A little history on the 1773 Tea Party Pens:
The Logan County, Ohio, courthouse, built in 1870, was damaged by a windstorm in June of 2012. The entire clocktower was removed and rebuilt. The timbers were White Pine. I was able to collect some of the wood.
In reviewing the history of white pine, I learned that the timber was most likely harvested in northeast Ohio. Trees could easily reach 200 years of age, with 40-inch diameters, and 150 feet of height. Before the Revolutionary War, the best white pine trees in New England were marked by the British and used as masts for the Royal Navy.
The beams from the courthouse clock tower were over 100 years old, and possibly 200 years. That means they were growing in 1773, the year of the Boston Tea Party. So, the 1773 Tea Party Pine Pens were designed to commemorate the Boston Tea Party and the beginning of the quest for freedom.
The pens are made with the antique wood from the Logan County courthouse timbers.
The Antique Brass kits:
The wood is stained with a dark tea-colored stain on each end, symbolizing the coming musket fire and smoke of the Revolutionary War. The center band of the barrel is painted with red acrylic symbolizing the British red coats. The pen is coated with two coats of urethane varnish for protection and to add the warm amber background, then coated with a super glue wet gloss finish. The pen is assembled in an antique brass kit. This pen takes six days to make.
The Antique Silver kits:
The wood is “white washed” (grain filled) with white acrylic, then covered with a clear polycrylic sealer. After drying, the sealer is sanded back to give the wood a weathered look. The bands are cut, burned, and painted with red and blue to create the red, white, and blue of the new flag. After drying, the pen is covered with another two coats of a thick, clear, water-based varnish, then sanded and topped with a wet-gloss super glue finish. This pen also takes six days to make.
To sign up for the drawing, simply leave a comment.
If the comment box does not appear at the bottom of the blog, click on “Leave a Comment” at the top under the title.
I will allow two days for comments. On Thursday, 4/4 after 10 am, I’ll announce the winner here. Good luck!
Steve,
I can personally attest to the beauty of the antique brass version. I ordered it for a gift and the recipient (a retired forester) was thrilled.
Sign up, folks. It’s gorgeous!
Thanks, Debbie. You are too kind.
And thanks for all the “educating” of a beginner on this blogging business!
And I forgot to mention Debbie’s latest book, Deep Fake Double Down, winner of the top award in Publishers Weekly’s Thriller category.
Check it out!
Please sign me up for the tea party pen drawing! Thanks.
Hi, Joy.
I hope you and your family are doing well. You are signed up for the drawing. Good luck!
And thanks for reading my newsletters!
Good Morning Steve, I recognize the pride and care you pour into these pens. Having been the lucky recipient of several of them I can attest that anyone who appreciates craftsmanship and history will be delighted to have at least one. Because of this I do not wish to be entered in the drawing so another lucky individual may have an opportunity.
Thanks, Mark.
And thanks for the endorsement. I hope you and Susie are doing well.
Thanks for reading and commenting on the newsletter/blog.
Steve’s craftsmanship is top-notch. Best pen I’ve ever owned!
Thanks, Sue
Best pen except for Poe disappearing from the pen. Hopefully by next month I’ll have a pen holder (ink pot) to show everyone. It’s been about 15 years since I was making the pen holders, and I’m having to learn all over again.
Readers, please check out Sue’s Mayhem series. She has a new book coming out in the near future – Savage Mayhem.
Thanks, my friend!
Hi Steve,
I signed up for your newsletter after I read on TKZ that you were not going to blog for them any longer, and I realized I wanted to continue to hear from you. I really enjoyed reading about how the pens are crafted and would love to win one. Thanks for this opportunity!
Thanks, Katherine, for signing up for the newsletter/blog.
You’re signed up for the pen drawing. Good luck!
I had no idea of the history or the time put into making these pens. What an interesting story! I would love to be put into the drawing for the pen.
Good to hear from you, Marilyn. I hope you and your family are doing well.
You are in the drawing. Good luck!
I am amazed at your artistic talent and the history that supports the individual pens. I have one of your pens. It is beautiful!!
Thanks for reading the newsletter/blog, Deanna. I hope your family is doing well.
You are eligible for the drawing even if you’ve won before.
Thanks!
I love learning the history of the wood that you use in your pens. (The crafting is magnificent.) Thanks for making it so fascinating,
Thanks, Jan
I also love learning the history of the wood. Thanks for reading my newsletter and participating. You are signed up for the pen drawing.
Love these pens, Steve! And the ones you’ve made for me. They’re beautiful and functional, and I get lots of compliments . . . which should go to you.
I have two events coming up, and my pen buddies are going with. 🙂
Sign up, everyone!
Thanks, Deb
Good luck with your coming writer/speaker events!
Drum roll. And the winner of the pen drawing is Joy Buffkin.
Congratulation, Joy. Thanks for participating. I hope you will enjoy owning a piece of Logan County history.
I’ll contact you to find out where to send the pen.