There is certainly lots of criticism that can justifiably be leveled at Facebook, but one positive that I enjoy is the ability to re-connect with old friends and at least keep up with them a bit through the occasional post.
Elvin is an old friend of mine from Junior and High School. In the past few years, he has sometimes posted about some of his hobbies. Elvin has turned one of those into a side business he calls Ohio Pen and Wood. Elvin makes beautiful, unique ink pens. He even has his own laser engraving machine to burn images into wooden pens he makes.
Elvin recently posted a photo of a new pen he had crafted with a photo of Andy and Barney. Naturally, I reached out to him offering to buy one. Elvin sent me photos of the pen being handmade.
The chamber of these pens begins with what is known as a “blank.” The pen starts with a block of acrylic, a special polymer that can be cut, turned on a lathe, and polished. After the center is marked and drilled through the middle. the block is turned on a lathe and formed into the pen chamber.
Elvin sent me these photos and let me know the pen was ready. As you may have guessed from the blog post title, when I asked how much I owed, Elvin’s response was, “I’ll just send it out as a gift to a good friend.”
He did not make the original Mayberry pen at random. Elvin and his wife watch The Andy Griffith Show nightly. He had made the original pen as a gift for his wife. I returned the favor and sent them a copy of the 2019 Mayberry Day-by-Day Calendar as a small token of thanks.
What I love about something like this is that it is not a mass-produced item where human hands have hardly touched the product. This pen and others Elvin makes are handmade with no two exactly alike.
You can see more of Elvin’s work at www.ohiopenandwood.com where can contact him to order a custom-made Andy and Barney pen for yourself.
