Distinctly Montana Magazine

Each pen displays the tree���s growth rings, which reveal the events that shaped the tree, the forest, and the American West. FINSHING TOUCHES After felling the tree, Wager hauls the logs back to his workshop in Missoula where the pens are crafted and assembled by hand. In the shop, Wager cuts the blanks to reveal the entirety of the tree���s rings. After the blanks have dried, he sands them smooth on a lathe and applies a protective coating. The pens are then assembled with high-quality components to create a variety of pen types ranging from click ballpoints to fountain pens. The trim is available in black titanium, gold-plated brass, or chrome. A one-foot section of log will typically create 10 pens. Each pen comes with a wooden box and a display card describing the tree���s history and its role in old-growth forest restoration. In addition, Wager inscribes the first and last growth ring on each pen, a timeline that often spans more than a century. One recently completed pen dates back to 1864, the year Montana became a U.S. territory. Another goes back to 1861, the start of the Civil War. Wager is also able to mark years of personal significance on the rings. 20 Customers often request to have birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates inscribed on the pen to connect the tree���s natural history to a family history. Word of Wager���s pens is spreading quickly. Pen World, a premier luxury pen magazine, highlighted Tree Ring Pens in 2010. The pens have also been popular at pen trade shows. But the connection of the pens to old-growth forest restoration remains the focus of Wager���s project. Five percent of the sale prices are donated to organizations working on forest conservation and restoration. ���Part of the allure of the pen is holding 100 years of history in your hand and feeling a connection to a tree that lived through the last century,��� says Wager. The other is something less tangible: ���The user of the pens is also connected to the preservation of the old-growth forest, whose centuries of stories are preserved in the rings of these ancient trees.��� They are stories that, for now, will remain untold. D I ST I NCT LY M ONTANA ��� SPRI NG 2013

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