I get told off for my photos Andy - I get comments like " I like the unusual angle" which is code for "why the heck did you take it like that". Some people have certain ideas about how a pen looks good, and they're largely right, but at the end of the day if there is a feature you wish to show off which the light doesn't catch in a conventional shot, then set it up in a way that does.
Others are far better at shooting their pens than me, but the best advise I can give you is to lose all the clutter behind your shots. It's the pen that folks want to see. I tried tinkering with your tinsel pen and your bloodwood set to illustrate my earlier post, but there was so much going on the the background of both that it was impossible in the time I had to do anything useful with them.
There are several people here who ALWAYS take a good shot. Often they use a conventional "pose" to impress but often they don't. Have a trawl back over some past pens and see which ones appeal , and why they work well. Rather than sticking to a formula imposed by others, learn from them and adapt to your own sense of aesthetics. Get your light tent set up and experiment with the lighting to see what difference it makes from different angles, or with the number of lights you use. You already have your feet well and truly under the table here, and as time goes by, people will feel more emboldened to tell you if it's a load of old shite, and equally so if its a good'n. You'll soon learn what works and what doesn't.
Is there something you're not telling us [MENTION=735]Phil Dart[/MENTION]!
