Description

Scottish Caledonian Pines are protected. This pen is made from wood said to have been taken from a huge specimen aged around 250 years old, at Glenmoriston in the Scottish Highlands not far from Loch Ness. It had to be officially removed under license as it was presenting danger to an adjacent road.

After millenia of timber cutting, Scottish forests now only exist as scattered pockets which are now rightly protected. These include Scots Caledonian Pine trees which are magnificent ancient specimens several hundred years old. As a result of geographical isolation it has now evolved into a distinct local subspecies, Pinus sylvestris var.scotia and is known as the Caledonian Pine.

The wood of these ancients is beautiful. Very slowly grown with close growth rings, the colour is a lovely yellow-orange with fine dark orange-brown growth rings. The smell is something amazing, an almost overpowering heady pine resin scent that fills the air in the workshop.

I managed to get a few initial pieces of wood and made a few pens which were very popular. After much hunting around I have now managed to obtain a further board which I am working through, but after this supply ends, there will be no more! A certification of authenticity is included.

So much for the history….this pen is a delight to hold and use. Its an art deco style in the Celtic tradition, and finished in antique rose and copper fittings. Each pen is unique and handmade by me, no two pens are the same.

It takes a Parker type refill and it comes with a free velvet pouch.