Thread: So What.......??????

I must say JT, I have to agree with you on the gaudy pen kits that are available. I prefer something plain, the elegance of which is in the simplicity and which allows the final product to better complement the finished blank. Having said that, there is not the wide range of kits readily available in Australia that there is in the US albeit they can be imported from PSI at a significant cost mainly due to US postage rates. I am making my first Churchill at the moment and chose that kit because of the lack of garish design in the centre band and cap.

My preference is timber as the colours are natural and the grain when polished is superb. Conversely, while some of the the cast resin blanks show excellent design and are quite colourful, they can again be a little on the garish side. It is, after all, very hard to complete with nature.

I have cast some resin blanks but went back to timber for the reason stated and for the fact that I dislike turning resin due to the excessive fine dust cloud it sends into the air when squaring off the blank and sanding it, not to mention the bombardment of small resin particles which tend to cover my shirt when turning a resin blank. This is despite me using a dust extractor, a microclene air filter and a large axial air flow fan with ducting to the outside of my relatively small shed.

I have taken my pens to a few markets and while I have had moderate success in selling them, I have never sold a pen with a resin blank, although I know of many others who have a lot of success with them. People at the markets tend to focus on the timber pens and compliment them more than the resin pens. I have a fairly wide wide of pen kits made up for the markets ranging from the slimline through to the very large Gents. I have found that most people have opted for a pen with a simple design such as the Cigar, the European and the Streamline. Bullet pens seem to have a novelty factor and I have sold a couple of them.

What I have noticed most, is that the people who buy my pens do so as gifts for another person or to display it on their desk. They really don't seem to want something to write with but rather want something that looks nice. Perhaps this is because a lot of people and more so in the younger generations are using their computers and iphones to send messages. I think a lot of younger people would find it difficult to construct a sentence in ink. Writing "ur g8 c u @ 3" in an SMS isn't the sort of thing that lends itself to a hand written note in ink. Maybe I am just being cynical but as an aside, I watched an article on the television new last night which reported the number of people being seriously injured by a vehicle when they step off the footpath onto the road while so busy texting to their friends that they don't bother to look up before stepping onto the road.

I have no idea how many pen turners remain although realistically, only a few amongst them do it as the sole source of their income. There simply isnt the demand for pens or more to the point, there isn't the profit in them to make it a worthwhile full time business other than for the select few who may receive continual contracts from various companies for gift pens. Also, I don't know if the number of pen turners is in a sharp decline. One can only guess by the number of posts placed on here and on Face Book as compared to a couple of years ago, but I don't want to go down that road again and restart the previous argument.

For my part, it is a hobby that keeps me busy for a day or two a week. If I sell a few pens to cover the costs of my hobby I am happy. Although it can become mundane making up the same pen kit over and over such as slimlines only. A bit of variety in kits does manage to get me back to the shed each time. There is also the great feeling of accomplishment to make a pen that is perfect, or as close anyone can get to perfect, in all aspects. As we all know, that doesn't happen every time.

I will have to experiment with making my own kit as you suggested, however to get it the same each time would be a matter of luck or having a chinese manufacturer copy it for me. Interestingly, that can be done at a relatively low price but on the downside you have to buy them in large numbers. Well that's my two bobs worth.

I guess what motivates me is trying something new. I absolutely hate mass producing pens. I make a lot of resin pen blanks because I find it fun to experiment with the colors. Plus I sell enough blanks to fund my pen making, and that's a big plus (to my wife). To be honest, only about half the blanks I make actually appeal to me. Sometimes I'll make one and be sort of on the fence about making enough to sell. But then it becomes one of my best sellers. And after selling these thing for a few years, I know that a good variety is what seems to work. So I keep making some that I'd never consider making for myself, or even to give as a present.

If I make a pen just for me, it's a wooden pen. It might have some resin accents, but wood is what I like. I make a lot of resin pens though to show off my blanks. I sell very few, and really don't try to hard. I don't want this to be a job. It's fun to go out and just try different things. Some work, some don't. I probably have at least a dozen partially finished pens. I may finish some of them, but I know some will never make past the point of where they are today.

I have done less than 10 of what I consider the high end bling pens. And I won't buy any more. Nearly all the new pens that are coming out are gimmick pens. But I guess people buy them. I won't though. I do think that many pen turners are becoming reliant on the kit vrs their own creativity. The exceptions are people who do most of the posting in these pen forums. I see so many really innovative creations. Some are the pen, and some are the blank.

I really think my future in pen making is going to be in kitless pens. I've done a dozen or so, and that's what I like doing the most. They take longer, but I know there isn't another one just like it anywhere. And when I do a kit, nearly every one has some sort of customization done to it. (But of course the pen I posted earlier today was plain stock). But that is really rare for me.

I have a pen in my mind that I want to do soon. But it will probably take me a month or two. I'll probably make a prototype, then if that works, I'll make the pen. To me this is what's fun.

Thanks all for taking the time for a considered post and replies.

For me Pen Making is what I call newish and I would not boast being experienced though I do think I am on par with some who have been doing it for many years.

Timber v's other mediums. My love is timber though some other mediums look like they would be very intersting to try. As yet I have not really got into casting but this too is something I would like to try.

I love the idea of a kitless pen and anticipate the day will come.

Truly insprired by some of the work on here. There was a series of celtic knot blanks and pens here not long ago. Loved it!!! Segmenting is something definitely on the agenda

My situation - more than a hobby. Yes I love it but I want ot make my passion into a lifestyle where I can work form home and watch my kids grow up. I want to focus on turning which is much more than pens but pens would be a big part of it. It may be that I venture into flat work as well ... we will wait and see


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

I started turning pens for the enjoyment, for a lot of years I just turned timber pens.

The last few years I have been in the situation where I can have some pens on display where I work. The majority of the pens I turn now are to suit the demand of my customers, they mainly want resin pens, at least 90% of them.
About half the pens I sell are 30-06 bullets with resin tops.
The money I make out of them is mostly poured back into the hobby, which is expanding now that I have started casting, the Wife is starting to take an interest in making the blanks as well, which is good.

I enjoy making special one-off pens , segmented, closed end, etc. but I don't sell many of them as I find most people around here won't pay what I want to charge for that type of pen.

I can see myself getting into the kitless trend at some stage, probably not until work has stopped ruling my life though.

I enjoy turning on the lathe. Making a pen is one aspect of turning. I have a fair amount of kits that I need to use, about 63. I find that I make them in batches and if I am not happy with any I start again.

I have started to try and sell some so I can recover some cost. It will not be a business to live off. I find it fascinating the variety of pens people make and enjoy reading the threads.

I find that most people are not familiar with pen making on the lathe. So when I tell them they get all confused. Strange because I thought everyone had an atomic generator in their shed. I could understand that not everyone had a cold fusion reactor in the shed as that needed to be placed outside.

Pen making is just a hobby for me, selling a few here and there
to buy more kits, make more pens etc. etc.

I only make timber pens and flatly refuse to play around with the
acrylics. Many customers approach my display, touch and smell
the wood and state how they just simply love wood.

Before anyone gets up on their bucket I have no objection to others
making and selling their acrylics with various inclusions. I agree they
can look bright and attractive - they are just simply not for me.

Allan