Artisan Fountain Pen in Bog Oak
Designed and turned inhouse, this is a unique handmade fountain pen. Based on the simple and clean lines of a classic cigar, the cap is finished with a gentle dome whilst the barrel end is finished flat.
The pen has been turned from an example of bog oak, lined with an acrylic, with the same material used for the cap/barrel threads. The section has a steel liner. The oak is the classical english tree, slow growing, huge and imposing. English oak is typically brown, however this example of oak is black.
Named as bog oak it is not a specific species , but rather a term that designates oak that has been buried in a peat bog for hundreds or sometimes thousands of years. The extremely low oxygen conditions of the bog protect the wood from normal decay, while the underlying peat provides acidic conditions where iron salts and other minerals react with the tannins in the wood, gradually giving it a distinct dark brown to almost black colour. Colour is directly related to the age of the timber; the longer time it spent submerged in peat, the older and darker it is. Very young material up to about 2,000 years old is tan brown and older material ranges through dark brown, grey and a deep coal black in the oldest examples which are around 6,000 to 7,000 years old. This very black example fall into the very oldest category and contain also a few attractive paler dark tan streaks giving an appearance rather like macassar ebony. An altogether fascinating and unusual wood. The wood has been finished by using fine abrasives (to 12000 grit) followed by polishing with a wax/oil mix, leaving a sheen rather than a shine to the wood. I want to retain the tactile nature of the pen whilst giving it some protection. With regular use the wood will attain a subtle shine. The section has a slight centre dip, allowing a good grip for your fingers. The cap and barrel has a step of around 0.5 mm. The pen is lined with a black acrylic.The importance of a liner is to prevent the ink drying in the nib between uses. It also serves to strengthen the wood.
The cap is single threaded and can be removed within 2.8 turns. The pen uses a bock nib (250 or #6) and is shown here with a black lacquer bock nib (f). You may also request a change to any other bock nib, at no further cost (save for the precious metal nibs :-). The final image above shows the various options of pen cases available at no further cost - the wood cases are turned to fit the pen, whilst the black box is pretty standard.The wooden cases have a friction fit cap, and can be turned from most hardwoods. The image shows examples of cases in walnut (darker) and olive ash (smaller), but other woods such as ash, beech or oak could be used. Finally the pen is supplied with an ink convertor, an international ink cartridge and a roll stop which will be turned from a matching or contrasting acrylic or wood. Type - large artisan fountain pen. Blank - white oak burl, lined with ivory acrylic.
Nib - bock #6 / 250. Closed length - 155 mm. Cap widest - 17.16 mm. Barrel widest - 16.63 mm. Section length - 26 mm.Section pinch - 10.7 mm. Cap-barrel step - 0.5 mm.