Port commissioner Kent Jones has unique hobby

MOSES LAKE — If the pen is mightier than the sword, Port Commissioner Kent Jones has quite the arsenal.

Jones makes ornate, weighty pens in his spare time. These aren’t simple plastic gel pens that can be bought by the bundle at many stores. The pens Jones makes in his workshop — a nook inside his garage — are worth giving as gifts during his trips to Japan.

“I would say most of the pens I have made are in Japan,” Jones said.

Moses Lake’s sister city is Yonezawa, Japan. As a port commissioner, Jones visits the country once or twice a year.

“That’s my special little thing that I give out, something that I made,” he said. “You may know the Japanese are great gift-givers, and they always wrap everything.”

Jones also said he has a pen somewhere in China. With a visit to Barcelona, Spain, on the horizon, there was a possibility of leaving a pen in Europe before concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus nixed that trip.

Despite the intricacies of his pens, Jones said his operation is strictly a hobby. However, he is more than happy to donate any pens made in his garage.

“It’s just a hobby. I don’t sell them,” Jones said. “I donate a fair amount of them to auctions and fundraisers and I’ve had now three people come back and they want to buy some for a friend or a family member, and what I do with them is I’ll give them whatever they want, make for them whatever they want, but I don’t take any money for it ... just make a contribution to their favorite charity. If they put it in my name, that’s great.”

There are pens with turquoise resin throughout the body, an all-pink varietal, rolling writers and click pens. Jones pointed out that the click pens are slightly more difficult to make because they have more pieces.

Jones was in the real estate industry for over 40 years. After a brief retirement, he chose to return to work and kept at it until about a year ago. About three years ago he bought his trusty lathe, and a year later added to his operation with a chop saw.

“It’s just a frustrated wood-worker’s hobby where you can come out here and make a mess,” Jones said.

The wood used in Jones’ pens has come from all over the country, even from around the world. Jones has a pen made out of wood from a tree at the house of his daughter-in-law’s parents in Quincy, Illinois. Some wood has traveled from much farther than the Central Time Zone.

“I have ordered some olive wood from the Holy Land, and I’ve made up some pretty special pens for people that are involved in the church, or pastors,” Jones said.

Jones, the dutiful husband, has also made pepper mills for his wife and a unique bottle opener. No one at first glance has been able to guess the function of the bottle opener.

With an extended lathe, Jones could expand to pool cues or baseball bats. For now, he has a more modest project in mind.

“I’m going to start making bowls.”