# free rough pen blanks, you pay shipping: Oregon Grape



## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

From Wikipedia:

Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium, Berberidaceae) is an evergreen shrub related to the barberry. The Oregon-grape is not related to true grapes, but gets its name from the purple clusters of berries whose color and slightly dusted appearance are reminiscent of grapes.

The plant grows to 1-5 m (3 ft 3 in-16 ft 5 in) tall. Its leathery leaves resemble holly and the stems and twigs have a thickened, corky appearance. The flowers, borne in late spring, are yellow.

The inner bark of the larger stems and roots of Oregon-grape yield a yellow dye; the berries give purple dye. (end quote)

We removed some of this from the back yard and the stems were hefty enough to warrant my offering them to pen turners, just for the cost of shipping USPS Priority in the continental US.

When I cut it, the sawdust was saffron yellow. These pictures show a piece I sliced, wavy, to see the grain.



















I do not know if the yellow color will persist.

I have three small Priority boxes (8" pieces) and one medium box (11" pieces). They were cut 11/26, green.

I can send you images of the choices or you can take pot luck.

Payment will be by PayPal, $5 for the small and $10 for the medium.

If you want more than one box, you'll have to send me a pen back. : )

My email is [email protected]

I will update the thread when all four boxes are spoken for.

Kindly,

Lee


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## fussy (Jan 18, 2010)

Lee,

I sent you a pm. That stuff won't make me break out or turn purple, will it?

Steve


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Purple, no, Steve. But I'm now about 10 inches shorter than I was last week, my voice is sounding like Elmer Fudd, and I seem to need to eat a lot of nutmeg. I think it's all part of the joy of being a woodworker!

And we are now officially out of stock of the stunning Oregon Grape, and we managed this fantastic sale without a single discouraging word in the parking lot, without any pepper spray inside the store, and without any major scuffles at the checkout stand. Oh yeah, there was that one big fight that everybody came to, but eventually a hockey game broke out.

Kindly,

Lee


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