A different kind of Pine Cone pen

[Doug B]

I bought these cast Alumilite Pine Cone pen blanks a long time ago. I made one pen and did not care for the finish I got on it, so I never tried any of the other 3 I got. This one is supposed to be Green dyed, but comes out looking very much like black. The one I tried before was Purple, but it also came out looking black.

Well, I was re-arranging things and came across these blanks and decided to try one again and maybe try a different finishing method this time - specifically the Lacquer dipping method. Much, much better. The Alumilite material is supposed to be able to be just polished to a finish like other plastics are, but it did not shine up like I wanted with just polishing so it got Lacquer dipped this time and I like the results a lot better.

I got these cast Pine Cone blanks from a guy at IAP who has since passed away, so I'm not going to be able to get any more of them unless I find another supplier. Another guy at IAP had similar cast cone and he called his "Dragon Hide" so that is what I call these blanks.

Here is my "Dragon Hide" pen. The pic is not great - in the middle of the pen what looks like a defect is the "flame" part of the cone.

[boodrow]

Great lookin pen Doug, I bet it easier to turn than pine too. Also u have bout convinced me that laquer dip is the way to go. ALthough I hate to smell that chit.
Boodrow

[Doug B]

Thanks Boodrow.

I still prefer CA/BLO finish for pens, but some woods like Ebony give me problems sometimes so it is worth the extra time to get a better and more consistent results with those woods.

I hate the smell of Lacquer too, but it's one of those things you just have to deal with. It reminds me of bug spray for some reason. Weather permitting, I hang Lacquer dipped things outside to cure, but this time of year is tough because the wind and all the Spring crap in the air makes it risky.

Yeah, this was much easier to turn than my CA stabilized cones are. I am still hoping to hear back about the ones I sent out to get stabilized.

[maverick31]

I sniff up so many paint fumes at work I barely notice the laquer smell. I wondered how this type of blank would turn out when everyone started talking about stabilizing pine cones. I like the regular cones better but I think this one is cool too. It will definately have people scratching thier heads. The name dragon hide fits it perfectly.

[Doug B]

Thanks Mav. This is a cone cast in a resin called Alumilite which fills all the gaps in the "open" pine cone that was used by the guy who cast it, as opposed to a stabilized cone like the ones I have sent out to be processed that should maintain their color and design characteristics (I hope).

Think of casting as being like those novelty things you can get that make a paper weight with a scorpion in it, if you have ever seen those things. The resin is going to fill every opening and completely surround the object being cast. Stabilized is nothing more than impregnating a porous material with liquid plastic using heat and pressure. I'm hoping the stabilized cones will not be anything like this Dragon Hide cast one, but will retain the looks of the cones I stabilize with CA as I turn them.

[sachbvn]

I really like this Doug - personally I like the regular pine cones better, but this is kinda like a totally different thing so it's cool too.

I'm not sure why you guys hate the smell of lacquer so much - for some reason it doesn't really bother me..... what does bother me is when you are gluing up a bunch of pen blanks/tubes with CA glue with a paper towel underneath to catch any of the excess.....that crap starts to cure on the paper towel and it burns the hell outta your eyes!!! Yuck!


Zac

[maverick31]

I hate when it burns your eyes and then the really bad part is when your eyes are watering you take a breath and your lungs feel like they just exploded ;D

[Doug B]

Yeah CA is the worst! I always do CA stabilizing with dust collection sucking up the fumes as much as possible. I hate it when it burns your eyes! I used to always wear a respirator and sometimes still do. That solves the lungs problem, but it still burns your eyes so I starting always applying CA with the DC very close by and running.

[sdb777]

Dragon Hide....definiftely a cool name for a pen!

Not sure what to say. I like it but I don't?

I'm so use to seeing all of that great color and cool 'flames' from your other cones that this just looks wierd. The 'flame' from this cone looks more like a scratch, but I'm sure that is just the way the photo makes it look.



Scott (I'd still pick it up and look) B

[Doug B]

Yeah, the Dragon Hide blanks are very interesting - most of the time they look like "scales" but this one did not for some reason. But they sure don't have the eye catchiness of the CA stabilized cones. And the pic is just not very good, the flame is really interesting but the darkness of it makes it not show up too well. Or, maybe I just took poor pics. I might try it again.