# What's the 'whitest' wood...?



## NikNak (8 Sep 2010)

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Once again i'm turning (no pun intended) to you guys for some advice please....


I recently made a Gents fountain pen using Indian Ebony for a chap at work who wanted it finished in matt......









and well received it was too.....



now then.... one of his collogues saw it and liked it very much, and has today asked me if i can make him a 'set' of Gents fountain/roller-ball & pencil set...... no problem, except he wants his all in WHITE...!!

So my question to you guys is "What's the Whitest wood you can get..."?? as i dont really want to resort to making them out of plastic/acrylic.


Answers on a postcard to.........




Me......  

Nick




Ahhh..... stupid me.... just googled it and found out it's Holly...!! 

So.... next question is have any of you guys made a pen using Holly...? and do you have any pictures please..?


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## big soft moose (8 Sep 2010)

sycamore is pretty pale too, and laurel so long as you exclude the heartwood


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## Richard Findley (8 Sep 2010)

Hi Nick,

There's plenty of White-ish woods out there, your problem is keeping them white once you put the finish on them and over time they definately take on a yellow colour.

You could try something like alternative Ivory, although it is an acrylic/plastic of some sort, it looks very effective.

HTH

Richard


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## Bodrighy (8 Sep 2010)

Probably holly though you could use bone or imitation ivory if you can forget it is imitation and therefore plastic. Sycamore is pretty pale and can be as white as holly sometimes but has more grain. Someone may know of others

Pete


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## Paul.J (8 Sep 2010)

Nik.
This is Sycamore and Zebranne of my early efforts at pen turning  
I was surprised how white-ish the Sycamore came out.


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## Kalimna (8 Sep 2010)

I would have thought that Holly would be about the whitest wood you could get. Failing that, is there, perhaps, a technique for bleaching something like sycamore or hornbeam (which itself can be quite pale-nearly white anyway).
Lime might be pale too, but perhaps a little soft?

Adam


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## yellowbelly (8 Sep 2010)

Hawthorn +Yew sapwood :wink:


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## tekno.mage (8 Sep 2010)

I'd say sycamore can be paler than holly (having used both recently), but even sycamore has a pale yellowish tint to it. Maybe a wood bleach would help?

Blackthorn (if you can find any) is also very pale, as is birch.

Kym


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## Bodrighy (8 Sep 2010)

yellowbelly":22v10vqq said:


> Hawthorn +Yew sapwood :wink:



Hawthorn can turn really yellow with a lot of finishes and often has reddish streaks in it as well.
Perhaps something like sycamore but bleached or lime waxed would work?
pete


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## Blister (9 Sep 2010)

NikNak

Just a little tip for you 

When you rough up the brass tubes that you insert in the blanks , paint them white before gluing , as sometimes the colour brass shows through the wood  

:lol:


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## mikec (9 Sep 2010)

Hi NikNak,

It depends on the actual piece of holly as some can be slightly grey. I had a piece that was very white and during sanding I used Liberon wood bleach. It is important to ensure there is no contamination from the sanding process. Just touching the bushing with the abrasive can leave a grey stain on the wood. 

The final result was a very white matt finish. Unfortunately I have no photos as the pens made using this wood were very popular and I have none left.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Mikec


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