How come wooden pens are not very popular?

[Saturninus]

Given all the various types of woods and the beautiful tones and patterns you can get in some woods, especially the exotic hardwoods like purpleheart or some other Brazilian varieties, I'm surprised that it isn't a more popular material for making fine pens. A colleague of mine, who is an engineer, made a beautiful pen out of zebrawood. Too bad it was a ball point.

 

I know there is a special edition Serenite cocobolo, but I don't know of many other high end exotic wood pens. Why? Does anyone have a list of their favorite wooden fountain pens? I've always loved the smell and feel of wood.

[obmike]

i have an omas ebonywood 360 that is a very nice pen

[bardharlock]

Nakaya offers some briar pens.

[JHeels]

Graf von Faber Castell offers several lines of pens that come in ebony, pernambucco and pear wood. ...all of which I consider to be drool-worthy.

 

James

[Silvermink]

I wish the Lamy 2000 was available as a fountain pen in African blackwood. I'd be all over that. But only the BP comes in that.

[ebargoum]

I wish the Lamy 2000 was available as a fountain pen in African blackwood. I'd be all over that. But only the BP comes in that.

 

I agree. I would buy it embarrassingly quickly.

[kushbaby]

Graf von Faber Castell offers several lines of pens that come in ebony, pernambucco and pear wood. ...all of which I consider to be drool-worthy.

 

James

 

They make pens out of pernambucco?! That's what they make violin (and viola/cello/bass) bows out of. It's endangered - perhaps this is use of the left over pieces or otherwise reclaimed wood (I hope)...

 

http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?program...00021#feature11

 

http://www.arcosbrasil.com/ArcosBrasil.html

 

http://www.drbows.com/Program_English.pdf

 

[Gehaha]

Hello,

 

I don't have one yet.

I think, it's the fear, they could easily break.

Knowing better from my experience with wood... :embarrassed_smile:

 

Best,

Anna

[ebargoum]

Hello,

 

I don't have one yet.

I think, it's the fear, they could easily break.

Knowing better from my experience with wood... :embarrassed_smile:

 

Best,

Anna

 

They build houses out of wood. It breaking would be the least of my worries. I would be more worried about denting it if it was a soft wood (but a nice Jarrah pen wouldn't cause me such worry!), or if it was unfinished I'd be worried about getting it stained with ink.

[Parker51]

The situation in regard to wood pens is not simply a concern in regard to breakage. Depending on the hardness of the wood, they can also dent, and can discolor with use. Cleaning wood pens is also not simple. Wood pens over time require their finish being renewed. This is not a difficult thing to do, but it does require some work. Specifically they may need to be disassembled, cleaned, lightly sanded, have a new coat of finish applied, polished and be reassembled. I have a friend whom after using a wood pen for a few years found this was necessary.

[WendyNC]

If a pen is made of a wood hard enough not to dent, is it more likely to crack if dropped than a plastic/resin pen would be?

[ebargoum]

If a pen is made of a wood hard enough not to dent, is it more likely to crack if dropped than a plastic/resin pen would be?

 

I doubt it. There's a difference between hardness and brittleness. Some woods are quite elastic.

There are some hardwoods that are nigh on indestructible!

 

Also, I like the idea of the wood changing colour over time.

 

However, would you have to worry about warping over time?

Edited June 25, 2009 by ebargoum

[WendyNC]

ebargoum, thanks for that answer, which clarifies things for me.

[lovemy51]

Does anyone have a list of their favorite wooden fountain pens? I've always loved the smell and feel of wood.

 

a list of favorites, i don't have. i do have a FC Ambition in ebony (i wonder if it's real wood????) and a less expensive Charles Hubert in rosewood!!!!!

 

i don't care much for wood bodies fp's, but it is nice to have one... or two!!!

[Ondina]

I wish the Lamy 2000 was available as a fountain pen in African blackwood. I'd be all over that. But only the BP comes in that.

 

You read my mind. It would be a perfect combo. Other how, I'm not a big fan of wood pens. Till I look at the Waterman Le Man 100 series.....

[JakobS]

I would love to make or custom design a pen out of Juniper Heartwood. I think the subtle tones of the wood really are quite beautiful.

[FrankB]

I really like wood as a FP material, too. I love the warm, organic feel of wood, and I do not mind if the finish gets roughed up a bit. The biggest problem I see with wood is making sure the material is sufficiently dry and stable for use in pens. Waterman issued a series of wood pens (in the '70's or '80's, I forget) that initially looked great, but many (most?) of the pens split horribly as the wood dried.

 

I have a Papermate BP/MP set made of walnut that I got back in the '60's, believe it or not. I have used them continuously for decades and they still look great. I have a couple of no name FP's, a Nakaya (in light briar), a Marlen (also light briar) and a Danitrio that all look great and are very pleasant to use. If more were available, I would buy some.

Edited June 25, 2009 by FrankB

[ebargoum]

I really like wood as a FP material, too. I love the warm, organic feel of wood, and I do not mind if the finish gets roughed up a bit. The biggest problem I see with wood is making sure the material is sufficiently dry and stable for use in pens. Waterman issued a series of wood pens (in the '70's or '80's, I forget) that initially looked great, but many (most?) of the pens split horribly as the wood dried.

 

I have a Papermate BP/MP set made of walnut that I got back in the '60's, believe it or not. I have used them continuously for decades and they still look great. I have a couple of no name FP's, a Nakaya (in light briar) and a Danitrio that all look great and are very pleasant to use. If more were available, I would buy some.

 

Yeah, old wood would be best. Hmmm. I've some old wood at home, sounds like a fun experiment...

[ZeissIkon]

However, would you have to worry about warping over time?

 

Not with the woods that are tough enough not to crack or dent.

[Pippin60]

There are some very hard exotic woods that I have pens made from. They are usually made by individual craftsman who sell either online or in other forums. Some that come to mind are Zebra wood, Olive wood, Buryl, maple, etc. They are all beautiful writers, using Schmidt or Bock gold nibs. I personally love the feel of them. The closest would be ebonite to the feeling of the pens. I have a few that I have had for several years and the poly finish has held up beautifully. They are no more fragile than any resin pen. I wish more mainstream pen makers would create pens from exotic woods. I hope that some of the pen turners in this forum would way in on this.

 

I think one of the reasons that they are not popular is that you can't boast its a MB, Pelikan, etc. I have those too but I love the wood Fp's I have and buy about 2 a year from a craftsman I know.