Wood Turnings
by Darrell Feltmate

"doing you a good turn today"
The Craft Store

I sell a lot at Craft Fairs and I supply a few gift shops and galleries. Currently I am a juried member of the New Brunswick Crafts Council. As part of that juried status, I maintain a high level of craftsmanship in the production and finish of each piece made. If you are not satisfied with a product, please contact me to have the difficulty made right.
I turn a quite a few pens. Most are made from domestic woods but I do use some exotics simply because I like the chance to turn some different woods, the variety is beautiful, and I can afford them for something the size of a pen. I am careful to buy from firms that specialize in sustainable forest practices. Still, many of our domestic woods are striking in appearance. For a gift from Canada, a pen of our own black cherry or bird’s eye maple or one of our other woods is a wonderful thing to give.
The Slim-Line style is the wood turner's main pen. Using a Cross refill, it has a traditional slim feel with the warmth of wood. Please note that each pen is unique as each piece of wood is unique.
This pen is turned from Staghorn Sumac, a local wood known for is leaves that resemble a stag's horns and get a brilliant red in the fall. It is a favorite winter browse of deer. The wood has a strong grain and tends to a greenish tinge with shades of yellow and occasionally blue.
At the present time I have pens that have gone to Italy, Japan, China, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, Albania, the Ivory Coast, all the British Isles except Wales, most of the United States and all the Canadian provinces and territories. I also have a couple in Guam, but since I gave them as presents to my bother and sister in law, they do not count in the same way. If you are purchasing a pen to go for a gift, I would like to know where it is going.
All the ball points use Cross style refills. Cross is one of the largest pen companies in the world and its refills are an industry standard. You can count on getting a Cross refill anywhere fine stationary is sold.
I use a locking twist mechanism in the pens. As you turn it to extend the tip, you can feel a slight hesitation as the lock engages. This will prevent the tip from retracting into the pen as you write. This irritates me to no end and it is well worth it to me to use a good mechanism.
We ship all over the world and can arrange for quantity orders and laser engraving for awards, corporate gifts and the like. On the other hand, if you are looking for the buck ninety five advertising handout, I am not interested. Quality is worth a reasonable fee.
Are you looking for a unique gift for the family? If you have access to the old homestead, contact us to have pens made from a log, an old doorsill, or other wood from the farm.
At present I turn ball points in four basic styles but many woods. Take a look and if you have questions, please drop us an e-mail. If you wonder how it is done, take a look here.
Fountain pens are a different ball game all together. I hesitate to sell them as gifts unless you know that the person getting the pen is a fountain pen user. Most of the fountain pens I sell are sold to writers for their own use or to collectors. Some people buy them simply because they are so much nicer to use than a ball point, even one of our wooden ones.
All of our fountain pens use gold iridium nibs. I simply stay with the one style nib. It is hard to get a good nib and having found one I am reluctant to part with this it. Our pens use a cartridge called the “European Standard.” in a sense this name is a lie. There is no standard in fountain pen cartridges. In ball points a Parker or Cross style cartridge fits the appropriate pen whether made by those companies or some other. There is so such standard for fountain pens. We supply a pump that allows you to use bottled ink. At present I am using Parker Quink but there are many good bottled inks on the market. If you wish to use cartridges and find ones that fit, buy a bunch.
All fountain pens leak. If you use ours or that $2000.00 collector’s item, it will still leak. Prepare to get ink on your fingers. Do not worry about this if getting a gift for a fountain pen user, they are used to it. All fountain pens dry out from time to time. Give them a wash of the tip in lukewarm water from time to time. Just put about 3/8" in the bottom of a glass and let sit for a few minutes, then remove, dry on a paper towel or lint free cloth and refill the pen. place image here
These are absolutely wonderful in balance and writing feel. Definitely my favourite pen. Incidentally, we can make the same pen in a rollerball style for the same price.

If you make one please let me know how it turned out.

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© 2015 copyright Darrell Feltmate, Around the Woods

"doing you a good turn today"