Hand-Turned Wood Pen: Bloodwood and 10k Gold Beaded Slimline Twist Pen

This hand-turned wood twist pen is made from Bloodwood and 10k Gold Beaded Slimline components for style and durability. Bloodwood comes in deep reds, from light like this to dark like other bloodwood pens I've made. It's very hard and dense, my personal favorite for pens. Bloodwood is actually a name for several types of reddish wood. It is hard and tough, with no smell at all, unless it's smoking hot, in which case it smells like coconut and sweet incense. Shavings are a striking bright red color, and it finishes nicely. Hard and strong, it's supposed to age to a deep brown color, but the finish will slow that down.

The double-concave profile of this pen sets it apart from what we're used to seeing. At first glance this looks like an unfriendly pen to hold. However, it is quite comfortable - you grip it on the front half of the pen with your knuckle in the recess, and then the back half of the pen, where it's recessed, rests against the soft flesh between your index finger and your thumb.

This pen was made as a custom order through the Design Your Pen feature, as part of a set with a matching jumbo chess queen. Through that feature it was $42.50. If I had the materials in stock without having to make a special order, it would have been less. Order a matching pencil for a Pen and Pencil Set.

Wood Pen: Nigerian Ebony and Rhodium Artisan Slimline Twist Pen

This Artisan Slimline Twist Pen is made from Nigerian Ebony wood and Rhodium-plated components for maximum durability, and finished straight and slim to look professional and elegant.

Nigerian Ebony, or Gaboon Ebony, is a rather small tree that reaches heights no taller than 60' and no larger than 2' diameter. The heartwood is jet black, very hard, and very dense. It's an exotic wood probably most known for its use as fingerboards and keys for various musical instruments. It's also great for pens, bottle stoppers, knife handles and jewelry boxes. Ebony is the Greek word for "fruit of the gods". Historically drinking goblets were made from its wood, as they believed it was an antidote for poison, and its use would ward off their enemy's evil intent.

Rhodium is a hard silvery white and durable metal that has a high reflectance. The primary use of this element in automobiles as a catalytic converter. Plated rhodium, is extremely hard and is used for optical instruments. This metal also finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is also used as a filter in mammography systems because of the characteristic x-rays it produces. It is used in high quality pen surfaces due to its high-resistance characteristics. As of October 2007, rhodium cost approximately eight times more than gold, and 450 times more than silver. Rhodium has been used for honours, or to symbolize wealth, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold, or platinum are deemed insufficient. In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist. Guinness has also noted items such as the world's "Most Expensive Pen" or "Most Expensive Board Game" as containing rhodium.

Price as shown: $45.00.