busy time for us. With the trip up from the Shropshire Union canal the long way and the weather turning a little more wintery I slowed down my pen turning and gave some time over to the growing list of Christmas presents that needed turning. Whilst Deb was busy crocheting and knitting I was on the chilly back deck making vases, lidded pots, pot pourri containers and pendant necklaces in all different shapes, sizes and colours, Enjoyable, but with the last flurry of the Christmas pen orders and a busier than expected floating market (the weather was foul) my pen stock was depleting fast. I had promised myself that we would be starting the new year with a stock of around fifty pens, we had six.
Leaving the marina at Hawne Basin on new year's eve we moored up at the Black Country Living Museum and headed into Tipton to meet up with some friends for a bit of a doo. We had just about recovered from our excesses and on a very gusty January the 2nd we headed the ten miles and three locks into central Birmingham where we will hide away from the worst of the weather in the BCN’s basins and loops.
We were feeling a little guilty a week later as we had been enjoying catching up with more friends in the restaurants and bars in the city centre so I started to make a rough plan for the next pens to be made. First a day or two of cutting, drilling and gluing brass tubes into various pieces of wood and colourful acrylics.
Another fortnight of the delights of all that Birmingham has to offer went by rather quickly and after a short day cruise we moored up within sight of the Sealife Centre and the Barclaycard Arena on this very modern part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
Another fortnight of the delights of all that Birmingham has to offer went by rather quickly and after a short day cruise we moored up within sight of the Sealife Centre and the Barclaycard Arena on this very modern part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
With this pen I used a little deep purple spirit stain sanding most of it off just to enhance the natural colours and grain pattern. Pen #439 was turned on January 26th outside the entrance ramp to the Barclaycard Arena in central Birmingham.
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