Mini-gloat and ????

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Monty

Monty

Group Buy Coordinator
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Messages
8,461
Location
Pearland, Texas, USA.
Last week I had a customer ask if I would be interested in trading an antler bullet pen for some axis antler. Told him sure, let's see what he had. Next day he brought me a huge rack and a brown paper bag with what appeared to be 30-40 very nice pieces of various wood. With looking at every piece in the bag, it appeared to be more than adequate for a trade.
I put the bag aside this past week and night before last I looked closer at the blanks. I could see that there were numerous 1/2"X 5" blanks, just what I was looking for to restock some slims. Two particular blanks caught my eye. Upon closer inspection and after a quick sanding off the saw marks and a quick buff, these two turned out to be two pieces of 1/2"X5" snake wood.
Now, I don't really want to put snakewood on a lowly slim line. Any other kit suggestions for these 1/2" blanks?
 
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Cut each in half and glue them together to make one 1" x 2.5" blank. When gluing together, add a strip of black veneer in each joint. This will produce most any one tube pen or can be used in conjunction with a black cap to make one capped pen.
 
I dont know if it would be enough room for a Long click but it would come out nice. Or you could try a modified slim with a finial twist like Hossack did on a cigar.
 
You could be patient and i will have both slim and slender line sterling silver pen parts available that would definetly set your wood off. Timeing is less than 2 weeks. Mike
 
I was thinking about a platinum SL, but I didn't think about a modified one piece like Lupe suggested. I like that.

Mike, I'm in no rush. Keep in touch about the SS pen parts.

Now my next problem....snakewood cracking. The only two snakewoods I've made in the past have been for larger pens like the Emperor, and they both cracked. When I finally decide on the pen style, I plan on drilling the blanks, let them set for several weeks, turn round, let set, turn close to finish size and let set, turn to size and let set, then finish. I hope that being a thin walled pen will not increase the problem with cracking.
 
You might consider doing a pentel with them. the size wouldn't be a problem, and the fact that it's not glued around a metal tube might mitigate the cracking to a degree. The pentel's are great sellers to the right type of people, engineers and draftsmen fall all over themselves when they see them for the first time. A premium wood could very easily bring a premium price from the right customer. And you can easily swap the mech from body to body to offer it in either .03, .05 .07 or .09, as requested.
 
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