Every month, the Santa Fe Reporter has a drawing with a prize or prizes given to Friends of the Santa Fe Reporter (those who donate to help keep the paper running). I donate regularly, and often enter the drawings, but haven’t been a winner so far. But I decided it would be nice to give something, so I emailed Julie Ann Grimm and asked if she’d be interested in a pen and pencil set for a future giveaway at the Reporter. She thought that would be a great idea, and we tentatively settled on next January for when they’ll be given away.

The pen and pencil were made with a piece of juniper near the boundary between the reddish heartwood and the creamy sapwood. I think it makes for a fairly striking looking pen. I oriented the boundary on the two similarly, so they really look like a set.

The box is also made from juniper that shows both heartwood and sapwood, but the top of the box is made from some of the Indian “cherry” pallet wood I got, which seems to work well with the juniper.

The bits of wood which hold the pen and pencil within the box are removable, so the box can be reused if the recipient wishes.

The pen and pencil are finished with a homemade friction finish of shellac and tung oil. The box is finished with tung oil, shellac, and varnish oil.

I’m planning to do another pen as well, with a matching box, but that will be a separate post.

#woodworking #pen

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