[Pen/Pencil Review] Ancient Bog Oak Wood Skull Pen
So, let’s make a hard turn on pens. The last couple of weeks, I’ve done inexpensive novelty stuff. This is the other end (not as far as I COULD go, but still)… This past Saturday, Jimmy and I attended Art on the Greene by the Ballpark in Arlington (Globe Life Park – whatever) to visit with Gary Williamson and Brad Foster. We strolled about, met people – including Joel Lockridge from BurbonPens.com and BogOakPens.com.
Lockridge hand turns pens from bourbon barrel wood, ancient bog wood, and a variety of other woods and materials. And though I didn’t NEED another hand-turned pen, I got one anyway out of my quest for the perfect leather purse fund. This one is dark, 5,000 year-old bog oak with skeleton hardware with red crystal accents and a Parker-style refill in a medium point.
The skeleton hardware is carved nickel with amazing detail. The “grip†narrows more than I expected and if you grip way down toward the point, it’s got an interesting feel to the bone carvings. The wood barrel is an “espresso†color – black with brownish tones and imperfections. But the wood has character and is warm where the metal is cool (yay for being obvious). The barrel width is slightly wide but not uncomfortable. The clip feels solid. The metal skull head doesn’t over-balance the pen – which has a pretty decent heft.
I’m not sure what basic, Parker-style refills come with the pen, but it writes smoothly and well. Joel and I spoke some about those – and for a change of ink, he suggests Schmidt Easy Flow. I will change this out to a rollerball very soon. This and my skull Sherpa will likely be my signing pens from now on. It’s also heavy enough that if needed (which please, God, never), it also makes a good blunt-force weapon.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It works wonderfully. It strikes a great balance between slim and wide with a good hand feel and decent ink.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s well-balanced for the hardware and wood. If you choke up, the wood grip is warm but wide. If you choke down, it’s slimmer but has carvings that might tire your hand. They’re good dimensions for me for whatever I want to do.
3. Material – 1 It’s 5,000 year old, hand-turned bog oak and brushed nickle. Its’ AMAZING.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s an amazing one-of-a-kind piece of usable art. Even though the hardware is part of kits and such, the wood elements are what make these beautifully unique. Just amazing and stunning and well-crafted.
5. Price Point – 0.4 – Hand-crafted. One-of-a-Kind. Ancient wood with a certificate of authenticity. All these things add up to NOT CHEAP, but also not super expensive. He charged $85, which is COMPLETELY reasonable for this pen. However, that’s still quite a bit of money to the average person. He has more affordable styles, but this is the one that spoke to me. And I would do it again.
4.0 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
