Amish Gift Set

[John Hart]

My neighbor Eli came by the other day to give me some deer antlers. Eli secretly wants to get into turning and he and I will be modifying his pulley system next week to start adding large power tools to it.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to make him a thank-you gift. So, I'm posting this and then I'm going to walk over to hand it to him. He's never seen a turned pen...but better yet...never seen deer antlers transformed into anything except a rack on the wall.

This is a letter opener from Berea Hardwoods and a Euro-Roundtop. They weren't meant to be a matched set, but I thought they were close enough.
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very nicely done John! I wouldn't expect anything else from you! Nicely done!

[Mark Pruitt]

Eli's gonna love that! Wish I had you for a neighbor!

[Pete Jordan]

Mighty neighborly!

You're a heck of a guy.

[Andy Livingston]

Nicely done! The creativity of the folks on this sight never ceases to amaze me.

[John Timberlake]

Great job, John. After Eli sees these, you will be spending more time helping him with his lathe project and learning to turn. Maybe he'll give you some wood.

[David Fried]

... Maybe he'll give you some wood.

They're so nice maybe he'll give you a horsey :D

Great job and nice gesture.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

They're so nice maybe he'll give you a horsey :D

Great job and nice gesture.

David........Those Amish appreciate the barter system.....John's a sly one....a horsey for a pen.....What a deal!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

[David Fried]

David........Those Amish appreciate the barter system.....John's a sly one....a horsey for a pen.....What a deal!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

But wait, there's a letter opener ... maybe a pair of horseys!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

But wait, there's a letter opener ... maybe a pair of horseys!!

One horsey for each daughter....Doesn't John have two daughters......What a father........What a father!

[John Hart]

Well I just got back a few minutes ago. That was fun! Eli was out in the barn shoveling lots and lots of horse poop....reminding me how much I love that sort of thing.:p

Anyway...We chatted a bit and I pulled the box out and said, "I brought you a little gift". His eyes lit up and said, "You made a pen didn't ya". He opened the box and couldn't say anything. Just this big smile, nodding his head, then he wiped a tear out of his eye....or horse poop...don't know which. Then after a while, he just said, "This is my treasure"....big smile on his face. His son Chester (11 yr old) was out there shoveling too, and came over. He was afraid to touch them, but gave the pen a little stroke.

He said thank you about 1000 times..I got uncomfortable and decided to escape. Felt pretty good.

He didn't give me a horse, but he gave me a Beech Tree.;) :D They cut it down on saturday and I can have all I want. 2 feet in diameter, cut in 18" lengths.

I just had a good night.:)

[Mark Cothren]

John, that's a great pen and opener... and the story that goes with it makes it a thousand times better. Excellent!

[Nancy Laird]

John, that story made me cry. The set is gorgeous, and you've now made a lifetime friend. Good job!

Nancy

[Barry Stratton]

Sweet looking pen and letter opener.....even sweeter that you got a TREE for them!!! Sounds like you are fitting into the new neighborhood just fine!

[Mike Ramsey]

Great story John, the pen & opener are beautiful! A friend at work
brought me a plethora of Deer antlers & they are sitting on a shelf......
hey! I have an idea, how about I ship them to you & you could send back
some really cool looking pens?;) .

[John Hart]

Not a chance Mike! Today was my first day at trying antler. These are my first antler pieces. I was shocked at how easy this stuff is to turn. A whole lot nicer than plastic. The smell wasn't as bad as I had feared...just a little like burning hair, and I get a whiff of that every time I light the coal burner. Plus...another nice thing is that it really doesn't require a finish. These were just micromeshed...no finish...very touchable.

Thanks for all your kind words everyone.:)

[Corey Hallagan]

Excellent John, those are great! I still need to turn deer antler.

Corey

[Travis Stinson]

Fantastic pen and letter opener John....and an even better story. :)

[Ron Journeau]

Sometimes I think that the stories behind our little tokens of appreciation far outweigh all the blowouts, catches, funnels or launches that plague our efforts to do something that we love to do, making it all so worth while. Great story, John, and a great way to start the new year. thanks for sharing..

[Steve Schlumpf]

I've never seen anything like that before John - just pure class!

[Christopher K. Hartley]

John, you sound like a calf that stumbled into a sweet alfalfa patch. Hey. that's a good thing, least wise here in Texas and I know first hand Ohio is no different. Eli is going to love them! Next thing we'll be seeing is something he turned for you on that lathe you guys cook up. Wish I was there with ya, sounds like great fun. Oh, by the way, Let us know when you go to your first Barn raising. Sounds like they may be taking you into their hearts as well as their homes.:)

[Curt Fuller]

I think I'd like to live in between John and Eli. What a great neighborhood.

Beautiful pen and opener set too John!

[Bernie Weishapl]

John that is a awesome gesture. The set is mighty fine looking to. He will treasure them forever.

[Jim Ketron]

Beautiful set John!

[Jon Shively]

John, great set and great gift. Pure unadulterated honesty is most respected by all walks of life. I have many Amish friends and enjoy the barter process that goes hand in hand with this type of friendship. You will be one English that they know is okay. Good job, did you take the team and spreader for a drive while they opened a letter and posted a reply?

[Lisa Gilbert]

John,

That's a beautiful set and a beautiful story.

Do you know if there's any difference in deer, antelope, or elk antlers as far as turning? I know I can get lots of antelope and probably elk from my father-in-law. And is it better to turn them "fresh" or aged? How are antlers different to turn than wood (other than what I suspect is a wretched odor)? I imagine it will be a long time before I'm anywhere near the skill level to try that, so they'll all be aged by then!

[John Hart]

Thanks again everyone. Yup...this neighborhood is a pretty incredible place to be. I bought the property because of the privacy, the scenery, the space and the SHOP!!:D But now that we've been here for a while, I realize that the people around us (90% amish) are the real value. Eli is my age, has 12 kids, a whole passle of grandkids, a bunch of animals, including 14 horses:eek: . He is always in a good mood, and is probably the most innovative and humble person I've ever met. They enjoy life to the fullest, in the ways that most of us only dream. I've never seen my family so happy. Quite an environment.

Lisa...I don't think there'd be much difference between Elk and Deer antler. Barry Stratton would know. I noticed that he made a pencil from Elk. I also don't know what the difference might be between fresh antler and aged..but I would suspect that the older stuff might be more brittle, and a little more difficult to turn. This antler was taken from a buck that was dinner just last week, and if I were to describe a similarity in turning....it would have to be ebony. Much easier than plastic....and by the way...plastic smells worse!;)

Another observation is that the antler is very dense, with the exception of the core (marrow I suspect). The center is somewhat porous and finishes out to a bumpier surface. I tried to cut the blanks to minimize that, but it's near impossible. Elk might be easier, since they're bigger. I was surprised by the color. These pieces have a purple hue with a smattering of red. My pics didn't capture the subtle colors, but there's a lot to see if you look close.

[Paul Engle]

Well done John, Idaho is proud to call you native son!!!! Hey native son where are you ??????????????? :D

[Keith Burns]

Great pen and opener John:) :) Great story too ! Amazing the stories that can come from a little pen:)

[Joe Tonich]

That's cool of ya, John. The Amish are good people, and a gesture like that means the world to em. Whenever I made a trip to my sawyer in Homerville they would come n' talk to me. Mebbe with the beard, hair, n' hat, they thought I was one of em??? ;) :D

That set is SWEET! :cool: Well done. :D

Next time ya go see Larry at Berea, give me a call and maybe I can meet ya there.

[Dick Strauss]

John,
It sounds like you'll fit right in around those parts. That is a nice gift and gesture.

You know what they say about kindness being returned many times over...

[Ron Jones near Indy]

That way a very nice gesture on your part. This world needs more people like you and your Amish friend.