One of the many things I love about making pens is getting to work with many types of woods. This isn’t my first run in with Birdseye Maple, but this piece had some of the most clearly visible and well defined “eyes” I’ve ever seen before.
“Birdseye Maple is not technically a distinct species of Maple, but rather, it’s a figure that’s occasionally found in Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) trees. It’s named “birdseye” (sometimes simply written out as: Bird’s Eye Maple) because the figure resembles small bird’s eyes.” – The Wood Database
The wood was chosen by the owner of the pen as was the Black Titanium plating on the clip, section, and finials.
The owner professed a love of fine point pens which I was able to relate to and inform him of some of the great refill options that this pen accepts. Not only will any standard Pilot G2 gel refills fit the pen which are available in 0.7mm, 0.5mm, & 0.38mm tip sizes as well as a standard Schmidt rollerball refill. What really excites me is that this pen will also accept a refill that is still somewhat new to me, yet it continues to grow on me because of its ultra fine point tip size and fairly fluid gel ink properties, the Pilot Hi-Tec-C micro gel refill. The Cavalier version in this case which for some reason does take a little working to get going, but once you do it is a great refill to write with.
This is the refill I loaded into the pen for the owner to try and give me feedback on. I also sent him an additional refill to test out, a Uni-ball Signo RT1 which comes in a 0.38mm tip and a 0.28mm tip. His first reaction was that he initially prefered the Uni-ball for its smoothness, but that he was planning to use both refills until they dried up.
In the end, I love the way form and function meet in this pen. The beauty and warmth of the Birdseye Maple and sleek black titanium platings combine with the highly precise Hi-Tec-C micro gel refill to create one of my favorite art styles: functional.
Ben's Pens 