Rather than being milled or molded, the three pieces that form this pen’s body are 3D-printed in stainless steel, via the process of selective laser sintering (SLS). This process does not leave a smooth surface; rather, the laser leaves a trail as it fuses the steel, much like a weld line. As layers are built upon layers, this creates a pattern reminiscent of wood grain.

With its darker furrows in between layers of bright steel, the result might at first remind you of pattern-welded Damascus steel. The similarity is only a superficial one: it is through pleasant happenstance that an ancient forging method and 21st-century digital fabrication can reach across time and reference each other.

Pen was designed in 2011 and manufactured in 2012 for exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2012 BFA Exhibition.