Yes! The Curly Koa Cigar Pen has been Completed! I will get it listed on Etsy sometime later today. After a complete do-over on the top finish, the result is very pleasing, well, at least I am pleased with it. I did realize what caused the problem in the first place though, or at least I realized what I did different the first time than I normally do.
After applying BLO to the blank and letting it soak in and the surface dry out, the CA is
Curly Koa Cigar Pen with Black Chrome Fittings
applied. I always use the same paper towel I used to apply the BLO which gives me a lubricated applicator. This smooths the CA out very well and doesn’t leave it pooled and ready to drip. The first time I applied the CA I used a new paper towel which didn’t give me the same smoothness I am used to acheiving. I learned my lesson. At least I did for now, as I am sure I will forget again sometime and have to redo another pen.
You can see the curl in the photo here, but one thing that is very hard to see in a photograph is the chatoyance of the wood. When held in your hand and looked at in the light, the wood virtually comes alive with pattern and light. It is this characteristic of wood that really caused me to fall in love with turning pens in the first place, and I wish there were some way to capture it in a photograph. If you have ever looked at a check with a reflective watermark and seen how the watermark disappears as it is held at a different angle to the light, then you have seen in a small way how the wood can have a depth so deep you feel you could put your hand in it. But I digress. . .A cigar in blue illusions acrylic is next and it’ll make your eyes pop too!
Till next time -
