Best pen finish?

[Doug Abbott]

It's that time of year when I have to turn out several pens for my kid's teachers as gifts. In other years I have used Hut Crystal Coat, but find that it dulls quickly on some woods. So I bought both a brown and white Hut stick this year. Do some of you uses just the sticks? Do you use both sticks like the directions say? What shine wall last? The woods are cocobolo, rosewood and tulipwood.

[Ken Salisbury]

Asking "what pen finish is best?" is like asking "which car is best? :) .

I primarily use Crystal Coat followed with Hut's white PPP stick. Works well for me. Of course their are many finishes that work well. It comes down to "what cranks your tractor" :D

[Tom Mullane]

I use a BLO/CA finish for all my pens then sand/polish to 12000 MicroMesh for a glass smooth finish... have been carrying the same pen and pencil set since April in my denim shirt pocket and no apparent deterioration in the finish... my customers love the look also...

[Jerry Baldwin]

I've had good luck recently spraying Deft lacquer (from the spray can).

[Kurt Aebi]

I've been using BLO, then Beeswax and polishing with brown paper bag then with sawdust. It doens't leave a real high gloss finish like Tom's method, but they seem to get more shiny from use. Got the idea from Russ Fairfield's website. I find that his web site is pretty informative and helpful to beginers.

At any rate, your customers will most likely dictate the appearance of the final pen by which ones sell and which ones don't.