Frequently Asked Questions

  • Heartwood is the inner core of the tree and is the stronger, darker, pigmented, but non-living part of the tree. Sapwood is the softer outer living layer just under the bark that transports water and nutrients through the tree. While including sapwood in woodcrafts can provide some great contrast, woodturners and woodworkers tend to prefer using heartwood for its color, durability, and stability.

  • A lathe is a rotating machine tool that spins material, like wood, quickly on an axis while a cutting tool is used by the user to shape the material by chipping, threading, or scraping away at it while it turns.

  • Sev has three lathes. The biggest is a Grizzly G042 16x46”, the next is a Jet JML-1014VS 10x42”, and, finally, a Jet JWL1221VS 12x21”, which Sev uses for turning pens and smaller items.

  • No, Sev purchases pen kits, the mechanics and hardware of the pen, to build onto. He gets most of his kits from Penn State Industries but also uses kits from Craft Supplies USA and Bear Tooth Woods.

  • Yes! Our pens take a Parker or Cross refill (unless the product listing says otherwise).

  • We are absolutely open to custom product requests. Sev can not only customize existing products, but he can also create custom products to meet your requirements or specifications.  For example, Sev made custom vases for wedding centerpieces, a pair of Cocobolo drumsticks for a musician, and even custom lances for the knights to use in the joust at the Northern California Renaissance Faire. If you have a custom product in mind feel free to reach out to us!

  • The uniquely fantastic designs Sev creates on these pens is through a process using flame and acid, which seems like they could have been created in the shared lair of two ancient dragons: a fire-breather and an acid-spitter.

  • Sev uses a forced patina method to make these pens look like they’ve been recovered from a sunken ship long-lost at the bottom of the sea.

hardwood tree bark

Wood Facts and Trivia

  1. The difference between a hardwood and a softwood isn’t actually how strong it is. Certain “softwoods” are technically harder than certain “hardwoods.” The difference between the two types of wood is in their structure and seed reproduction. Hardwood trees tend to be deciduous (but not always) and are angiosperms, which means they produce seeds inside a “fruit.” A few common hardwood trees include Oak, Maple, and Walnut. Softwood trees are coniferous and gymnosperms, which means they produce “naked” seeds. Common softwood trees include Cedar, Pine, and Redwood.

  2. Ironwood is so dense that it sinks in water. Desert Ironwood is an ecologically vital species found in the Sonoran Desert and is protected.

  3. The confirmed oldest tree in the world is right here in California’s White Mountains. It is an approximately 4,850 year old Bristlecone Pine called Methuselah.

  4. At 330.7 feet, Menara, a Yellow Meranti in Sabah, Borneo, is believed to be the tallest living hardwood tree in the world.

  5. Every state has an official tree. Here in California, it is, unsurprisingly, the California Redwood (which actually includes two species: the Coast Redwood and the Giant Sequoia).

  6. The African Baobab has the widest diameter trunk at just under 50 feet across, but it’s not actually a hardwood. It’s more of a succulent with very spongy, soft, and fibrous wood.

  7. The General Sherman, a Giant Sequoia in California’s Sequoia National Park, is the biggest tree in the world at over 52,500 cubic feet.

  8. Gaboon Ebony is considered to be the blackest wood, though African Blackwood is also known for its beautifully dense, dark, and stable heartwood.

  9. Trees release water vapor into the air through a process called transpiration, which will actually increase rainfall if there are enough trees. Want more rain? Plant more trees.

  10. Purpleheart is, as the name implies, a purple hardwood. The heartwood is a duller purplish brown when freshly cut but with exposure to air and sunlight becomes a beautiful deep purple. No staining necessary! (The purple does eventually get duller with age, however).