Latest Pens

[Kurt Aebi]

Try and guess what the Gray Pen is made from.

I made a Pen & Pencil set for myself from an Ash burl slab I scavanged from my father's farm. And I made a Pen & Pencil set for my brother from some Tiger Maple I scavanged from a local cabinet shop's scrap bin.

Gotta love figured wood - especially when it's Free!!!!

[Dennis Peacock]

Good job Kurt.!!!!! Nice job on the pens.!!!!

The dark pen.....is it corian?

[Dick Parr]

Very nice Kurt.

[Kurt Aebi]

I've kept the suspense open long enough!

Believe it or not - it is locally mined natural Vermont Soapstone. A friend of mine works for Vermont Castings and they manufacture woodstoves that have this stuff on the outside to hold and release heat more evenly than the cast iron alone and he gave me some scrap pieces.

Works well with HSS tools, it does require you to resharpen quite often. It leaves a talc-like powder instead of chips. Not bad to work with for stone.

[Jim Becker]

For those of you who have difficulty finding carving grade soapstone available (softer than the countertop material due to more talc), Lee Valley sells some blocks of the stuff.

And for you wood stove enthusiests, Vermont Castings makes mighty fine products, whether the totally cast iron variety or those with soapstone for heat conduction. Nice company! (We love ours...)

Nice job on the pens, Kurt!