September 2020
Canton First Monday Trade Days has a large number of vendors that sell one of a kind handmade wares such as paintings, sculptures, and wood works. Most of these vendors are the actual craftspeople that created the products they are selling. It is, however, the less common sight of a crafts person that is actually creating your purchase right there in front of you. And even more unique when it involves a wood lathe.
At Canton Marketplace, you can find George Patterson of Old Pen Man and he does just that: creates custom wood pens right there on his small wood lathe. He says it was a challenge to make his “factory” portable and it went through multiple modifications and design changes. It’s on its fourth iteration and is now a lightweight, fully portable, completely self-contained pen manufacturer. It has a grinder to sharpen his tools and even has its own dust collection and air filtration system.
George at work.George has done wood work all his life, though not always as employment. His previous jobs included owning a machine shop in northern Minnesota that specialized in repairing farm equipment, working for a printer equipment company that made spectrometers, and being a long-haul truck driver. Each of these disparate jobs, though it may not seem it, has allowed George to hone certain skills that are integral to competent word working and allowed him to turn his hobby into his profession.
He has been operating Old Pen Man for ten years now, the last six of those have been on the road. It’s a challenge going to different places, he says, because each site will have different requirements, especially if its outside. But, that’s part of what he loves: the problem solving.
Just about anyone that has a passion for working with wood will tell you that it IS all about the wood. The grain, warmth, color, richness, depth, and, ultimately, uniqueness of each piece of wood is what every woodworker is trying to draw out and highlight. Most of George’s blanks are recycled pieces of cast off wood that would be viewed by most as not worth much. He uses old trees, cuttings from furniture manufacturing, and even pieces of what would otherwise be firewood. He has one sample made from a piece of plywood!
Future pens.
Knots add character.
Not only are George’s pens custom, some of them are extremely unique in their own way. He actually makes left hand pens. They have a wide flare at the bottom which allows for more ease in writing due to how most left-handed people hold pens in an attempt to not drag the outside of their hand across fresh ink. This style is also helpful for people with grip issues such as arthritic hands, as it can be held with much less finger pressure.
Left hand pens along with some test scribbles.
He makes pens with wide barrels, pens with narrow barrels, and even has a pen that is just the right size for laser engraving. George has partnered with Glam Grafix, also in Canton Marketplace, to custom engrave these pens.
The pen that gave George the idea to make pens that could be engraved.
Though the name is Old Pen Man, don’t think that’s all that he makes. There are spice/pepper mills, coffee grinders, cutting boards, as well as wooden flameless candles. Those aren’t made on site, but they are still each as unique and individual as his pens.
Flameless wooden candle.
Visit Canton Marketplace on Canton First Monday Trade Days to see Old Pen Man. And remember that Canton Shopping Guide is your resource for shopping in the Canton area for unique goods from skilled craftspeople.
