Drewnem Pisane (Wood Written) - Behind the scene - How a pen is made. Part 16. Drying wood

Once we know what the pen is made of, it is worth mentioning the technological process itself. The amount of work put into producing the pen, the cost of the material and any accessories are the basis for calculating the price. It's easy to imagine it when you have a ready-made, purchased block. It's a bit different when we make these blocks ourselves. We want to show you what it looks like to prepare a custom-made pen from wood and resin.

Part 16. Drying wood

Wood is not a homogeneous material. Additionally, there are large differences in types of wood depending on the species and where it comes from. Exotic wood from swampy areas has so many oils and tannins that it does not require additional stabilization after drying. Such wood is naturally protected against pests and water. Resin works similarly and naturally protects wood against pests and damage. Such wood feels greasy to the touch and often smells nice. Other species, including our native ones, are sensitive to moisture and under its influence deform, crack, swell and are therefore unsuitable for processing. Hardwoods with a very compact structure, often coming from desert or mountainous areas (hard conditions for tree growth), are sometimes suitable for wood without stabilization, immediately after drying and good varnishing. However, we stabilize even such wood to ensure that the pen will maintain its pristine appearance regardless of the conditions. Usually, every purchased wood that reaches us must be dried, and it does not matter whether it is exotic or our own. If the wood is from a freshly cut tree, it must first rest/dry for a year or two and only then should we dry it additionally. For further processing, i.e. stabilization, the wood must be as dry as a chip and crackle when touched. We use the oven for this. Instead of gingerbread, Kamila bakes wood. Well, every housewife has her own unique recipes. We will write about stabilization in the next report.