dull

In case you haven't read my "introduce myself" thread....Hello :thumbs: Purple acrylic blanks.......is it just me or are they absolutely terrible to turn? Mine seem to catch, chip, break, and ruin my tools to an edge duller than a weekend in Brussels. And while I'm on the subject of dull...

Hi all, Someone here allready turned ivory ? If yes, what kind of tools you use for it ? I used my standard tools ( skew, gouge, carbide scraper, etc... ) and they become all dull after a few minutes. Spent more time on sharpening than turning... If one of yours have a suggestion :thinks:

I had a lovely piece of Cocobola to use as a pen cap with a lovely orange huw and lines through......unfortunatly after turning its just a plain brown dull blank.....will it come back orange with a bit of time....as i know purple heart does or should i add a stain??:thinks:

I have a friend who prefers pens with a matte finish. This is a Cigar pen kit in satin black from Woodcraft. The blank is an acrylic acetate called Black Ice. To make the bodies dull, I polished them with all 9 grades of Micro Mesh, then (thanks to a suggestion here) used 0000 steel wool to dull...

A friend of mine prefers a dull finish on his pens. Is here a method for doing this besides wet sanding without polishing? I'm afraid it might leave visible scratches.