MaterialsUsed

Materials Used

This is the finish that I give to the material that makes up the body of the pen.

There are lots of ways to finish a handcrafted pen. We use and offer a few methods. However, not all methods are available in every pen, since each material will pretty much dictate the finish method needed.

We select only the best available finishing materials that we can find to showcase the exceptional finishes on our fine handcrafted writing instruments to give you years of beautiful service with normal use.

We put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into properly finishing each and every one of our creations to give you a superb, quality piece to be proud of.

Although, several steps are involved, the following lists the basic methods we use most often...

NATURAL: A fine wax or an oil based finish with a high luster buff.

FRICTION POLISH: Several coats applied and buffed to a semi-gloss sheen or high gloss shine.

C.A. FINISH: This is achieved with several coats of Cryo (CA) and several sanding steps to achieve a semi-gloss sheen or a high glossy shine.

ONCE COMPLETE: A fine museum quality wax,

"Renaissance Wax(tm)" used to protect and preserve priceless museum pieces, is applied to all writing instruments for protection, preservation and added beauty.

God Bless our Troops and The USA

The amount and variety of materials available at any given time for pen making is absolutely amazing.

It's fun, challenging and sometimes surprising...

But mostly it's pretty much Way Cool...

Since, after all, you want a fine writing instrument that is special to you... we realize that you will want plenty of choices.

So you can have something that is carefully, meticulously and skillfully hand crafted to make it unique, unusual, comfortable, well balanced, attractive, impressive, well made, of the highest quality

and eye catching...

That is a pretty tall order, but that is what we feel that we have to offer to you...

See the list of materials below...

Woods:

There is a tremendous variety of many different species of wood available from the rarest such as Snakewood and Pink Ivory to the most common like Pine and Maple to antique woods in many species and more.

There are basically two versions, natural and stabilized.

Stabilized woods are primarily impregnated with resins using heat and placed under high pressure making a beautiful, stronger, enhanced wood with tremendous finishing qualities.

Even though you could have two seemingly identical pieces of a particular wood species, you just never know what you are going to get until you cut into it, turn it down and finish it out...

Each piece has a beauty of it's own and the skilled artist works hard to bring out this beauty for you

in each unique creation.

RESINS:

There is also a tremendous variety of different choices available in resins.

Many of the most expensive pens in the world are crafted from Resins costing hundreds or more.

Celluloid/Acrylic:

This is a man made resin which offers many patterns, designs, colors and combinations. Awesome shine, design and depth can be achieved and many high end pen manufactures use this material today...

Crushed Velvet:

This is a cast plastic/acrylic product that will take a very high gloss polish. It shows exceptional depth, color and clarity not shown in most woods. Used on very expensive European pens costing hundreds.

Inlace Acrelester:

This is a plastic/acrylic product that takes on many forms and shades. It can be very translucent and swirly. It also can be mixed with actual tobacco, wheat and grains to produce stunning effects.

This too, will take a very high gloss polish.

Dymondwood(tm):

This is a product created by using natural hardwood veneers that have been impregnated with specially formulated resins and permanent coloring agents. These impregnated veneers are then bonded and densified under very high temperatures and enormous pressure. The result is Dymondwood(tm), a totally homogenous wood as we know it. Dymondwood's beauty, richness, texture and grain cannot be matched by any other natural material. The design possibilities are unlimited. It is stable and not affected by extremes in temperature, humidity or moisture.

Tru Stone(tm):

A compilation of actual semi-precious stone such as turquoise or malachite that is pulverized and mixed with natural pigments and resins, then formed under high pressure. The finished product appears to be just like the semi-precious gem-stone. Pretty Cool... you can have a pen that looks like it has been carved from a single solid piece of gem-stone...

Environ(tm):

This is a product made from recycled newsprint and soybean by-product that is mixed with permanent pigments and formed under very high pressure. The finished product is a pattern that resembles natural stone. Also Pretty Cool... you can have a pen that looks like it has been carved from a single solid piece of natural stone...

Alternative Ivory:

This product is a man made resin, that has the look of actual ivory. It is white with hints of cream veins. As you probably know, elephant ivory has been banned for years and what you can get that is pre-ban is quite expensive. And although this product can be a challenge to work with, the results are stunning while being cost effective.

ANTLER & HORN:

THESE MATERIALS ARE IN LIMITED QUANTITY.

Antlers and Horns are unique and interesting materials to showcase in a custom hand crafted fine writing instrument.

These materials show depth of color and very unique patterns not shown in most wood materials and finishes beautifully.

Our available Antler and Horn materials offer unique patterns not often found elsewhere in the market. And we are pleased to offer them to you for your review and selection.

Deer Antler is a very popular material for turning pens, key chains, inlay for box lids, perfume holders, magnifier handles, etc.

Antler density ranges from solid, bone-like in smaller diameter sections, to a porous center with a hard exterior in the larger diameter sections. Every antler is a little different, cross sections may be round, oval or irregular. A typical antler will have a main beam and 2 to 5 plus prongs. A medium antler is about 11" to 14" long. Our antler is naturally shed.

ANTLER:

Water Buffalo Horn is ideal for creating unique, fine, custom writing instruments.

The subtle pattern with an occasional light streak gives a unique look to this material. It is very dense so it takes detail very well. Water Buffalo Horn is stabilized for increased durability and is moisture resistant.

Great for gift giving or just to pamper yourself a little.

The fine writing instruments from this material have a deep rich color and feel that is unlike anything else.

Indian River Buffalo Horn is sourced from managed domesticated herds, maintained by the Indian Department of Husbandry and Dairying. This material was obtained post harvest and none of the animals were killed simply for their horns.

HORN:

OTHER:

Virtually, anything that can be cut, drilled and turned can be pretty much made into a pen. And there are plenty of way cool things out there to use... that are unique and interesting materials to showcase in a custom hand crafted fine writing instrument.

The following is just a few...

Denim: Yep... really! The exact kind of fabric in blue jeans. Layers upon layers of fabric are formed with extensive heat and a special mixture of resins with tremendous pressure to create a product that makes pretty cool pens and the high gloss shine you can achieve is amazing.

SNAKE SKIN: Yep... once again... really! From real snakes!

The cured skins are special formed and incased in a clear resin. Then with great care and precision a beautiful, unique and extremely unusual writing instrument can be created.

CORIAN(tm): Yep... This is the exact same material that countertops are made from. Not only can you create some pretty outstanding writing instruments from this material, but there is a huge selection of colors and patterns to use.

Should you have a special material that you would like us to craft into a fine writing instrument for you...

Please contact us to discuss viability of the material in question and potential costs involved, etc.

We would feel honored to help you and create a beautiful new useful writing instrument showcasing a material that has a special, valued meaning for you, your family or friends.

PLUS: There are any number of other items we can use to create a writing instrument...

There is Soap Stone, Corn Cob, broken bats from a special ball game, and well... just a bunch of materials.

*** We once made a beautiful pen from antique wood for a Mason from an extremely old abandoned Masonic Lodge building way up in the Arkansas mountains.

BOWLING BALL: Yep... This is the exact same material that is in that big round heavy bowling ball you throw down the alley. Pretty Way Cool, huh?

EMBELLISHMENTS:

Also known as appointments, trim, hardware and more. But, for the most part, it's the exposed metal used on the pen... well... to actually make it a working pen and for decorative purposes.

We use and offer several types. However, not all types are available in every pen style.

We select only the best available finishes highest quality engineered embellishments we can find to showcase in our fine handcrafted writing instruments to give you years of beautiful service with normal use. We select only heavy or upgraded plating/finish quality for strong durability and lasting use.

There are different levels of durability and longevity associated with each finish available.

The following lists several of the embellishment finishes currently available.

Please, bear in mind, that not all finishes/platings are available in every pen style...

24k GOLD PLATING: Standard 24k gold plating is ultimately not durable when exposed to abrasion. There is just no "Free Lunch". Gold plating can be made more durable depending on the method used to plate, additives to the gold and techniques employed during the plating. However, no matter what is done to the alloy, ALL gold plating will wear off over the course of time when abraded. This is a simple fact of physics. Platings other then standard 24k gold can be very durable.

UPGRADE 24k GOLD: Upgrade means that the parts are plated using the rack method and that small amounts of cobalt or palladium are added to the plating chemicals. This enhances the durability of the gold plating. This plating does not last forever but it wears a whole lot better than standard 24k plated/finished parts.

10k GOLD FINISH: A gold plating that has more alloy mixture in the production process to make it very durable and longer lasting.

TITANIUM GOLD: Titanium plating produces an extremely durable and the most durable finish. The process used is what is called PVD (particle vapor deposition). Titanium oxide matched to the color of the gold is molecularly bonded to the part and the 24k gold is bonded (sputtered) on the parts to achieve a color match to the other gold parts. The parts are again re-plated after this step. The final result is that the parts will virtually never show wear.

18k SWISS ROSE GOLD: This is a very rare and unusual plating. Copper and gold are combined in such a way that the both plate with their atoms equally mixed together. The parts to be plated are specially treated before plating and the plating is deposited in a very thick layer. Not only does this produce a beautiful sumptuous look but it is very durable. It has been indicated that there are only two companies in the world able to do this plating and that under regular careful use the plating should hold up for several years. The copper in the alloy can cause Swiss Rose Gold to tarnish but it's beautiful luster can be brought back by lightly buffing the surface with a very soft cloth. A coat of Renaissance Wax will also help protect the plating/finish.

CHROME: This is an extremely durable plating. Under normal use this plating/finish should hold up for many years. Available in silver chrome and black chrome.

PLATINUM: This is a very durable hard plating/finish. Using real platinum or rhodium (from the platinum family) it should be expected to hold up under normal careful use for many years.

BLACK TITANIUM: This is an unbelievably hard and durable plating/finish. It will last for many, many years.

SOLID STERLING SILVER: This is a beautiful solid sterling material that is finished with a heavy epoxy coating to help prevent tarnishing. Although it is new to the market, because it is a solid sterling, it should be very durable. I would think that over the course of time, eventually, the epoxy may wear causing the need to polish the sterling to prevent tarnishing. In which case, protecting the body material of the pen from the caustic action of the silver polish would be important. But because it is such a new product, we just don't know... the heavy epoxy finish may last for many, many years. It is made available by a very reputable, high quality company and we are excited about having it.

SATIN FINISHES: There are several choices of Satins... Satin Gold, Satin Pearl, Brushed Satin (silver), Satin Nickel, bright Satin Red, bright Satin Blue and others. These are made using a high alloy content for a more durable, longer lasting finish.

TEXTILE: This is very new. Pretty cool looking and feels really neat. It has a texture almost like a soft, soft rubber.

GUNMETAL: Extremely new. Looks stunning...

FINISHES:

As new materials and techniques become available, we will offer to you those of the highest quality and standards while giving you continued style and beauty in our artistic craftsmanship.