The White House Custom Inlay Ink Pen is Handmade from 131 Individually Cut Pieces

The White House Inlay design is made up of 131 individual cut pieces. Once cut, the 131 pieces are assembled one at a time much like a jig saw puzzle. Once assembled the pen goes through another couple of dozen steps from sanding through 14,000 grit to the application of fifteen individual polishes and wax.

The wood used in the White House Inlay is Basswood that has been dyed very dark blue (almost black), Yellow Cedar, American Holly, Pear Wood and additional Basswood dyed blue, yellow, green and red.

Basswood (tiliaceae)

Basswood, from the Tilia family is one of a group of about 30 species of trees comprising this family. Basswood is native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest species diversity is found), in Europe and eastern North America. They are generally called lime in Britain and linden or basswood in North America. The leaves of all the Tilia species are heart-shaped and most are asymmetrical, and the tiny fruit, looking like peas, always hang attached to a curious, ribbon-like, greenish yellow bract, whose use seems to be to launch the ripened seed-clusters just a little beyond the parent tree.

In Europe, Tilia trees are known to have reached ages measured in centuries, if not longer. In the courtyard of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg is a Tilia which tradition says was planted by the Empress Cunigunde, the wife of Henry II of Germany. This would make the tree about nine hundred years old in 1900 when it was described. It looks ancient and infirm, but in 1900 was sending forth a few leaves on its two or three remaining branches and was, of course, cared for tenderly.

The Tilia is recommended as an ornamental tree when a mass of foliage or a deep shade is desired. The timber of Tilia trees is soft and easily worked; it has very little grain Ease of working and good acoustic properties also make it popular for electric guitar and bass bodies and wind instruments.

It is known in the trade as basswood, particularly in North America. This name originates from the inner fibrous bark of the tree, known as bast. A very strong fiber is obtained from this, by peeling off the bark and soaking in water for a month, after which the inner fibers can be easily separated. Bast obtained from the inside of the bark of the Tilia tree has been used by the Ainu people of Japan to weave their traditional clothing, the attus.

Yellow Cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis)

Cupressus nootkatensis is a species of trees in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many common names including: Nootka cypress, yellow cypress, Alaska cypress, Nootka cedar, yellow cedar, Alaska cedar, and Alaska yellow cedar.

Also known as Alaska Cypress and Pacific Coast Cypress, this rare and remarkably beautiful softwood is only grown in the Pacific coast region of North America but is not a true "Cedar" species. This light-yellow wood, with its straight and uniform grain, has been used in the boat building industry for many years because of its exceptional resistance to weather.

Due to its short growing season, Alaskan Yellow Cedar is remarkably dense. It dries quickly, works easily and performs well either finished or unfinished due to its natural oils that give the wood a wax-like finish.

With the same insect, rot and decay repelling tannis and oils as Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar is heavier and denser giving it excellent strength and stability with very little shrinkage. Its most popular characteristic, however, is its beautiful, pale yellow color. Left untreated, it weathers to a very attractive light silver grey.

Pink-ish or blue-ish stains that may appear on Yellow Cedar are not a wood defect or problem but are from naturally occurring oils that come to the surface during the manufacturing process that will disappear after exposure to the sun.

Ideal for high traffic applications such as decking and flooring because of its shock resistance and durability, it is also a popular choice for handrails and ramps because it does not splinter. With a higher resistance to flame than other softwoods, Alaskan Yellow Cedar is an excellent choice for siding in a wide variety of custom patterns, shingles, shake roofing and paneling. Due to its high tannin content, care should be taken when selecting corrosion resistant fasteners when installing

Historically this species has been one of the finest timber trees in the world. The wood has been used for flooring, interior finish and shipbuilding^.

Used in landscaping, the drooping branchlets give the tree a graceful weeping appearance. It makes an attractive specimen tree in parks and open spaces. It can also be used as a tall hedge. Nootka cypress can also be used in bonsai.

For firewood, the Nootka cypress has extreme heartwood qualities that make this one of the most desired sources of heat on the west coast. A dead tree can last up to 100 years for firewood. This wood burns very hot and lasts a long time as embers.

American Holly (Ilex opaca)

American Holly is a species of holly, native to the eastern United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.

It is a medium-sized broadleaved evergreen tree growing to 32–65 feet tall, exceptionally up to 98 feet tall, with a trunk diameter typically up to 1.5 feet, exceptionally 4 feet. The bark is light gray, roughened by small warty lumps. The branchlets are stout, green at first and covered with rusty down, later smooth and brown.

The wood is very pale, tough, and close-grained, takes a good polish, and is used for whip-handles, engraving blocks, and cabinet work. It can also be dyed and used as a substitute for ebony. The sap is watery, and contains a bitter substance which possesses tonic properties. It is often planted as an ornamental plant, although a slow growing one.

Holly is a popular Christmas decoration. In English poetry and English stories the Holly is inseparably connected with the merry-making and greetings which gather around the Christmas time. The custom is followed in North America, and holly and mistletoe are widely used for decoration of homes and churches.

Pear Wood (disambiguation)

The pear is a fruit tree of genus Pyrus and the name of the tree's edible pomaceous fruit. The cultivation of the pear in cool temperate climates extends to the remotest antiquity and there is evidence of its use as a food since prehistoric times. Many traces of it have been found in the Swiss lake-dwellings. The word “pear”, or its equivalent, occurs in all the Celtic languages.

Pears are native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of the Old World, from Western Europe and North Africa east right across Asia. Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in Southeast Asia are evergreen. Most are cold-hardy, withstanding temperatures between −10 °F and −40 °F in winter, except for the evergreen species, which only tolerate temperatures down to about 5 °F

According to Pear Bureau Northwest, there are about 3000 known varieties of pears grown worldwide. In the United States only 10 heirloom varieties are widely recognized: Green Bartlett, Red Bartlett, Bosc, Green Anjou, Red Anjou, Comice, Forelle, Seckel, Concorde, and Starkrimson.