Cocobolo Fountain Pen
- Thread starter Hippie3180
- Start date
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
sorcerertd
Member
Fantastic work! I love Cocobolo. There's so many beautiful woods out there. Olive and Bocote come to mind for their grain.
Hippie3180
Member
Thank you! We've got some other wood on the way. Oliver is one, I can wait to see what it's like.
Jim15
Member
Beautiful work.
Hippie3180
Member
Apparently how wood gets its color is a very complicated question that boils down to DNA of each species and chemistry + along with environmental factors.
mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
A truly beautiful pen! I love the appearance of high quality grained Cocobolo; alas it is a species I was allergic to and refrained from turning. Desert Ironwood gave me no problems, so that was a winner. 
Hippie3180
Member
Thank you. I'm not sure, but I think the Cocobolo was making my lip swell after touching it. I didn't work with it my husband did, but I think I need to stay away from it, we'll see.A truly beautiful pen! I love the appearance of high quality grained Cocobolo; alas it is a species I was allergic to and refrained from turning. Desert Ironwood gave me no problems, so that was a winner.
egnald
Member
I love that pen. It's simply gorgeous. Cocobolo and Sonoran Desert Ironwood are a couple of my very favorite woods too.
I've been fortunate to not have any kind of reactions to Cocobolo; but I do treat it with a degree of care when I am working with it, especially when sawing, turning, and sanding. Cocobolo in addition to being a known allergen, is also a sensitizer which essentially means that even people with no reactions can develop them over time with continued exposure.
I've heard it referenced to as an eczematogen - essentially a substance that causes eczema or atopic dermatitis, dry, itchy, red, swollen, or cracked skin. I think Dupixent is the only FDA drug that is used to treat eczema, but other nonprescription treatments have also been known to help for mild cases or for infrequent contact cases. They include topical corticosteroids, antihistamines like Zyrtec or Allegra, and Benadryl.
Dave
I've been fortunate to not have any kind of reactions to Cocobolo; but I do treat it with a degree of care when I am working with it, especially when sawing, turning, and sanding. Cocobolo in addition to being a known allergen, is also a sensitizer which essentially means that even people with no reactions can develop them over time with continued exposure.
I've heard it referenced to as an eczematogen - essentially a substance that causes eczema or atopic dermatitis, dry, itchy, red, swollen, or cracked skin. I think Dupixent is the only FDA drug that is used to treat eczema, but other nonprescription treatments have also been known to help for mild cases or for infrequent contact cases. They include topical corticosteroids, antihistamines like Zyrtec or Allegra, and Benadryl.
Dave
Hippie3180
Member
Thank you Dave.
While my husband cut, turned etc. I did handle this pen. I'm thinking if one is allergic to this wood, you will know right off, and as you said it is a "sensitizer" meaning you can develop issues at any time. It's very important to wear PPE when working with these kinds of woods, you certainly don't want to breath it in.
While my husband cut, turned etc. I did handle this pen. I'm thinking if one is allergic to this wood, you will know right off, and as you said it is a "sensitizer" meaning you can develop issues at any time. It's very important to wear PPE when working with these kinds of woods, you certainly don't want to breath it in.
Tanner
Member
Wow, that's nice. I have to try that. I better get busy watching videos.
duncsuss
Member
Both Cocobolo and Desert Ironwood are in my top 5 - along with Honduras Rosewood burl, Aspen burl, and Olivewood burl.
The only drawback to cocobolo that I'm aware of is it tends to darken over time, and the eye-catching orange and near-white stripes start to blend into the rich browns. (In truth, all wood ends up brown eventually, but it saddens me more when they start out so eye-popping.)
The only drawback to cocobolo that I'm aware of is it tends to darken over time, and the eye-catching orange and near-white stripes start to blend into the rich browns. (In truth, all wood ends up brown eventually, but it saddens me more when they start out so eye-popping.)
Hippie3180
Member
I'm aware that this happens with wood. The natural progression of things, this wood is sealed and given a finish, so I'm hoping that will at least slow things down.
Gorgeous pen and timber! So pretty. Funny but it seems we can't import Cocobolo into Australia. Not really sure why? Anyone knows?
johncrane
Member
great looking pen.
egnald
Member
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, in appendix 2, has a genus-wide restriction on all Dalbergia species including Cocobolo, Dalbergia retusa. It is also listed on the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Red List as vulnerable due to a significant decrease in its population (deforestation and exploitation). In addition to Cocobolo, some of the other familiar Dalbergia species are Tulipwood, Kingwood, and African Blackwood.
Neither of these completely ban import and export, but it does require obtaining special permits and documentation. Some specific species are limited farther such as Brazilian rosewood. Australia strictly enforces the CITES regulations so importers are required to provide their CITES import permit and other documentation that proves that the timber was legally sourced. I'm guessing for lower volume, lower consumption timbers, most importers have simply chosen to forego all of the permits, licensing and other documentation required.
Every year it seems like CITES adds more familiar pen blank species to their Appendix. For example, last year, 2024, Brazilian walnut, (Ipe) and Brazilian teak (Cumaru) were also added to CITES Appendix 2. In 2023 it was African mahogany and African rosewood.
Dave
Hippie3180
Member
Thank you! From what I've seen, Australia has plenty of beautiful wood species to choose from.
Yes we sure do!
Thanks so much Dave that was very useful and informative. Being a guitarist I was aware about the Brazilian Rosewood, one of the best tone woods, but we can't bring those guitars as you said without the permit.