The Ancients Series | Machined EDC Mechanical PencilAll metal mechanical pencil with body crafted from ancient, reclaimed wood. Holding something that is thousands, or tens of thousands years old gives us perspective on how small and precious our moments, days, and years are. When wood that ancient is handcrafted into a writing tool, it lets us focus on leaving our mark. The Ancients Series crafts three woods that have witnessed the whole of human history (and then some) into a tool that fits perfectly

All metal mechanical pencil with body crafted from ancient, reclaimed wood.

Holding something that is thousands, or tens of thousands years old gives us perspective on how small and precious our moments, days, and years are. When wood that ancient is handcrafted into a writing tool, it lets us focus on leaving our mark. The Ancients Series crafts three woods that have witnessed the whole of human history (and then some) into a tool that fits perfectly into your daily life.

All of our ancient woods come from trees that fell thousands of years ago or trimmings from ancient trees that are still standing. Reclaiming wood is best for our forests, and the stories are better, too.

• Made with your choice of ancient woods from 3,000-50,000 years old. Read their stories below.
• Precision-machined body of solid aluminum or brass is lightweight and extremely durable.
• German-made, full metal click mechanism by Schmidt.
• Refill with .7 mm lead and mini eraser refills. 
• Collection also includes a click pen as well as a pen and pencil set.
• Made in Chicago and guaranteed for life.

A story spanning millennia

Check out this brief timeline that sets each of the three ancient woods in the context of human history, and learn what was happening in the world when these trees were alive!

Ancient Kauri

It's called ancient kauri, and it's up to 50,000 years old. Yes, 50,000! The oldest workable wood in the world, ancient kauri shows just the earliest signs of petrification. Called "whitebait," this phenomenon creates small veins of mineral deposits that give the wood a one-of-a-kind luminescence.

50,000 years ago, in what is now Northern New Zealand, a major natural event felled huge forests of kauri trees that had been growing for some 2,000 years. This event also created bogs in the area that protected these giants from the elements. Today these trees are typically found under farmland from which they are carefully excavated before the ground is returned to its previous contours.

Just for some perspective, here are a few things that happened on Earth less than 50,000 years ago…

• 16,000 years ago the depressions that would become the Great Lakes were fully formed.
• The last Ice Age ended approximately 5,000 years ago.
• Homo Sapiens reached the area from which these trees were recovered only around 40,000 years ago.

Bog Oak

No, this wood isn't stained black. 5,000 years in a peat bog in the Ukraine have naturally turned these huge, ancient oak trees black all the way through.

At the end of the last ice age rising water levels caused huge oak forests throughout Europe to die standing and fall into the muck. For the last 3,500 - 5,000 years these trees have been preserved in anaerobic conditions underneath peat bogs.

The ages have turned bog oak a deep black with dark brown grain. This is the result of a chemical reaction that occurred between the tannins in the oak and soluble irons present in the bog soil.

Bethlehem Olivewood

Each piece of this gorgeous wood is completely unique. The beautiful grain of Bethlehem olivewood can be straight, curly, dark, light, swirling... You get the gist.

Throughout Israel there are olive groves that have grown for over 2,000 years. These trees saw Rome rise and eventually fall. They watched much of Biblical history unfold, and they still stand today to bear witness to the trials faced by the region.

These trees are highly protected; those who maintain them gather branch trimmings and deadfall and make them available to tourists and woodworkers.