Max Gate National trust property

This is a handmade rollerball pen in Holm Oak taken from from Thomas Hardy’s home Max Gate.

Max Gate is the former home of Thomas Hardy, it is located on the outskirts of Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was designed and built by Thomas Hardy for his own use in 1885 and he lived there until his death in 1928. Here he wrote write some of his best-known works including Tess of the dUrbervilles, Jude the Obscure and most of his poetry.

This handmade pen is made from Holm Oak wood with rose gold coloured metal fittings. It is has a traditional wax finish giving it a wonderful warm feeling allowing the wood to shine through. Each pen will vary slightly as no two pieces of wood are quite the same.

The full Thomas Hardy collection can be found here – Hardy collection

Features a quality Schmidt 888 F rollerball refilland is approximately 130mm long and 15mm at the widest part. It will be shipped in the fully recyclable presentation box pictured. Also included will be a small slip giving details of the wood.

All pens are handmade by me beginning with rough cut woods for the body. The body of the pen is turned on a lathe to the final shape as seen on each pen. The body is then sanded, sealed, waxed and polished to its final finish. Assembly is completed by using pre-made high quality pen components for long lasting performance.

The wood for the pens was is collectedas logsby myself. Cut to planks it was then then stored in a controlled environment too season for over four years. Now it is ready to be cut to a suitable size to make pens from.