Here is something you don’t see every day on a pen!
We are happy to offer you pen turning blanks made out of genuine Baltic amber. The development of these blanks stems from our love for turning and fascination with amber. There is something extremely interesting about fossilized tree sap that is millions of years old, and its bright and warm colors are almost like holding a piece of prehistoric sunlight in your hand.
Unfortunately, pieces of genuine amber in sizes suitable for making pens tend to be exorbitantly expensive, and its soft nature does not lend itself very well to making things that require durability, such as a pen that is used daily. We wanted to make it work anyway, and just as we do with the Woolly Mammoth ivory, we decided to stabilize it. As a result, we found a source of genuine amber stones in two different sizes, and after about six months of testing different resin compositions and casting methods, have arrived at a point where we are comfortable offering these to the public. What we have here are amber stones that have been cast in a transparent stabilizing resin matrix. We decided to keep the resin transparent in order to make all of the amber visible and allow the light to pass through it, creating beautiful reflections. There are two sizes of the amber stones, which create very different appearances. The smaller stones look denser, less transparent, and more subtle. The large stone blanks look less dense, much more transparent, and are much brighter. Please refer to the photos above to see an example of a pen that was made using one of our blanks and a woolly rhinoceros bone (which we also sell) as an accent band. Also look at the videos to see what each stone size looks like when turned round.
 
This is a genuine Baltic amber, which is approximately 35 million years old, and will make for a truly unique pen.
 
Working With Amber Blanks:
These blanks are a little harder than regular wood or acrylic blanks, but are softer than something like TruStone. The density differences between the amber and the resin are not high, and we haven't had any issues with chipping, or amber pieces falling out while turning. Use your regular HSS or carbide tools, and take light cuts. There are naturally occurring cracks within some of the amber pieces, but we find that a quick pass with thin CA, followed by sanding and polishing makes them disappear. Please keep in mind that these amber stones are naturally transparent, and are embedded in a transparent resin, so if you are using a pen kit, the brass tube will be visible. We think the brass creates really beautiful reflections within the amber, and the more reflective it is, the better the pen looks, but you may not think so. If you are not sure, we would recommend paining the tubes. White will make the amber look brighter. Blue will bring out the green colors. Grey will create a subtle appearance. There is a lot of room for experimenting, just keep in mind that light and reflections are key to bringing amber to life! Keep in mind that due to the transparent nature of the material, these blanks are not very well suited to thin walled pens, and would look better on barrels and caps with thicker walls.