This unusual handcrafted pin is made from Box Wood and Purpleheart. It features a Dark purple top and collar. This highly figured pin has a fine pale grain running down the length of the piece. The wood is a subtle yellowish colour and is extremely strong and smooth.

Box Wood is a very strong, dense wood. Many gardens in Europe feature Boxwood in some shape or form as it is commonly used for formal topiary and parterres. The wood has been used in fine turnery, woodwind instruments, chess pieces and inlay work for many years. Older European cultures also found the medicinal and magical properties of this hardwearing dense wood. Used for thousands of years; Box wood is possibly the hardest wood in Europe. Neanderthals fashioned digging sticks from Boxwood due to its strength. It has even been used as a substitute for ivory.

This piece has been salvaged locally by myself from a a very old Boxwood Shrub that has stood for decades in a beautiful formal garden in a valley near Bath.

Purpleheart is a very strong wood from south America. This piece was left over from a local carpentry workshop. It is one of my favourite woods to work with. Sapele Mahogany comes from West, Central and East Africa. It is often used in furniture and cabinet making and as a veneer for marquetry. It is also used in the construction of musical instruments, for building boats and as a flooring material.

Measurements:

15.2 cm Long

2.5 cm Wide