Tag: fountain pens

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This Australian Burl Just Had to Follow Me Home

So lately I have run into a trend of if I haven’t purchased an item from someone that I have interviewed, I end up with something shortly thereafter. That is exactly what happened with my first pen that I picked up from Tristar Studio.

Butler Stationery has started a Friday morning pen meetup of sorts, so for the last few weeks, I have been going out there and have been able to meet up with some of the pen people who are local to Columbia, TN. One of these people is Scott Lewis from Tristar, and the day after his interview released on Youtube, he had just done one of his first matte finish pens, and the very first pen that he had burned his logo in on the barrel of the pen with his laser. I don’t think he planned on selling that pen that morning, but when I saw it, I knew that was the pen that needed to come home with me.

Don’t get me wrong, polished pens look great, but there is something about matte finishes that I seem to prefer in many cases. This Australian burl wood is just gorgeous, and the Turnt Pen Company Carson IV section material was a perfect combination with the wood. Scott uses Bock #6 nibs, and thanks to some of his other pens being on sale at Butler Stationery, we were able to do musical nibs to get an EF nib put into this pen. Since then, Scott did give me an EF nib with the Tristar Studio logo engraved on it, which is now what is in this pen.

He brought the pen that morning in a great sleeve made by Rachel of Third Bungalow Crafts, and just adds to the look of this pen. The topographic pattern just has a cool look, and seeing as I have a topographic sticker on my laptop, it was a natural fit.

Be sure to go and take a look at Scott’s website, as he has been posting new pens every few days that are all stunning, and I know that some of them only lasted on the website for a few days, as I had a friend pick one of them up recently as well.

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A Different Kind of HandCrafted Pen

When I was at the Arkansas Pen Show for 2025, I hadn’t ‘t been to a pen show in a few years, so I went in expecting to see some people I knew from the past and while that was great, I didn’t realize that I was in a way short changing myself of the chance to explore and meet new makers and products that I hadn’t ever seen before. One of my local pen club friends who was at the Arkansas show as well had this very unique pen, and it was so different, I had to know more.

I had already purchased more than expected on the first day of the show, but I did make sure to go back and see the D² Arts Table and briefly got to get a card from Darrell Davis and told him that I would love to try to do an interview with him for my soon to launch interview series and he said that would be great and to reach out when I was ready. I was able to do that, and the interview with Darrell went great, and after talking to him, I realized that I need to own one of his pens.

I took at look at his website, and this pen jumped out to me immediately, and I decided that it was the one that I needed to order. The website showed the cool white material with hints of bluish grey in it, and I could see some of the carved marks on the sides, but the photos only showed me half of the story. When the pen arrived, the body was actually squared, and the carving added ridges to take off any sharp corners. Darrell had included a note thanking me for doing the interview and filled in the story on this pen.

The inspiration for this one of a kind creation came after his father had passed away, and he was making a pen to help process that experience. This pen was inspired by his father’s screwdriver handle. As soon as I read that I immediately knew what he was describing. I remember my grandfather had that same exact type of screwdriver. I found an eBay listing with what I am talking about and I will put that photo here.

Darrell also said in his note that this is probably a one of kind creation from him, and he would probably not be making any more in this particular style, so to be, it is an honor to own such a functional piece of art. I put a 14K EF SIG grind on it done by Audrey Matteson of Franklin Cristoph, and I could not be happier with this combination. It is simply a pleasure to write with, and just holding this pen in your hands, you can’t help but fidget with it. Darrell said in the interview that is really what he loves about making pens. He wants the art to be held and experienced, not just looked at.

While I know that this will not be my last pen from Darrell at D² Arts, this one is always going to hold a special place in my pen connection for sure.

If you haven’t seen the interview with Darrell, be sure to watch it. His approach and story of how he got into making pens is a great one.