Lauren Rants-Penury

These pens are entirely hand made. Solid stainless steel structure with wood overlay. Made, “One of a Kind, One at a Time.”

More at www.laurenrants.com

Some design changes to ManPen2026. Notice the nib section, threaded for traction. Highly polished surfaces are slippery under the fingers. I have experimented with various materials, some better than others, but I quite like this threaded version. It not only much improves the fingers' purchase on the pen, but also the threads match the character. A stainless steel bolt comes threaded of course, so I simply threaded the stainless rod used in constructing the pen, smoothed out the peaks, and polished. Same give-away price, oh woe is me, the sacrifices I make to please you cheap bas***ds. I am kidding, ... of course?

I made this ballpoint pen for myself. The blank has a history. 20 years ago I worked with Curtis Seebeck when "Worthless Wood" was a new, revolutionary ideal. I so admired his work, and appreciated his council. I was new to pen making and thought making my own blanks was the coolest thing I could have imagined. I bought a couple of blanks from him for inspiration. Every once in a while I would come across them and think, "I need to make a pen from one of Curtis's blanks" then put it aside. Finally I've gotten around to it. I have moved on mostly from that phase, but seeing this reminds me how beautiful this concept is when done properly. I'm going to make a few of them myself, for old times sake! Meanwhile enjoy this blank, made from scrap wood off of one of Curtis's construction sites in Texas.

I have a What's App button. Crap, I guess I better get an account?

Anyone interested in my pen making? Here is your ticket in!

Spalting in wood occurs as wood begins to decay but isn’t quite beyond use. Well timed, it can be rescued and used to make beautiful artwork. This one is made from Spalted Maple where the bacteria has caused a kind of puzzle-piece look. I would love to send it to you.

Spalting , the black lines, is caused by a fungus that invades wood that is beginning to decay. While it beautifies the wood, it speeds deterioration unless it is stopped in time. Some of us enjoy thwarting nature’s process by making stuff from the wood and stopping the process just in time. This is beautiful wood captured in a pen.