#762 Now Sold

Fijian Mahogany and Chrome Twist Pen

Mahogany is a commercially important lumber prized for its beauty, durability and colour. It is used for panelling and to make furniture, boats, musical instruments and other ornamental items.

Although it's the least dense of all hardwoods, Fijian Mahogany is still extremely durable and resistant to scratching. According to the Janka Hardness Test this product is two to three times harder than cedar or redwood. It has reddish brown hues and tropical colours.

Every forest in Fiji is regulated by the Fijian government, who strictly manage the sustainability and milling process of their mahogany.

Pen #762 was turned on 28th March 2017 at Long Buckby on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#783 Now Sold

NB Birchills Oak and Chrome Premium Twist 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 #783 was turned on 8th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#782 Now Sold

NB Denebola Elm and Chrome Premium Twist Pen

EUROPEAN ELM - Ulmus procera

European Elm has is a light to medium brown, sometimes with a hint of red. With an oil finish, it can turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Unless, of course, it's been under the canal for a long time.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hull's shape. Luckily these pieces of elm were too important to burn and have been properly stored. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

Narrowboat Denebola is a star class narrowboat built by Harland & Wolff at Woolwich on the River Thames in 1935, she was launched in December that year.  She was named after a star in the constellation of Leo and was built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd (GUCCCL). She operated under fleet number 35, although it was registered at Brentford as number 582 and her gauging number was 12501.

Denebola's hull is composite with riveted steels side and an elm bottom. She has a pointed bow with a raked curved stern and counter stern.   She was used for carrying bulk cargoes until 1st January 1948 and the advent of British Waterways.  She was then converted for use as a zoo bus and re-named Water Fairy in 1965. She was bought by Oliver Lovell who filled in her sides and changed her name again to Romulus and was run as an educational camping boat until 1985 when she went into private ownership and was given back her original name of Denebola.

Pen #782 was turned on 8th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#781 Now Sold

NB Birchills Oak and 24ct Gold Plated Rollerball 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 #781 was turned on 8th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#780 Now Sold

NB Denebola Elm and 24ct Gold Plated Premium Twist Pen

EUROPEAN ELM - Ulmus procera

European Elm has is a light to medium brown, sometimes with a hint of red. With an oil finish, it can turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Unless, of course, it's been under the canal for a long time.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hull's shape. Luckily these pieces of elm were too important to burn and have been properly stored. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

Narrowboat Denebola is a star class narrowboat built by Harland & Wolff at Woolwich on the River Thames in 1935, she was launched in December that year.  She was named after a star in the constellation of Leo and was built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd (GUCCCL). She operated under fleet number 35, although it was registered at Brentford as number 582 and her gauging number was 12501.

Denebola's hull is composite with riveted steels side and an elm bottom. She has a pointed bow with a raked curved stern and counter stern.   She was used for carrying bulk cargoes until 1st January 1948 and the advent of British Waterways.  She was then converted for use as a zoo bus and re-named Water Fairy in 1965. She was bought by Oliver Lovell who filled in her sides and changed her name again to Romulus and was run as an educational camping boat until 1985 when she went into private ownership and was given back her original name of Denebola.

Pen #780 was turned on 8th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#779 Now Sold

London Plane and 24ct Gold Plated Premium Twist Pen

London Plane - Platanus x acerifolia

Similar to maple, the wood of London Plane trees is predominantly comprised of the sapwood, with some darker heartwood streaks also found in most boards. Though it is not too uncommon to also see entire boards of heartwood too. The sapwood is white to light pinkish tan, while the heartwood is a darker reddish brown. London Plane also has very distinct ray flecks present on quartersawn surfaces giving it a freckled appearance and it is sometimes even called “Lacewood,” though it bears little botanical relation to the tropical species of Lacewood.

The London plane has especially fine properties as a large-growing, shade-providing urban tree. It copes well with heat and cold, wet and dry, compaction of the soil and the pollutants generated by cities. Its shiny leaves are washed off by rain and its bark flakes off in small patches to expose new bark underneath. It was widely planted in London in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The London plane probably came into being in the mid-seventeenth century as a natural hybrid of the Oriental plane, (P. orientalis), and the Western plane, (P. occidentalis), rather than being cross-bred by horticulturists. It soon became popular.

It is not known how old a London plane may become because none is known to have died of old age. The oldest trees of this species date from 1660's and the tallest London plane has achieved 48.5 metres in height; the tallest London planes in London have reached 30-35 metres.

Pen #779 was turned on 6th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat

#778 Now Sold

NB Denebola Elm and 24ct Gold Plated Premium Twist Pen

EUROPEAN ELM - Ulmus procera

European Elm has is a light to medium brown, sometimes with a hint of red. With an oil finish, it can turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Unless, of course, it's been under the canal for a long time.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hull's shape. Luckily these pieces of elm were too important to burn and have been properly stored. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

Narrowboat Denebola is a star class narrowboat built by Harland & Wolff at Woolwich on the River Thames in 1935, she was launched in December that year.  She was named after a star in the constellation of Leo and was built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd (GUCCCL). She operated under fleet number 35, although it was registered at Brentford as number 582 and her gauging number was 12501.

Denebola's hull is composite with riveted steels side and an elm bottom. She has a pointed bow with a raked curved stern and counter stern.   She was used for carrying bulk cargoes until 1st January 1948 and the advent of British Waterways.  She was then converted for use as a zoo bus and re-named Water Fairy in 1965. She was bought by Oliver Lovell who filled in her sides and changed her name again to Romulus and was run as an educational camping boat until 1985 when she went into private ownership and was given back her original name of Denebola.

Pen #778 was turned on 6th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.

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

http://nb-lois-jane.blogspot.co.uk

oh and please like us on Facebook too here
https://www.facebook.com/ThePenMakersBoat