Broker Pen Progress

Much has happened since the last post - I have not really been keeping up. Unrelated to pens, I have golfed for the first time and blown the shofar at Rosh Hashanah services (not for the first time, but every time is different). I was struck, as I am every year, at how much the Jewish services revolve around the idea of peace. If only all religions did that (I know that Jews are not the ONLY ones, by any means), can you just imagine what the world could be like?

The broker pen commission has continued, with mixed but mostly positive results. I finally made one from the beautiful piece of cocobolo that I was working from (unsuccessfully up until now). I also made one from holly, which came out fine but was a bit disappointing as to colour (kind of a dull white, and it had a knot which does not really add). My latest attempt was with pink ivory, trying to recapture the magic shade of deep pink that my Classic American pen achieved. Alas, this piece of pink ivory came out well but was not as bright.

I showed the group of existing broker pens to my sister, who liked them all except for the holly and the lignum vitae. I was not too surprised about the holly, but I thought that she would have liked the lignum vitae. So, the list of "commissioned" pens is as follows: Orangeheart, Pink Ivory, Cocobolo, Bocote, Bubinga (one that I made a while back). I am looking to make a bloodwood one and then make a couple more of cocobolo. I *may* try one of purpleheart or padauk. Somehow I need to come up with 10 pens that are different from one another.

Next up: What's going on with the budget? We KNOW there have been other visits to Woodcraft...