1000 Year Old Olive Tree Wood used to make my Pen

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.

Well that was basically how I felt in coming weeks whilst my Visconti nib was not up to par.

It was during that time to sooth my despair that I stumbled upon the internet on Duncan Ross fine work from Xzotic Pens.

A particular pen design caught my eye and I WhatsApp him my queries and on a bright sunny Saturday at about 10am, 6 March 2021, we had a pleasant casual conversation on a pen I fancied.

Unfortunately, the design I wanted he was unable to make it into a fountain pen, so I had to settle for a ballpoint type style. The design was so cool, I thought what the heck. Go for it. We agreed on a price, I choose the type of wood and finishing.

Once payments was made, Duncan proceeded and it was delivered super fast by Grab delivery. This was the fastest delivery on record time. Once Duncan informed me that he had passed it to grab, I received it within the hour. Talk about express service.

The wood I chose was from a 1000 year old tree from South Africa. I wanted the finished wood to be all natural with no varnish or any artificial finishing. 

The trim of the pens were brass coated in bronze.

The end product was pure art. Not one bit disappointed. It was beyond my expectations. 

The product arrived in a very simple yet elegant packaging. Although simple, the overall feel, built quality and magnetic features, would have cost Duncan a pretty penny. The Ang Pow packet was my refund for excess payments made via cash deposit machine at the ATM.

I would not mind repurposing this package for a pencil box

You can see Duncan took the time to provide explanation on the makings of the pen

I stressed to Duncan on the importance of wood grains to me and he did not disappoint 

Look how the grains pop after applying beeswax

Before (right) and after (left) the application of beeswax 

The pen is rightly names Knights Armour. The Knights armored helmet and sword  is the finial and clip for the pen.