Harding Pens
Exotic Innovation
People are writing more than ever before, but not the way they used to. Pens and paper have often been replaced with keyboards and touchscreens.
"A lot of the schools don't even teach penmanship anymore," says Brad Harding, of Aurora, Ontario, a town about 35 miles north of Toronto. "They just teach the kids how to print, but they've stopped teaching cursive writing."
A mechanical engineer by day, Harding has designed mining equipment, auto parts, commercial cooking equipment and currently works in the furniture industry. He spends his leisure time making handmade pens from exotic woods. "It's a stress reliever. I come home from working with steels and plastics to work with natural wood," he says.
"You cut into something and you see some grain patterns you didn't expect, and you see some color come out. You get these surprises as you get into the wood." — Brad Harding, Harding Pens
Love At First Turn
"I've loved woodturning ever since I was a teenager," he says, recalling a wood shop class in public school that offered basic training in woodturning. A few years after his school days, he bought a lathe. "I played around with that for a while. I set it aside when my kids were born. Eventually, I got it back out and was looking for different ideas for things to turn," says Harding.
He discovered pen hardware kits in a Toronto store, bought a few simple ones, scrounged scraps of wood at the local lumber yard, and then went to work combining the two together.
A Hobby Gone Wild
About ten years ago, Harding decided to create a series of hand-turned pens as Christmas gifts for friends and family. "Everyone loved them and said how wonderful they were and told me to start selling them because they are so great. It caught me by surprise."
When Harding purchased the pen hardware kits, he had also spotted small blanks of exotic species of foreign woods with all sorts of beautiful colors and grain patterns. "I tried a few of these along with the kits and was amazed at all the color varieties you get from the international woods," says Harding. The hobby gradually turned into a sideline business called Harding Pens.
Exotic Scraps
"I bought some purpleheart," Harding says. "The purple is just so vibrant and beautiful."
Harding found a nearby supplier, Century Mill Lumber, which sources exotic species for custom furniture makers. "They have left over exotic wood after the furniture makers would come and buy the big pieces. I started buying little leftover pieces from them."
"They loved me because I was buying the cutoffs," he laughs. "All these beautiful woods and I could try them on different pens."
Burls and More
As Harding's interest, skills, and woodworking equipment increased, he began experimenting with different exotic woods and more difficult task of turning blanks made from exotic burls.
He says that Century Lumber carries hard to find exotic burls. "A tree gets attacked by some disease or insects. It reacts to the attack and creates this bump on the side of the tree. Inside, the wood swirls as it grows around the attack areas, and creates these beautiful patterns," he says.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Brad Harding and what is Harding Pens?+
Brad Harding is a mechanical engineer based in Aurora, Ontario who makes handmade pens from exotic woods as a sideline business called Harding Pens. He turns pens in his leisure time as a stress reliever from his day job working with steels and plastics.
How did Harding Pens get started as a business?+
About ten years ago, Brad Harding made a series of hand-turned pens as Christmas gifts for friends and family. The recipients loved them and encouraged him to sell them, and the hobby gradually turned into a sideline business.
Where does Harding Pens source its exotic wood?+
Harding sources exotic wood from Century Mill Lumber, a nearby supplier that stocks exotic species for custom furniture makers. He buys the leftover cutoff pieces after furniture makers purchase the larger stock.
What exotic woods does Brad Harding use for his pens?+
Harding uses a variety of international exotic woods, including purpleheart, which he describes as having a vibrant, beautiful purple color. He also works with hard-to-find exotic burls sourced from Century Mill Lumber.
What are burls and why are they used in pen making?+
A burl forms when a tree is attacked by disease or insects and reacts by creating a bump on its side. The wood inside swirls as it grows around the attack areas, producing beautiful patterns that make burls prized for turning pen blanks.
How did Brad Harding learn woodturning?+
Harding first learned basic woodturning in a wood shop class in public school as a teenager. A few years later he bought a lathe, set it aside when his kids were born, and eventually returned to the craft looking for new things to turn.