Hand Carving in Ebony Wood

A hand carved boat for holding pens

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.

Carved in ebony cradle for holdng pens.

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.

 

So great if you could take a minute and leave your thoughts on this.