# Ripping apart blanks



## BryanMurphy (Jun 21, 2020)

I want to make some hybrid blanks but am out of rough pieces that would look good.

Has anyone come up with a good way to rip a normal blank in half in a "natural" looking way?


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## donstephan (Jun 21, 2020)

Can you givev an example of what you want to do?  I'm not following.


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## magpens (Jun 21, 2020)

Are you wanting to do some segmenting ?

The word "hybrid" has acquired a fairly specialized meaning to pen makers and pen blank makers.
It seems to be used as a descriptive word for blanks made with two different materials such as wood + resin ... cast in a pressure pot.
The wood pieces are most often rather rough in shape (broken, partially decayed, or whatever).
I guess you could call them "natural" in shape.

For a blank made by gluing pieces together, the term "segmented" is common. . The pieces are usually glued and clamped in some way.

I assume it is the former that you are wanting to work with.
I don't see that "ripping" with a saw of any kind is going to give you a "natural" looking result.

Have seen ads showing hybrid blanks made using "cut" wood pieces, with cut edges that appear anything but "natural", most being wavy.
I don't like the looks of those blanks precisely because they look "unnatural" so I have never bought or used any.
But maybe I am missing something.

Would be grateful if you could clarify your question, please.


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## Kenny Durrant (Jun 21, 2020)

In the past I’ve needed a small piece to finish off an end to a blank i was casting. I took a dreamer tool and an aggressive rasp and roughed up the end and edges as much as I could without just grinding up the whole blank. It looked great. The main thing is, in my opinion, not to leave any straight lines or heavy scratches that could be identified when the pen is turned. It wasn’t hard at all once I figured out what I didn’t want. After that it looked great.


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## Lucky2 (Jun 22, 2020)

Bryan, stick the blank in a vise, then break it into pieces with a hammer.

Len


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## BryanMurphy (Jun 22, 2020)

Lucky2 said:


> Bryan, stick the blank in a vise, then break it into pieces with a hammer.
> 
> Len


Sorry I wasn't a bit more specific.  I think Lucky2 and Kenny Durrant are on the right track.   I will give both those suggestions a try and see how it turns out.

As far as hybrid I am speaking of taking pieces of wood that have "natural" looking imperfections like knot holes and forming resin around those holes.  I just don't happen to have anymore wood with natural-looking ends.  Cutting the blanks would just make it look segmented.

If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them.


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## Dehn0045 (Jun 22, 2020)

Here is a video I ran into, might be what youre looking for.


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## BryanMurphy (Jun 22, 2020)

Dehn0045 said:


> Here is a video I ran into, might be what youre looking for.



That was EXACTLY what I was looking for.  Thank you! 

Also, that youtube channel looks awesome.  He uses a puppet, has a Bob Ross type voice, and has creative ways of breaking wood.


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## Dehn0045 (Jun 22, 2020)

MurphyPens said:


> That was EXACTLY what I was looking for.  Thank you!
> 
> Also, that youtube channel looks awesome.  He uses a puppet, has a Bob Ross type voice, and has creative ways of breaking wood.



lol, I was gonna say that I loved his humor, but thought that my say more about myself than I really wanted to share.  The little bit about The Hobbit cracked me up


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## andygorst (Jul 1, 2020)

MurphyPens said:


> That was EXACTLY what I was looking for.  Thank you!
> 
> Also, that youtube channel looks awesome.  He uses a puppet, has a Bob Ross type voice, and has creative ways of breaking wood.


He's not a puppet he's real. Didn't you see his hand when he took his glove off?


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