# A Couple Urushi's



## chriselle (Mar 28, 2010)

First is just an Ebonite Statesman with a few coats of clear urushi...nice and soft to the touch.

The second is a candidate for next years ugly pen contest:biggrin:....15 layers of colored urushi goofy "spackle".

I promise I'll take some pics of the next batch of nice pens...they should be done in a few weeks.

Thanks for looking.


----------



## CaptG (Mar 28, 2010)

Ugly pen my , uh, er, bottom side.  That is really great looking.  Both are.   Those are two really awesome looking pens, and you photo skills really make me envious.


----------



## oldsmokey (Mar 28, 2010)

Chris, you would not have my vote for ugly pen.  They are both excellent pens.
I, as an expermint tried two pens with metal leaf with chemical patinas.  I didn't care for them very much.  However the person who bought both of them thought they were the best pens ever.
I think your pens show a lot of artistic talent.
Ellis


----------



## fiferb (Mar 28, 2010)

If you think that is an ugly pen you can send it to me, I think it is beautiful.


----------



## jbostian (Mar 28, 2010)

I have to agree with the others, both of those pens are great looking.

Jamie


----------



## altaciii (Mar 28, 2010)

Really nice pens, Cris.
I really like the non "ugly" one.  I see some sort of a blue glare or tint to the finish is that caused by reflection or a poor monitor. Both are beautiful.


----------



## JBCustomPens (Mar 28, 2010)

I think they both look great! Nice job!!!


----------



## TomS (Mar 28, 2010)

I think your "ugly" pen is fantastic. The color mix reminds me of some dreams I had in the '60's right after I ......well, let's just say I think it's groovy, man.
Tom


----------



## Vol1 (Mar 28, 2010)

I agree with these guys.  That is a great looking pen!


----------



## Jim15 (Mar 28, 2010)

Awesome pens, fantastic finish.


----------



## wolftat (Mar 28, 2010)

I couldn't vote for that as ugly, it is one of the nicer pens I've seen.


----------



## BRobbins629 (Mar 28, 2010)

Only regret is I cant see them up close.  Love the Urishi look and feel.


----------



## Pioneerpens (Mar 28, 2010)

Very nice, both of them!


----------



## Rangertrek (Mar 28, 2010)

Chris, I like the second one alot.  Nice swirl patterns and colors.
I bet it would sell for a nice price!


----------



## NewLondon88 (Mar 28, 2010)

I love that finish..


----------



## Phunky_2003 (Mar 28, 2010)

I really like that 2nd one.  I'm not sure you'd get many votes for an ugly pen.  Both pens are really fabulous!


----------



## skiprat (Mar 28, 2010)

That 'spackle' is spectacular. I've never seen anything remotely like it. Stunning!!:biggrin:


----------



## Bree (Mar 28, 2010)

Both pens look terrific to me... but then what do I know anyways?
:wink::wink::wink:


----------



## Jgrden (Mar 28, 2010)

chriselle said:


> First is just an Ebonite Statesman with a few coats of clear urushi...nice and soft to the touch.
> 
> The second is a candidate for next years ugly pen contest:biggrin:....15 layers of colored urushi goofy "spackle".
> 
> ...


What is "urush"?


----------



## workinforwood (Mar 29, 2010)

I've seen a lot of finishes in a lot of different fields of woodworking, right up into extreme competitions Chris.  That second pen is the best looking finish I have ever seen.  Most woodworkers could only dream of pulling of something like that.  I know it makes me envious.


----------



## chriselle (Mar 29, 2010)

workinforwood said:


> I've seen a lot of finishes in a lot of different fields of woodworking, right up into extreme competitions Chris.  That second pen is the best looking finish I have ever seen.  Most woodworkers could only dream of pulling of something like that.  I know it makes me envious.



Hey thank you everyone.  You are all too kind....REALLY!!  Jeff, thanks but I think the reason I don't dig it is that it didn't quite turn out like I was expecting.  If you saw what I was aiming for you'd laugh, too.  Back to the drawing board as they say.




Jgrden said:


> What is "urush"?



John, Urushi is traditional Japanese lacquer...tree sap with a bite..lol.  It's not the easiest stuff to get along with but in the end it lives up to it's long history.


----------



## chriselle (Mar 29, 2010)

oldsmokey said:


> Chris, you would not have my vote for ugly pen.  They are both excellent pens.
> I, as an expermint tried two pens with metal leaf with chemical patinas.  I didn't care for them very much.  However the person who bought both of them thought they were the best pens ever.
> I think your pens show a lot of artistic talent.
> Ellis



Ellis, that is a whole other world I've yet to explore.  It's called maki-e but I've had a heck of time getting the "right" powdered metals.  



altaciii said:


> Really nice pens, Cris.
> I really like the non "ugly" one.  I see some sort of a blue glare or tint to the finish is that caused by reflection or a poor monitor. Both are beautiful.



Alex, I prefer this one too.  The pen is blue ebonite shot on a baby blue background...didn't have white handy, so yes bad blue hue.  I gave it to the client today and he was doing back flips..:biggrin:


----------



## Toni (Mar 29, 2010)

Chris my favorite is your "ugly" pen, It reminds me of a volcano erupting, very fire and hot Beautiful pens!!


----------



## ldb2000 (Mar 29, 2010)

Sorry Chris , you won't get my vote for ugly pen either , I love the look of that one .


----------



## johncrane (Mar 29, 2010)

Chris!your ugly pen is hot!! well done on both.:wink::biggrin:


----------



## Russianwolf (Mar 29, 2010)

Gotta agree with the others. That "ugly" pen looks better than some of the custom orders I've done for clients. 

Any chance of getting a tutorial on the process used to do it?


----------



## jeff (Mar 29, 2010)

Looks great on the front page! 

I second Mike's request for a Urushi tutorial!


----------



## ldb2000 (Mar 29, 2010)

Congrats Chris .


----------



## BigShed (Mar 30, 2010)

They both look very good Chris, well done.

I actually like the El Grande one very much, looks very attractive, even though it didn't turn out as expected.

Happy accident I'd say


----------



## altaciii (Mar 30, 2010)

Well Chris,  Looks like others think your "ugly" pen deserved more credit than you gave it.  Still think its a great looking pen and back flips by the client are well deserved.  Congrats.


----------



## Toni (Mar 30, 2010)

Congrats Chris and to think its the "UGLY" pen on the home page!! LOL


----------



## johncrane (Mar 30, 2010)

Congrats on the front page Chris!


----------



## chriselle (Mar 30, 2010)

Well, I'll be ..........!!  That pen....Front page!!  Surprised but tickled nonetheless. 
Thank you all for the kind comments.  Makes me wish I had taken pictures of the last group of "pretty" pens before they all sold last week.  I have a batch of new urushi pens I'm just starting as a commision and the client just said, 
"Go Wild" so I think I will do some more "uglies" and try to document the urushi process along the way.


----------



## wdcav1952 (Mar 30, 2010)

Chris,

Congratulations on the home page photo!


----------



## Mrs Rojo22 (Mar 30, 2010)

Beautiful! Congrats on the front page!

Robin


----------



## ElMostro (Mar 30, 2010)

I vote to put it on the front page....oh, wait it's already there!
Congrats, great pen.

Eugene.


----------



## wizard (Mar 30, 2010)

I am a true believer in the saying "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". Your "ugly" pen
is by far one of the most gorgeous pens I have ever seen! Your other pen will definitely lose the ugliest pen award. It is also nice!!  Wizard


----------



## cnirenberg (Mar 30, 2010)

Chris,
The front page is certainly a stunning expamle of craftsmanship, and it looks like its all your fault.  Way to go, I really enjoy your workmanship.  That pen is great.  All that hard work has certainly paid off.


----------



## Jim in Oakville (Mar 30, 2010)

15 layers of colored urushi goofy "spackle....wow!!  That is the First time I have seen an El Grande I liked!!!!


----------



## NewLondon88 (Mar 30, 2010)

ElMostro said:


> I vote to put it on the front page....oh, wait it's already there!.



.. and they say your vote doesn't count ... :tongue:


----------



## CSue (Mar 31, 2010)

U niquely
G orgeous &
L avishly
Y ummy

Pen!

My favorite!


----------



## GregHaugen (Mar 31, 2010)

WOW!  Very cool!!


----------



## glycerine (Mar 31, 2010)

The more I see your pen on the main page, the more I realize how cool it is... congrats! and nice pens!!


----------



## Rfturner (Apr 1, 2010)

I will take your "ugly" pen off your hands. I think that it looks great. It is different but that makes it stand out above the rest. The coloring is almost explosive


----------



## chriselle (Apr 1, 2010)

CSue said:


> U niquely
> G orgeous &
> L avishly
> Y ummy
> ...


 
Cathy Sue,

  Can I use that as my new acronym for this line??:wink:


----------

