# Hawaiian Koa and Gabon Ebony Pen Box



## SteveG (May 23, 2016)

This was my submission for the 2016 Bash Pen Box competition. I selected Curly Koa as the primary wood, since I live in Hawaii, and believe that prime curly Koa is among the finest woods one can choose for small box making. The Ebony really sets off the rich color and figure of the Koa. I had not made a box of this design prior to the competition, and wanted to arrive at a finished design and completed box while avoiding wasting any of these expensive woods on a "reject" prototype. The last photo shows the inspiration for the design...a Camelback Chippendale sofa. Besides the visual inspiration of the camelback sofa, I wanted the box to accommodate a large pen, and allow sufficient interior room to easily grasp the pen when taking it from the box. The fourth photo shows the box with a Lazerlinez "Desire" pen for reference. Larger pens will be right at home in this box. The finish is hand rubbed lacquer, as seen with the soft sheen in the third photo. The upper part of the sofa photo shows a half size scale model that was roughed out from a sold piece of scrap wood. This allowed refining the shape, and permitted verifying that the hinge arrangement would work. There are small, hidden hinge-stops on the back side to limit the movement of the lid, stopping it at an attractive open angle. The satin fabric is "plumped out" with some poly fiberfill, and attached to a firm file folder material. There was a surprise that was revealed only when the box was near being finished. The somewhat small actual "foot print" of the legs made the box a little unstable, with a tendency to tip over backwards when the lid is fully open! I dealt with that by adding some lead shot concealed along the front interior to counterbalance the lid. Works fine!


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## Curly (May 23, 2016)

A beautiful box. I thought at the time that the inspiration came from an antique mantel clock.


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## Ironwood (May 23, 2016)

Well done Steve. That's a beautiful box.


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## magpens (May 23, 2016)

Outstandingly gorgeous box, Steve !!!


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## Jim15 (May 23, 2016)

Beautiful box.


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## thewishman (May 23, 2016)

Beautiful design and gorgeous wood! Love that thing!


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## SteveG (May 24, 2016)

Thanks all for the kind comments.  

One thing I discovered in making a small box such as this, was that just as in pen turning, a very small variation in a detail can made a big difference in the overall look of the piece. Thus it would be very easy to over-adjust a detail on a new design, and have to start over if not careful!


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## GaryMGg (May 24, 2016)

Absolutely beautiful workmanship.


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## jttheclockman (May 24, 2016)

Very well done and great attention to detail was followed and it shows. This is the exact thing when I pushed to get this forum started. I know that making boxes and even pen stands requires as much detail as do making that special pen. A place to show off your craftsmanship and this is what you have done. Thanks for showing and giving us a little insight into the making of it.


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## fitzman163 (May 27, 2016)

Thats beautiful work!


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## tjv (May 29, 2016)

Very pretty.


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## reddwil (Aug 31, 2016)

love it.  great design


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## MDWine (Sep 1, 2016)

Ya gotta love KOA, sure is Purdy....   great job on the box!!  I like that the interior follows the shape of the exterior... nicely done!


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## FourOaksCrafts (Dec 2, 2016)

Excellent!! Love this box!


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## elkhorn (Dec 2, 2016)

Fantastic, Steve!  Truly outstanding.


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