Bone?

[wood-of-1kind]

I have made a fountain pen with GIRAFFE bone acquired from Africa. Have also used 'bovine' bone for center bands for Euro style pens. Ivory from warthog tusks has also

been translated into a very nice FP. Antler pens (caribou, moose, deer) have also been done in my shop. A unique natural material is taqua nut (ivory sub) turns very nicely and does not emit the fould odor that is rather evident with antler. In short, I have turned a lot of pens in bone/antler/tagua.

Edited November 28, 2013 by wood-of-1kind

[farmerjohn]

I have made a fountain pen with GIRAFFE bone acquired from Africa. Have also used 'bovine' bone for center bands for Euro style pens. Ivory from warthog tusks has also

been translated into a very nice FP. Antler pens (caribou, moose, deer) have also been done in my shop. A unique natural material is taqua nut (ivory sub) turns very nicely and does not emit the fould odor that is rather evident with antler. In short, I have turned a lot of pens in bone/antler/tagua.

how do you get around the issues with the marrow in the pen?

[wood-of-1kind]

how do you get around the issues with the marrow in the pen?

You can use liberal use of CA (glue) to stabilize the marrow and create a "slurry" mix of bone dust and apply to the porous marrow. Apply multiple CA to build up on the finish and then

sand with micromesh pads.

Edited December 4, 2013 by wood-of-1kind

[Edwaroth]

If you want a bone pen, use antler sheds. Fastest growing bone known, replaces every year and once dropped causes the animal no harm! It also has the property of being extremely hard and dense and can be polished to a high shine. I have made earrings and buttons from whitetail sheds and even a small knife handle. One must be careful though, as it is dense it will easily acquire burn marks when polishing. As an aside...Taccia use antelope horn in their Savanna series. Horn however is not bone, nor antler. Antler grows every year and is shed after the rut. Horn is never shed but grows continuously throughout the animals life. Antler is the way to go for pens! BTW...horn is modified hair cell, antler is bone.

 

Cheers,

Edward

Edited December 8, 2013 by Edwaroth

[pshibb]

Here's a few ballpoints I made from antler.

[pshibb]

Here's one that I'm working on. The cap cracked and now I need to decide how to go about finishing it.

[Inkling13]

What makes ivory unsuitable for FP manufacturing?

 

 

Existing cracks, develops cracks over time, cracks easily, cracks due to moisture/drying or something else?

It cracks due to just daily fluctuations in humidity, and being that a pen usually always has ink in it and comes in contact with water, it will crack. It also will stain very easily, and of all, rare due to the massacre of elephants for said ivory. My grandparents, parents, and myself, have ivory chopsticks, and I can see that the pair I have, new, unused, compared to the one my parents and grandparents have, that they will degrade, and will crack with use.

[Wile E Coyote]

 

It cracks due to just daily fluctuations in humidity, and being that a pen usually always has ink in it and comes in contact with water, it will crack. It also will stain very easily, and of all, rare due to the massacre of elephants for said ivory. My grandparents, parents, and myself, have ivory chopsticks, and I can see that the pair I have, new, unused, compared to the one my parents and grandparents have, that they will degrade, and will crack with use.

 

Wow, almost 3.5 years for a response. Thank you.