I decided that the esthetics of my desk workspace demanded a unique solution for holding my fountain pens rather than a soft cloth on which to lay them.
To that end, I remembered my billet of ebony wood I’ve been hoarding for years now and wondered how hard it would be to carve out a shallow cradle of sorts with gouges, etc. Like a dugout canoe on a small scale.
I started with some carving gouges that I tried to sharpen as best I could. My tools are pretty good quality, but the resistance of the rock-hard ebony dulled the edge quickly. My ambition here was to create something in a primitive style, rather rough and unsophisticated looking to contrast the elegance of my pens. Incidentally, the little birch stand is not part of the design.