#531 Now Sold

NB Birchills Oak and 24ct Gold Plated Fountain Pen

(A donation from the sale of this pen will be gifted to The Black Country Living Museum, the Custodians of NB Birchills)



EUROPEAN OAK - Quercus robur

Usually straight-grained, the heartwood of European Oak varies in colour from light tan to brown. Quarter-sawn pieces show attractive flame figuring. The wood is fairly hard, heavy and dense, clean but with the occasional knot. European Oak is a beautiful timber and with an oil finish, the grain will turn a deep golden brown

This particular piece of oak (probably English rather than European) is just a little bit special though. It comes from the rear cabin side gunwales and roof hatch of Narrowboat Birchills. I was given a few off cuts by the superb craftsmen who were carrying out a little light refurbishment to this historic boat, in fact the guys had cut the whole back cabin off!

Birchills is an historic, ‘Joey’ boat with a small day cabin, built in 1953 by Ernest Thomas of Walsall, ‘Birchills’ it is one of the last wooden day boats made and was used to carry coal to Wolverhampton Power Station. This boat is double-ended and the mast and rudder could be changed from one end to the other. This enabled its use in narrow canals or basins where there was no room to turn the boat around.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hulls shape so half a day later this flaky gunwale would have been burned. I wasn't sure how deep the rot would have gone and how deep I would have to delve into this piece to find stable wood. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

That old flaky gunwale went on to make a few very nice pens and I was lucky enough to be given some more wood by Ade at A P Boat Building in Alvecote. This time a piece that appears to be from the old red cabin hatch surround.









Pen #531 Was made at Fazeley Junction Just outside Tamworth on the 15th May 2016

The journey from above Shadehouse Lock at Fradley Junction to Fazeley Junction an dour next trading destination was done in one hit. It's certainly not a long way, about 5ish hours but the weather was against us for the first few hours. The volunteer lock keepers had arrived and were quiet in their soggy waterproofs so at least the couple of locks we had to negotiate were quick and simple, then it was a right hand turn through a swing bridge and keep our heads down out of the drizzle.

About an hour outside Fazeley, just passing the industrial estates on the edge of Tamworth the sun started to come out and dry up all the rain. We carried on past a few early traders and turned (winded) the boat ready to take our place on our allocated mooring space. It wouldn't be the last time we'd move though. There's always one isn't there? Someone was digging their heels in, not happy with either their mooring place or the curve of the towpath. It's not easy to trade on the wobbly bits but someone has got to and the mooring plan is drawn up at random and emailed to us in advance so we can easily chose not to attend if it's a problem. 

Whilst Debbie had walked (hiked) into town I moved the boat one final time and started catching up with the increasing pen turning list I had given myself. It was a great market and lovely to see so many happy people visiting from the locality and farther afield. Hopefully the local pub will get on board next year and maybe get a band and a BBQ organised and there is plenty of space for a few local charity stalls too. I can easily see this turning into the Fazeley Junction Festival in the future.










You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on another blog here


oh and please like us on Facebook too here - 

#530 Now Sold

Lignum Vitae and Gun Metal Rollerball Pen



LIGNUM VITAE - Guaiacum officinale

Heartwood colour can range from a olive to a dark greenish brown to almost black, sometimes with a reddish hue. The colour tends to darken with age, especially upon exposure to light.

Lignum Vitae is regarded by most to be both the heaviest and hardest wood in the world. Its durability in submerged or ground-contact applications is also exceptional. Lignum Vitae has been used for propeller shaft bearings on ships, and its natural oils provide self-lubrication that gives the wood excellent wear resistance.

Unfortunately, Lignum Vitae has been exploited to the brink of extinction, and is now an endangered species. The name Lignum Vitae is Latin, and means tree of life, or wood of life, which is derived from the tree’s many medicinal uses.

This wood has a profoundly positive energy. The overall energy of the wood can be summed up as "the power and strength of goodness." The energy of the wood is considered very healing, in both physical and spiritual matters. The energies within the wood would also be excellent for divining information from far away as well as close to home.

This wood represents the end of strife and the beginning of a new, positive, cycle.



Pen #530 Was made at Fazeley Junction Just outside Tamworth

The journey from above Shadehouse Lock at Fradley Junction to Fazeley Junction an dour next trading destination was done in one hit. It's certainly not a long way, about 5ish hours but the weather was against us for the first few hours. The volunteer lock keepers had arrived and were quiet in their soggy waterproofs so at least the couple of locks we had to negotiate were quick and simple, then it was a right hand turn through a swing bridge and keep our heads down out of the drizzle.

About an hour outside Fazeley, just passing the industrial estates on the edge of Tamworth the sun started to come out and dry up all the rain. We carried on past a few early traders and turned (winded) the boat ready to take our place on our allocated mooring space. It wouldn't be the last time we'd move though. There's always one isn't there? Someone was digging their heels in, not happy with either their mooring place or the curve of the towpath. It's not easy to trade on the wobbly bits but someone has got to and the mooring plan is drawn up at random and emailed to us in advance so we can easily chose not to attend if it's a problem. 

Whilst Debbie had walked (hiked) into town I moved the boat one final time and started catching up with the increasing pen turning list I had given myself. It was a great market and lovely to see so many happy people visiting from the locality and farther afield. Hopefully the local pub will get on board next year and maybe get a band and a BBQ organised and there is plenty of space for a few local charity stalls too. I can easily see this turning into the Fazeley Junction Festival in the future.
  







You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on another blog here


oh and please like us on Facebook too here - 

#529 Now Sold

NB Birchills Oak and Chrome Fountain Pen

(A donation from the sale of this pen will be gifted to The Black Country Living Museum, the Custodians of NB Birchills)



EUROPEAN OAK - Quercus robur

Usually straight-grained, the heartwood of European Oak varies in colour from light tan to brown. Quarter-sawn pieces show attractive flame figuring. The wood is fairly hard, heavy and dense, clean but with the occasional knot. European Oak is a beautiful timber and with an oil finish, the grain will turn a deep golden brown

This particular piece of oak (probably English rather than European) is just a little bit special though. It comes from the rear cabin side gunwales and roof hatch of Narrowboat Birchills. I was given a few off cuts by the superb craftsmen who were carrying out a little light refurbishment to this historic boat, in fact the guys had cut the whole back cabin off!

Birchills is an historic, ‘Joey’ boat with a small day cabin, built in 1953 by Ernest Thomas of Walsall, ‘Birchills’ it is one of the last wooden day boats made and was used to carry coal to Wolverhampton Power Station. This boat is double-ended and the mast and rudder could be changed from one end to the other. This enabled its use in narrow canals or basins where there was no room to turn the boat around.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hulls shape so half a day later this flaky gunwale would have been burned. I wasn't sure how deep the rot would have gone and how deep I would have to delve into this piece to find stable wood. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

That old flaky gunwale went on to make a few very nice pens and I was lucky enough to be given some more wood by Ade at A P Boat Building in Alvecote. This time a piece that appears to be from the old red cabin hatch surround.








Pen #529 Was made at Fazeley Junction Just outside Tamworth on 15th May 2016



The journey from above Shadehouse Lock at Fradley Junction to Fazeley Junction an dour next trading destination was done in one hit. It's certainly not a long way, about 5ish hours but the weather was against us for the first few hours. The volunteer lock keepers had arrived and were quiet in their soggy waterproofs so at least the couple of locks we had to negotiate were quick and simple, then it was a right hand turn through a swing bridge and keep our heads down out of the drizzle.

About an hour outside Fazeley, just passing the industrial estates on the edge of Tamworth the sun started to come out and dry up all the rain. We carried on past a few early traders and turned (winded) the boat ready to take our place on our allocated mooring space. It wouldn't be the last time we'd move though. There's always one isn't there? Someone was digging their heels in, not happy with either their mooring place or the curve of the towpath. It's not easy to trade on the wobbly bits but someone has got to and the mooring plan is drawn up at random and emailed to us in advance so we can easily chose not to attend if it's a problem. 

Whilst Debbie had walked (hiked) into town I moved the boat one final time and started catching up with the increasing pen turning list I had given myself. It was a great market and lovely to see so many happy people visiting from the locality and farther afield. Hopefully the local pub will get on board next year and maybe get a band and a BBQ organised and there is plenty of space for a few local charity stalls too. I can easily see this turning into the Fazeley Junction Festival in the future.
  







You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on another blog here


oh and please like us on Facebook too here - 

#528 Now Sold

Purple Heart and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen




PURPLE HEART - Peltogyne

When freshly cut the heartwood of Purple heart is a dull grayish/purplish brown. Upon exposure the wood becomes a deeper eggplant purple. With further age and exposure to UV light, the wood becomes a dark brown with a hint of purple. This colour-shift can be slowed and minimized by not leaving the pen in direct sunlight for too long.

Sometimes called Amaranth, this colourful Latin American hardwood is tremendously popular for furniture and other designs that call for a unique splash of colour. In addition to its colouration, Purple heart has excellent strength properties, and can be used in applications where strength is important—a wood for both form and function.

Purple Heart is considered to have energies within the wood are strongly biased towards female. Most woods have much more even male and female aspects. Purple heart is a considered quite a spiritual wood. It enhances energy dealing with creativity and knowledge. One of the best woods when dealing with spiritual healing and health issues, purple heart would be especially useful in eradicating the negative energies that create strife in the home.


Pen #528 Was made at Fazeley Junction Just outside Tamworth on 15th May 2016

The journey from above Shadehouse Lock at Fradley Junction to Fazeley Junction an dour next trading destination was done in one hit. It's certainly not a long way, about 5ish hours but the weather was against us for the first few hours. The volunteer lock keepers had arrived and were quiet in their soggy waterproofs so at least the couple of locks we had to negotiate were quick and simple, then it was a right hand turn through a swing bridge and keep our heads down out of the drizzle.

About an hour outside Fazeley, just passing the industrial estates on the edge of Tamworth the sun started to come out and dry up all the rain. We carried on past a few early traders and turned (winded) the boat ready to take our place on our allocated mooring space. It wouldn't be the last time we'd move though. There's always one isn't there? Someone was digging their heels in, not happy with either their mooring place or the curve of the towpath. It's not easy to trade on the wobbly bits but someone has got to and the mooring plan is drawn up at random and emailed to us in advance so we can easily chose not to attend if it's a problem. 

Whilst Debbie had walked (hiked) into town I moved the boat one final time and started catching up with the increasing pen turning list I had given myself. It was a great market and lovely to see so many happy people visiting from the locality and farther afield. Hopefully the local pub will get on board next year and maybe get a band and a BBQ organised and there is plenty of space for a few local charity stalls too. I can easily see this turning into the Fazeley Junction Festival in the future.  








You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on another blog here


oh and please like us on Facebook too here - 

#527 Now Sold

American Black Walnut/Spirit Stained and 24ct Gold Plated Ballpoint Twist Pen




BLACK WALNUT - Juglans nigra

It would be hard to overstate Black Walnut’s popularity among woodworkers. Its cooperative working characteristics, coupled with its rich brown coloration puts the wood in a class by itself among temperate-zone hardwoods. To cap it off, the wood also has good dimensional stability, shock resistance, and strength properties. Heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a grey, purple, or reddish cast. Sapwood is pale yellow-gray to nearly white. Figured grain patterns such as curl, crotch, and burl are also seen.

The journey from above Shadehouse Lock at Fradley Junction to Fazeley Junction an dour next trading destination was done in one hit. It's certainly not a long way, about 5ish hours but the weather was against us for the first few hours. The volunteer lock keepers had arrived and were quiet in their soggy waterproofs so at least the couple of locks we had to negotiate were quick and simple, then it was a right hand turn through a swing bridge and keep our heads down out of the drizzle.

About an hour outside Fazeley, just passing the industrial estates on the edge of Tamworth the sun started to come out and dry up all the rain. We carried on past a few early traders and turned (winded) the boat ready to take our place on our allocated mooring space. It wouldn't be the last time we'd move though. There's always one isn't there? Someone was digging their heels in, not happy with either their mooring place or the curve of the towpath. It's not easy to trade on the wobbly bits but someone has got to and the mooring plan is drawn up at random and emailed to us in advance so we can easily chose not to attend if it's a problem. 

Whilst Debbie had walked (hiked) into town I moved the boat one final time and started catching up with the increasing pen turning list I had given myself. It was a great market and lovely to see so many happy people visiting from the locality and farther afield. Hopefully the local pub will get on board next year and maybe get a band and a BBQ organised and there is plenty of space for a few local charity stalls too. I can easily see this turning into the Fazeley Junction Festival in the future.

Pen #527 Was made at Fazeley Junction Just outside Tamworth on the 15th May 2016









You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on another blog here


oh and please like us on Facebook too here -