How not-cheap are the fountain pens?
I own several presentation pens made from ‘significant wood’, ie timber that was more important for its history than its role a termite food - one was a railway sleeper for the first railway line blah blah, and another from a tree that grew etc etc zzzzz. Both were presented for talks I gave, and twice someone went to considerable effort to create an attractive object with deeply embedded meaning and style.
I have never written a word with either of them, because I have other pens, biros, ballpoints, markers. They are (perhaps) too nice to be just thrown out. They will probably go to the grave with me. In centuries to come my future archaeological peers will scratch their heads and marvel at these largely uniform objects of enticingly practical use, but which never show signs of wear. They find quite a few of them, but never give a clue as to their use.
One will say ‘It reminds me of another mysterious object puzzle which they never solved…’
I doubt that energy costs are an important factor. First, freshly cut green wood itself has a pretty high moisture content, ranging from about 50% to 200% depending on the species. (200% means there is twice as much water as dry wood fibers by weight.) I found a study that says the moisture content from wood recovered from ancient Chinese shipwrecks ranged from 154% to 968%, so comparable to normal green wood on the low end, but admittedly a fair bit higher on the high end. However, secondly, you don’t need energy to dry wood. Kiln dried wood is common, but wood can be dried by just letting it sit in the environment. Part of the reason kiln drying is common is because it is much faster; air dried wood can take up a year or so to reach an acceptable moisture content, so the mill makes more money by drying the wood faster and getting it sold, rather than letting it sit around for a year while it dries, despite the energy cost of kiln drying. If kiln drying submerged wood used a significantly higher amount of energy than drying normal wood (which I doubt), it could be air dried, or a combination of air and kiln drying could be used.
Also, all wood bends, twists and checks as it dries. That has to be dealt with for all logs, regardless of their source. I wouldn’t expect submerged wood to be significantly more affected than new green wood. (If anything, I’d guess it might move less, since it’s had a lot more time to come to equilibrium, but that’s just a guess.)
Up to 200 Euro.
Teak is an amazing wood. Yes, it has marine applications, but it is also extremely hard. My favourite playing spoons are Pakistani teakwood. I’ve put a set through their paces for about 30 years, and they still sound great at kitchen parties, ceildhs, and jam sessions.
I’ve worn out I-don’t-know-how-many-sets of metals. Oneida Hotel Plates hold up best, but even they can wear out. But my Teaks—always ready to go, for whatever I demand, and always with their warm, wonderful tone. And definitely valuable–my Teaks cost me US$20 thirty years ago; no idea what they would cost now. Regardless, if this set is at the end of its life, I’d pay whatever the cost to get another set just like it. But it’s not yet done; there is a lot more music left in those spoons.
Teak is a wood to be cherished.
The lumber yard where I usually buy hardwood sells teak for $70 per board foot. For comparison, white maple is $8, walnut is $13, canarywood is $19, and bocote is $30. So yeah, teak is pretty expensive. Very nice wood though.
Another interesting type of reclaimed submerged lumber are salt-impregnated trestle timbers from the Lucin Cutoff railroad trestle across the Great Salt Lake.
Here is his website, he has increased his offer and reduced the prices. I hope that is a good sign! The word to look for is Mooreiche (bog oak), he claims they are between 600 and 8500 years old. He also writes that he only delivers in Germany.
I like the pen in the last photo, with the blueish colour. €129 doesn’t sound bad. I think my Levenger cost $100 when I bought it.
It’s a shame he only delivers to German addresses.
I don’t understand that either, a box is a box and a stamp is a stamp. Spanish food online shops drive me crazy with this approach too. If I am willing to pay for the delivery, why not send it where I tell you to, even if it is far away?
I think it would be cool to have something made of an 8000-year-old log.
For the company here in Ottawa, their big seller was hardwood flooring. A nice sweet spot between basic lumber and fancy high end furniture.
No idea if sunken wood is preferred by luthiers, but fun fact: a luthier is a woodworker/craftsman who makes lutes or guitars.
ETA: maybe ukuleles, too. I dunno.
Go to your room.
Now why did I just know that link went to the mystery of dodecahedrons?
[Accounting joke about avoiding sunk costs TBD].
With food I can understand, if it is at all perishable. Or even if they sell any semi-perishable goods. If you ship it and it goes stale due to transit times, you might ask for a refund or spread the word that the company is of low quality, even if you claimed that you knew you were taking that risk. And it might be easier to just blanket not sell to people too far away than make an exception for long-lasting goods.
Wood products are banned for import in many countries including Australia. I had to leave some of my favourite wooden art objects behind when I moved to Aus.
With food I can understand because food imports are extensively regulated.
A small e.g. Spanish supplier simply lacks the resources to research, license for, and comply with, 100% of e.g. German food safety, labeling, and import regulation.
The EU is certainly an attempt to reduce these barriers. But especially in agricultural products (read “food”), that effort is held back a lot by vested interest special pleading.
This isn’t an absolute. But it depends upon how much trouble you want to go to and the provenance of the item. What we don’t want is any item that may carry any of a whole range of wood born pathogens.
Items that have clearly been processed and sealed are easy. Unprocessed raw wood artefacts are something of a red flag.
It is possible to have items sterilised (such as with a gamma source) but there may be faffing about involved.
https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/import/goods/timber
Another important question is whether the species of the wooden item is subject to CITES. If it is, any movement between countries party to CITES becomes harder. You may need to be able to provide provenance of the item. That would include taking the item into the USA.
Our pen maker with limited production likely chooses not to hoop jump having enough ready market in Germany.
We bought a guitar in Germany and brought it home to Switzerland. We were advised that if we ever decide to take it to the U.S., we need to make sure we have the proper documentation for it, especially because it is a Gibson. CITES applies even if the wood is old and already part of a musical instrument, furniture, writing instrument, etc.
And as a Swiss resident, I can commiserate with those who find it annoying to not be able to get something shipped. Hubby just had an ordered canceled from Germany which seems to be because of shipping issues.