BURL WOODS

Burls are odd things. They're the knobs on the side of the tree that look like a horrible growth of some sort. They are caused by a tree branch failing to bud out properly. The tree, lacking any sort of brains, keeps sending nutrients and trying to grow the branch out. The knob, for whatever reason, gets bigger as the years go by, and the result is a tightly twisted knot of wood grain that loops in and out, with spectacular color variations and voids. All in all, a joy to look at - and a deadly pain to work. Burls require at least three times the normal amount of time on the lathe, as each newly-discovered void needs to be filled and overfilled, and then chiseled back down to the appropriate level - before going deeper, where more voids occur. Dyed burls, such as the one shown above, are a premium product. They range in price from $8-$20 per block, but produce some of the most spectacular writing utensils I've ever seen.
Above is a slim-line pen in silver, using Cherry Burl.

Shoot me an e-mail at John_Dominik@hotmail.com and we'll discuss it. If you have custom requests/orders, please let me know, and I can do that as well.