Wenge "Cigar" Pen

[Chris Stolicky]

Its been a while since I have posted a pen. Actually, I haven't made one in a while. Been busy with exploring larger things on the bigger lathe when I get time away from work, the baby, and pushing snow around...

Anyway, here is my attempt at making a pen that looks like a cigar when it is closed. I have been trying to expand beyond using standard kits. It is wenge, and a couple of pieces from a baron kit. I may try a nicer nib on it once I get some. Wenge is definitely a challenging wood to work with. There was a blow out and an actual whole chunk of this pen that went flying, but some patience and CA goes a long way! Oh, good thing I have a pre-separator before the dust collector that caught the chunk for me in a pile of large shavings.

I usually use a gouge of sorts to rough down a pen and then finish with an oval skew. I actually used my 1/2" Thompson shallow spindle gouge for this whole pen and had to sharpen and hone it several times. This is really hard wood, yet it splinters so easy?! Definitely a challenge.

Comments welcome.

[Ted Calver]

Absolutely beautiful!!! Is that a CA finish also?

[David E Keller]

Looks great... I agree with you on the wenge. It's tough stuff to work. You did a beautiful job with it.

I just saw this over on IAP, and I'll humbly repeat my suggestion here. If you ever make another, a vintage cigar label adhered to the pen might make for an interesting embellishment.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice Chris. Love the wood.

[James Combs]

Chris, nice looking cigar. As David says "a vintage cigar label" would really set it off.

I definitely agree on the pre-separator, mine has save me work several times not to mention the sandpaper and shop towels that suddenly vanish.:)


Oh, good thing I have a pre-separator before the dust collector that caught the chunk for me in a pile of large shavings.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very cool concept for a pen! Great looking wood! Really like how the 2 halves of the pen blend into each other so as to appear seamless! Very nice work!

[Curt Fuller]

I new as soon as I saw the subject line that this was going to be something out of the ordinary. Wenge is some wierd wood. And it's even neater than I thought it would be. I really like that!

[John Terefenko]

Very nice match on the blank. Nice photos as well. I agree the topper would have been a cigar label. Thanks for showing.

[Chris Stolicky]

Thanks guys. I enjoyed the challenge.

There is actually no finish at all on this pen. I just buffed it with a little tripoli and a dry buff. The wood is so oily that I just sanded to 600 and buffed.

The thought did cross my mind about getting a cigar label to put on it. Since I didn't have a finish on the pen to cover the label, and wenge is such a porous wood, adding a label to it would be a challenge. Well, unless I just stuck it on like it would be on a real cigar...

John - I keep working on the photo thing. If you look a little closer, the background on the first two is different than the third. I had my Speedlite for the first two, but then the batteries died. :rolleyes: I worked on the third photo by setting a custom white balance and really opening the lens; I went up to F22 for this.

[Mike Minto]

Chris, very unique and beautiful pen - as others said, the grain matches so well it's hard to see cap from body. One of the coolest pens I've seen.