Spalted wood pens

Spalting occurs when a tree dies or is weakened by some type of trauma. Fungi naturally invade the wood, causing lines and discoloration throughout the wood cells. While this decay creates beautiful patterns and lines in the wood, it also decreases its mass and density. Spalted woods tend to be light or spongy, and may require stabilization before being turned on a lathe.

Since spalting only occurs in certain species of wood and when conditions (such as temperature, humidity, oxygen levels, and time) are just right, spalted woods are difficult and expensive to attain, but the results are worth it. We have turned pens from spalted maple and spalted sycamore root which have been favorites of our customers.

This is an example of spalted maple pen blanks:

And this is a guitar made from spalted wood: