Snakeskin Pen Blanks

Snakeskin Pen Blanks

Wyoming Prairie Rattlesnake and Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Wyoming Prairie Rattlesnake satin nickel Baron made with buffalo horn by Richard Kleinhenz

These exceptional blanks are hand-made from Wyoming prairie rattlesnakes and, as you can see, make a beautiful as well as an extremely unusual pen. The blanks are cast in clear resin and require a 'light' touch when turning.

Keep in mind that these blanks are individually hand made and tiny air bubbles may be present on the skin's surface. These bubbles are not considered a defect and can be filled with clear CA glue when exposed and finished successfully. Pricing is shown below.

We highly recommend that those who purchase these kits have some experience in pen turning and/or spindle turning. These kits/blanks are not recommended for beginners! Replacement blanks for the snake skin blanks are not available. If you 'blow up' a blank we will not automatically replace it for you.

These blanks are kit specific. The blanks come supplied with the brass tubes already installed for the type of pen as indicated below. All you have to do is trim the blanks using a pen mill or belt sander, turn, finish and assemble. It is recommended that you finish these blanks just as you would any type of acrylic, acetate, celluloid or plastic.

We apologize if some of these blanks are out of stock.
The manufacturer is working as fast as they can to meet the demand.

Rattlesnake Pen Blank Instructions PDF

The Western diamondback skins are more brown than green in color.

CSUSA = Craft Supplies USA

American Flat Top Double Twist Ballpoint Pen $18.90	CSUSA Emperor Pen $18.90 Western Diamondback Emperor Pen $21.50
Carbara (formerly the Atlas) Pen $9.45 Western Diamondback Carbara (formerly the Atlas) Pen $10.95	CSUSA Imperial Pen $18.90
Baron / Sedona Pens $18.90 Western Diamondback Baron / Sedona Pens $21.50	CSUSA Gentleman's / Statesman / PSI Majestic Pens $18.90
Cigar Pen $18.90 Western Diamondback Cigar Pen $21.50	CSUSA Jr. Gentleman II / Jr. Statesman II Pens $18.90 Western Diamondback Jr. Gentleman II / Jr. Statesman Pens $21.50
Elegant American Ballpoint Pen $18.90	Sierra Button Click Ballpoint Pen $9.95 New! Western Diamondback Sierra Button Click Ballpoint Pen $11.50
El Grande Ballpoint Pens $18.90 Western Diamondback El Grande Ballpoint Pen $21.50	Olympia Pen $18.90 Western Diamondback Olympia Pen $21.50
El Grande / Churchill Rollerball & Fountain Pens $18.90	Perfect Fit Convertible $18.90 Western Diamondback Perfect Fit Convertible Pen $21.50
El Presidente Rollerball Pen $18.90	These are not for the Sierra Button Click Pen! Sierra Pen $9.45 Western Diamondback Sierra Ballpoint Pen $10.95
El Toro Fountain Pen $18.90 Western Diamondback El Toro Fountain Pen $21.50	Prairie Rattlesnake 7mm Slimline Pens $18.90 Diamondback 7mm Slimline Pens $21.50 (each tube is the same length)

Turning options:

The following is a message I received from a customer who was having difficulties turning the snakeskin blanks in the 'normal' manner. I applaud Barry in developing a solution for a problem he was having instead of just complaining about the product. This is what separates a craftsman from a hobbyist. These are his words:

"I'm posting this note to hopefully help other turners. I bought a rattlesnake blank from you and followed the instructions to the letter. No matter how careful I was the blank still shattered and broke apart exposing the skin below. I was able to refill the voids with CA glue but then tried to think how to continue.

This is what I did: I took a medium grade bastard file (new) and at a slow speed worked it back and forth making light cuts with the file. I worked slow so as not to heat up the blank with friction. I worked at it until I got the shape that I wanted. Then I sanded it through the stated way and puffed it out and the blanks came out perfectly. Would have never thought of using a file to turn these blanks. Try it yourself and I think you will be surprised at how well it turns out.

Please share this with others because these blanks are very fragile. Thank you for your time and I will be back buying more blanks."

Barry N. in Kalamazoo, MI

And another helpful suggestion...

"After squaring the the ends and knocking off the corners of the blanks with my disc and belt sander, I use a Stanley Surform Plane with a flay, regular cut blade and calipers to take the blanks down to about 1/8" greater in diameter than the bushings. This goes very quickly. Then I take a medium wood rasp and take the blanks down to a diameter a little more than 1/16" greater than the bushings. This means that the special clear resin is about 1/32" above the bushings. At this point I use 60, 80 and 120 grit sandpaper to smooth the blanks. Next, I use the regular sequence of sanding and polishing to finish the barrels. I have made a number of the Tropical pens from your kits and so far no disasters.

The Stanley Surform plane can be found at any Home Depot for about $15.00."

Harold S. in Jupiter, FL

Rattlesnake Gold Titanium El Grande pen
made and photographed by Richard Kleinhenz

Rattlesnake Gold Cigar pen made by Robert Hoenisch
and photographed by Peter Klein

Baron Rattlesnake made and photographed by James Mann

Python Platinum & Black Titanium Sierra made by Dave Baldwin

The python blanks are not available for sale.