Our “Story”
It Started with an Idea
The Taking Texas with Me (TM) pen started off as an idea, an idea on how to take two of the most prolific natural products of the Texas landscape and combine them into something unique and useful.
Dr. James Sutton of Pleasanton, Texas (The Texas Penwright), hit on the idea of creating a completely hand-turned ballpoint pen made from mesquite and prickly pear cactus.
These two items, wood from the mesquite tree (Prosopis) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia), are harvested in south Texas and combined to create this truly unique keepsake. The colors are completely natural. The pen uses the standard Cross(R) pen refills.
The Mesquite Tree
Both the mesquite tree and the prickly pear cactus have been used for food
for animals and humans. When the Mexicans marched through Texas in the dead of winter to lay siege to the Alamo, it is said they fed their horses the beans of the mesquite tree.
These trees are generally small and scrubby, especially in drier parts of the state. Mesquite trees growing along rivers and creeks are larger, generally yielding pieces of the prized wood for accessory items and even fine furniture. With age, mesquite wood becomes even richer and darker in color.
Prickly Pear Cactus
The flat pads of the prickly pear cactus can be made into a vegetable dish, while he round pears of the cactus are considered a fruit … a dessert. Even today, Texas ranchers feed cactus to cattle in times of drought by burning off the thorns of the plants with a torch. This is called “burning pear.”
Wild patches of prickly pear like this one can be unforgiving. One must handle it carefully.
The most delicate part of making this special writing implement involves converting this raw cactus into a component for the Taking Texas with Me(TM) Pen; it’s called the Duracacting Process(SM). The pads of the prickly pear are processed thorns and all into a (pretty gross) slurry that is dehydrated in natural Texas sunshine. Then it’s processed again and skillfully combined with a resin-based material to make it durable and permanent. It this step isn’t perfectly executed, the result either ends up being a useless chunk of gummy goo, or a block of cactus so brittle it shatters when touched with a lathe tool. (Pieces of the cactus and the thorns clearly can be seen in the center part of the finished pen.)
On the Lathe
Here’s a picture of two halves of a mesquite and cactus pen all glued up and
being turned on the lathe. A very sharp tool called a gouge is used to slowly turn the wood and cactus pieces into two halves of a pen.
When the pen halves are turned, sanded and finished to a glassy shine, they’re ready to be taken off the lathe and fitted with gold or chrome appointments.
Certificate of Authenticity
Each Taking Texas with Me(TM) pen comes with a velour, drawstring, gift pouch and a Certificate of Authenticity.
We hope you enjoy looking at our pens and this site. THANK YOU –JDS
