Mrs. Lapolla's NEW pen

Hello! Here are some of the options we have to go with. I have one fountain pen that is already finished, ready to go. It is made from Afzelia Xlay, one of the most expensive woods on earth. It sells for over $100 a pound. Afzelia Xlay is a gorgeous golden orange, with black "pepper" like grain streaking through out. The wood has been compacted and twisted during growth, resulting in a holographic alligator skin like pattern that moves in the light. Actually Afzelia Xlay is also known as "Alligator skin Afzelia." Its an incredibly rare wood coming from Laos, and the piece the pen is made from is absolute top quality. The photos do not capture the holographic like grain well, this one looks MUCH better in person. I tried to take enough close ups so you can see how much it changes.






Here are four pens that are turned, but I dont yet have the kits to assemble them. Two of them have finish on them, two still need to be finished. They are a great mix of woods. From left to right they are: Buckeye Burl (not a very pretty piece), Box Elder Burl - A gorgeous light burlwood with many eyes and ray compartments., Next is Amboyna Burl - A two tone piece, the rarest burl on earth. Always a favorite. Finally on the far right is Jackfruit Burl,- a great light orange/yellow burl from the Caribbean, it has beautiful vein like eyes and figure.

If none of those are absolutely perfect, no worries! I dont mind turning up another (its fun!). Here are a couple more options/future pens to choose from. The first picture is of a piece of Buckeye Burl I bought this morning in case you decided you wanted to try and make it like the original.

Next: here is a really interesting piece of bright blue stabilized Curly Maple. The "Curls" or horizontal stripes that run the length of the piece are caused by a tree being n a very windy environment. As the tree sways back and forth, you have the grain getting compressed in intervals, resulting in areas of grain with different densities. The different densities reflect light differently resulting in the curls. They shift and move in light, reflecting it at different angles, giving in the appearance of a hologram. Anything made out of it will retain the holographic rings. Once again, this does not photo well, must be seen to be appreciated!

Next: here is some marbled olive wood from N. California. This wood is extremely old growth, often exceeding a century. Working with this wood is great just because of the smell!

Last but most certainly not least: Brown Mallee Burl. This is something I am VERY excited about. This piece is the very first piece of burlwood from Australia I have ever had a chance to work with. Australian woods are easily some of my favorite, but I have never had a chance to work with any due to the rarity. This Brown Mallee grows in some of the harshest parts of the outback, and often requires the harvester to carry saws and gas in, and wood and burls out, all by foot or pack mule for tens of miles. The result is, this little piece of wood priced by weight would be $6-7. Thats a ton considering its only a few ounces.

Its worth it though, since Mallee burls have some of the most gorgeous and intricate figuring, each side has hundreds of eyes and grain that swirls an moves in interesting patterns. I cant wait to make a pen out of this stuff, and I'd love to make it for you if its what you like!

Let me know what you would like to do, and Ill go ahead and get started! Thanks!