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Hello from Colorado!

J

jrista

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Posts
14
Location
Colorado, USA
First Name
Jon
Hello Penturners! I'm joining today, primarily, because I am following an incredible pen turner from the IAP forums, Ash (ValleyBoy on IAP), who has decided to reduce his footprint. I have not been at IAP all that long, but Ash's pens have always caught my eye, beautiful every time, and they are so inspiring. I didn't want to lose track of his work. I'm always looking for inspiration, so I'm happy to be joining you all here in the UK!

I don't have any photos of my most recent pens handy, but here are some I found from about a year back. Still honing my craft...and hope to be producing more interesting pens this year (segmented, to one degree or another, is my top goal!)

XBHDpRh.jpg


0Zymg9s.jpg


igD1PKM.jpg


QaFEhO6.jpg


EV1KgwW.jpg


Most of these pens are finished with Pens Plus, rather than CA. I have a severe allergy/reaction to CA fumes, so I generally try to avoid it. I've had good luck with Pens Plus, however, with its microcrystalline wax (same stuff that is in Renaissance Wax!) With the right technique, it comes out glasslike! Been exploring poly and spar urethane now though as well, especially for woods that may fade and lose color like purpleheart (hence the spar urethane), to see if I can bring out a super shine with that, and maybe have some improved durability when I need it.

Looking forward to seeing all of your wonderful pens, and learning from you all!
 
alan morrison

alan morrison

Fellow
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
Posts
2,431
Location
Co. Down N Ireland
First Name
Alan
Jon, you're very welcome on this side of the ditch, and you will recognise a few monikers here.
Thanks for showing your pens. They are probably the best pens shown as a first posting.
Enjoy your time here, and more photographs please, even if they are old ones.

Alan
 
J

jrista

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Posts
14
Location
Colorado, USA
First Name
Jon
ValleyBoy said:
A very warm welcome Jon and I’m so pleased you joined.

Really beautifully made pens too! Do you recall what materials you used in each?

Cheers
Ash
Click to expand...

Hi Ash! Glad to see you! Thank you!

I think I do remember most of them. So, from the top down:

Simstone Cream w/ "Gold" Veins
Endgrain Olivewood w/ black CA to fill cracks (boy, was this one hard! kept filling, and refilling, and turning a little more, and filling more!!)
Silver Dyed/Stabilized Cherrywood Burl
Simstone Turquoise w/ Black Veins
Double Dyed/Stabilized Burl (Buckeye, IIRC) (picked this blank up from a seller over on IAP!)
 
J

jrista

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Posts
14
Location
Colorado, USA
First Name
Jon
Hallelujahal said:
Hi and welcome Jon, like you I’m always blown away by Ash’s pens. But your own work is pretty stunning too!
Great to see you… we love pics
Click to expand...
alan morrison said:
Jon, you're very welcome on this side of the ditch, and you will recognise a few monikers here.
Thanks for showing your pens. They are probably the best pens shown as a first posting.
Enjoy your time here, and more photographs please, even if they are old ones.

Alan
Click to expand...
flexi said:
Welcome to the forum mate, enjoy you stay👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Click to expand...

Thank you all! :)

Alex, Alan, thank you so much! I am glad you like them. Hoping to step it up a notch this year...both creating many more pens than I have previously, and hopefully, take the craft to the next level? Love segmented blanks/pens, so, trying to get into that!

Oh, and photography is another hobby of mine. ;) I'll be sure to share more photos as the year goes on. I've been trying to hone that as well. I do nature, wildlife, astrophotography....product photography is a whole 'nother thing!! It's got a lot of its own challenges. Controlling light, is this whole artistic science in and of itself!
 
Penpal

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,342
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Hi Jon share your respect for Ash,wow what quality in your pens etc and picture perfect,impact enormous for your joining I am sure,welcome from over here in Australia.
 
J

jrista

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Posts
14
Location
Colorado, USA
First Name
Jon
Dario said:
You know you can't just tease us like that right?
Click to expand...
Hah! True, true. I can share. I have shared my technique in the past on the IAP forums. I'll see about starting a thread here. I tried a lot of other people's techniques, which mostly seem to approach using Pens Plus like CA, or any other built-up finish. I've found that, Pens Plus actually works best, when you don't try to build it up, and instead approach it as a thin coating that needs to be polished properly. I usually only apply one thick base coat (most often on top of a pure walnut oil base set of coats that I let saturate the wood first), let it dry (which usually results in "dull spots" as some of the finish gets soaked into the wood (especially near the ends, where the endgrain is, or if you have a curvature or anywhere else that endgrain can be exposed), then just use very light re-coating to fix the dull spots. Handling is CRITICAL...you never want to touch before its dry. Anyway, I'll start a thread.
 
Warning! This thread has not had any replies for over a year. You are welcome to post a reply here, but it might be better to start a new thread (and maybe include a link to this one if you need to).
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