Some years ago, I purchased a blank from an online seller, don't recall who, that was simply titled "Silver Maple Burl." At the time I purchased it, I didn't quite realize that this was a silver-dyed maple burl blank. I thought it was a "silver maple" burl blank. 
Well, turned out it was a "maple burl" that had been dyed silver...and it really DID look silver. It was a really amazing blank, and I'd never seen anything like it before, and still have not seen anything like it since.
I made the following pen from this blank. I was still quite new to pens, and I made some small mistakes, so I was never quite satisfied with it. The blank had also been sanded smooth, and that often leaves a taper to the blank (blank sellers, this can be a HUGE problem for pen crafters as it can leave the blank unable to be held properly in pen vise grips...either for a drill press or when used with pen chuck jaws on a lathe!) That caused some trouble drilling, which was one of the issues/mistakes I made.
In any case, I would really love to buy more blanks like this. I can't seem to find who the original seller was, and I have searched high and low in all my old haunts, and have never seen such a blank on sale again. So I am curious...any of you dyed blank makers out there...is "silver" dye something you could do with maple burl? I think maple makes the ideal burl given the light colored nature of the wood, which with a dye like silver, or even gray, I think the light colored wood would handle it better. As you can see above, the blank really was thoroughly saturated and dyed by whatever the blank maker used, and with the chatoyance it really did have a nice shimmering silvery look to it. Such a wonderful and unique blank...and I have several pens I'd like to make where such a burl would again be the PERFECT fit.
Any burl dying masters out there?
Well, turned out it was a "maple burl" that had been dyed silver...and it really DID look silver. It was a really amazing blank, and I'd never seen anything like it before, and still have not seen anything like it since. I made the following pen from this blank. I was still quite new to pens, and I made some small mistakes, so I was never quite satisfied with it. The blank had also been sanded smooth, and that often leaves a taper to the blank (blank sellers, this can be a HUGE problem for pen crafters as it can leave the blank unable to be held properly in pen vise grips...either for a drill press or when used with pen chuck jaws on a lathe!) That caused some trouble drilling, which was one of the issues/mistakes I made.
In any case, I would really love to buy more blanks like this. I can't seem to find who the original seller was, and I have searched high and low in all my old haunts, and have never seen such a blank on sale again. So I am curious...any of you dyed blank makers out there...is "silver" dye something you could do with maple burl? I think maple makes the ideal burl given the light colored nature of the wood, which with a dye like silver, or even gray, I think the light colored wood would handle it better. As you can see above, the blank really was thoroughly saturated and dyed by whatever the blank maker used, and with the chatoyance it really did have a nice shimmering silvery look to it. Such a wonderful and unique blank...and I have several pens I'd like to make where such a burl would again be the PERFECT fit.
Any burl dying masters out there?
