Hemlock Pinecone in Autumn Acrylic

This pen is made from pinecones from a Hemlock Pine on my property in Asheville. The pinecones were air dried for a couple of months and a hand full were dried in a toaster oven on low heat for a day. The pinecones were arranged in a silicone mold and cast in a 5-color acrylic mix at Pen Studio. All colors are custom mixed using very pure dry pigments with a dash of mica or glitter added for additional shimmer. This particular mix was a Semi-transparent “Autumn” mix of copper, brilliant gold, bronze, deep green, and russet. (See detail)

The mold was placed under 40 psi of pressure to prevent air bubble from forming while the resin hardened. The blank was allowed to cure over night. The cured blank was cut to size for the cap and lower barrel and drilled. The drilled holes were back-painted silver and allowed to dry 12 hours, then glued to brass tubes. The acrylic was shaped with a carbide blade by slicing thin ribbons from the spinning blank on a lathe. The acrylic was turned down to size, wet sanded and sealed in CA to protect any pinecones exposed at the surface. The CA was again wet sanded through 9-steps to 12,000 grit. Renaissance wax was applied and then the barrels were further polished with White Diamond compound on a jeweler’s buffing wheel.

These unique barrels were mounted on a chrome and gold rollerball with a posable cap. Your pen uses smooth flowing Schmidt 5888 ceramic rollerball refills.


Ink cartridge compatibility and refill instructions for this pen
can be found on the F.Y.I. Resources page.