About the Artist

    Born in Kansas I lived in a combination of small towns and farms until the age of 16. Since then I have lived in The Biggest Little City in The World, Reno Nevada. Life on the farm is a moment by moment experience of creating what is needed from what you have on hand. I carried this mentality to the big city and have since been a self created jack of all trades. Besides Crafting Custom Pens, some of my interests have included. painting,and drawing, ceramics (pre-cast)
home re-modeling and repair, guitar playing, auto repair,and tropical fish breeding.  Since the age of 23 I have spent tending to the needs of my ever growing family.
    Kim, my wife for the past 19 years, and I have four wonderful children, Sheena, Sean, Joel, and Ashley. Each of them is a part of the overall creation of my pens, whether helping me in the shop or selecting which piece of material to make into which style of pen, to attending Craft Shows with me. thus the Title Yourdon's Pens.
    I became fascinated with the idea of creating wood pens and pencils nearly 20 years ago when I first saw one in a craft store. Having always had an interest in woodworking and an overly ordinary affection for pen, the idea of combining the two was exciting to me. I researched the Art and found at that time that the quality of the final product was not what I envisioned it to be. With  dull finishes and only common wood species to pick from I continued to check in from time to time to see how materials and hardware quality had progressed. Eventually the quality of the hardware and finish techniques had developed to the degree that I felt the pens I had in mind could be made.
    Today the selection of woods and other materials has multiplied drastically. Processes have been developed for the woods to make them far more stable  for the process of pen making. And finishing materials and techniques have been perfected to the degree that glass like surfaces are common and reproducible on a consistent bases.
    Wood species available range from the very common like Oak, Cedar, and even Elm to the exotic and rare Amboyna, Lace Sheoak, Snakewood, and Afzalia xlay.Take a look at the Pen Blank page of

www.arizonasilhouette.com for some of the most amazing woods that have been hand selected specifically for pen making. Quality, selection and variety of materials available to the pen maker today has become an art in itself.

     I sincerely hope you enjoy your visit to my little corner of the world. My pages contain many photos and may be slow to load. Just pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and relax for a tranquil journey through what I hope you find is some beautiful viewing.
     Don't forget, if you see anything you like, are inspired with an idea of your own. or even have an item of sentimental value that you would like made into a pen, pencil, desk set, letter opener, key chain or any other item you see on these pages. Please feel free to contact me at

daniel@yourdonspens.com

      Enjoy  
      Daniel

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European Style Pens

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Retro Style Pens

Platinum Pens

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About the Artist

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