Walnut Wood with a Spalt...

I have been working on some Christmas Orders recently, 2 Walnut Pens with Satin Silver finish on the hardware.  I just happened to have a Spalted Walnut blank that would do 2 complete pens, or so I thought.

I started out preparing the blanks, and getting them ready to turn.  Everything was going great and then I got a catch with my skew.  The entire blank blew apart.  Now this is something that can happen regularly when turning pens.  The wood is so thin at times, and if there is a defect or crack in the blank it can explode.




Spalted Walnut Key chain w/ Chrome Hardware



No worries though.   Since my slimline pens are made from 2 separate blanks, and those blanks are the same size as a key chain blank. I was able to finish out the other side, and turn it into a key chain.

The spalting does not show up as well on this key chain, but it does still have a great color.

Spalted Walnut Pen with Gold Hardware

I then prepared the second pen and started turning it.  This pen had much better results.  It turned and finished beautifully.  As you can see in the picture the spalting is very defined, and gives it some great interest.

Since I no longer had 2 pens that would be made from Spalted Walnut, I didn't think it would be fair to fill the order with 1 spalted and 1 not.  So I have since picked up some more walnut pen blanks to fill the order.

As of Dec 9, 2010 this pen and key chain are for sale in my Artfire store.

Please let me know what you think about this pen, key chain or any other item in my store.