Dec 2003 - This pen was made from a piece of apple wood grown in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan in my father's backyard. The wood is very hard, heavy and close grained. This makes it excellent in use for anything that has to endure heavy wear and tear, such as tools and handles. Apple is therefore one of the favourite woods to make clubs and wooden wedges. Such wedges were once an important woodcraft tool, because they were used in splitting trunks and poles. Apple is a beautiful timber for decorative furniture, but because the trunks are often short and the branches small and twisted, it is only usually made into small pieces of furniture and kitchen tools. To make a small amount of wood go further, it has sometimes been used for inlay work. Some lovely pieces of sculpture and woodcarvings have been made from apple-wood.