A general question about the rare woods and the price of pen blanks

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GPDMTR25

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I was reading about different woods and rare woods. I see some pen blanks can cost quite a bit of money but I was wondering why some other don't cost that much. I realize pen blanks are small so compare to a large wood project so a rarer wood can be used as a pen blank. I'm surprised if certain wood are so rare why are some of them so cheap. For example, Pink Ivory, Thuya Shittim and Kauri are listed as rare but none of these really cost that much. I was very surprised to find the Oldest Usable Wood in the World – Kauri really isn't that expensive. I figure there's only so much of this wood left in the ground but still the blanks aren't that expensive. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this? I was just wondering.

Thanks for your thoughts
Angela
 
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I collect 1/2" X 3" X 6" specimens through the International Wood Collectors Society and have 857 species. Pricing for specimens vary not only by rarity but a lot by shipping costs. Some countries are ridiculous on their shipping costs. Another factor I find is the country of origin's export policies. Soloman Islands, for example won't allow some species to be exploited by foreigners but citizens can export it. A lot of countries are beginning to shut down exports now because of over utilization. Some countries won't allow the export of logs but milled lumber is OK. End use products like furniture, etc. can only be shipped out of some countries in SE Asia. I know a guy who, when he can find a certain species (dead or blown over only) will quickly fabricate a table out of it and mail it to people in the states to cut up.

So I think that "rarity" which usually means how many acres of the stuff is actively growing is only part of the deal. And rarity can also mean it only grows in a limited area but there is a bunch of it or it is being grown on plantations. For example Mahogany, at this time, doesn't grow in plantations very well for symbiotic reasons. It's price will rise for decades until they figure out how to plantation grow it. Actually, the problem is almost solved but you have to let the saplings mature.

Cost can be an accumulation of a bunch of factors. Throw in figure and grain and it's cost plus demand.

That's my experience anyway. I feel your pain.:rolleyes:

Ed
 
I am not going to get into the real "rare" woods but for the most part "rare" is a somewhat vague and imprecise in terms of pen blanks. "Rare" is used as much for a promotion stratagem - as it is for - not so commonly available woods.

Pricing/value is multifaceted:
1. Demand
2. Uniqueness
3. Availability
4. Sentimental/emotional value
5. Workability
6. Eye appeal
Maybe others too.

While Pink Ivory might be considered rare in some comparisons, it is not as rare as others. PI does not have the sentimentality of a 2000 year old wood, or the wood from a famous ship or tree. While considered "rare" in some circles, it is not that rare.
 
As for the Kauri, I understand there are vast amounts of it waiting to be 'harvested' from their muddy graves. The cost has more to do with the expense of digging up than anything else.
As for translating that to the final price of a pen, I have come to the conclusion that customers are not anywhere near as enthralled with stories of rarity as we are. A customer looks at a pen and either likes it or doesn't. A rare ugly pen will not sell next to a common but attractive one.
And, understand, price has as much to do with what someone is willing to pay as cost of production. If you are willing to pay $10.00 for a blank that comes from wood that costs $5.00 a bf, someone will be happy to sell it to you fer sure.
 
A lot has to do with market demand as well. If someone floods the usual sources of blanks with an uncommon wood, then it is no longer uncommon and the prices normally drop. Look at the prices of blanks on ebay. You can find two extremes for every kind of wood. Of course then you have to wonder what you are getting from the cheaper source. The same can be said for other vendors as well. Take BOW for example, they are a lot of sources both on IAP and outside of IAP. A lot of them get the blanks from the same place in Israel. But I have seen prices all over the place. My point is what's rare for one supplier may not be rare for another. YMMV.
 
Rare and valuable are very different terms. Diamonds are by no means rare in my sense of the word, yet they're perceived as such because of high cost and monopolized supply....that's what makes them precious.

Yet you can go to a small town in the middle of nowhere and likely find a jewelery shop with diamond rings... My town has less than 20,000 people, and four jewelery shops.

Something that is rare, however, are Six legged cats...does that make them valuable? Not unless they're in demand.

Frankly, the demand for Kauri is lower than some other woods because the only thing going for it is the age, in my opinion. It's a neat wood, but it's not striking visually, to me at least.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
As for translating that to the final price of a pen, I have come to the conclusion that customers are not anywhere near as enthralled with stories of rarity as we are. A customer looks at a pen and either likes it or doesn't. A rare ugly pen will not sell next to a common but attractive one.
Click to expand...

I truely agree with this. That's why I haven't spend too much on blanks. The max has been $10.00 wwll that was until I just purchased the feather blanks.

Thanks for all your informative comments
Angela
 
Its an interesting topic. I posted Bog Yew, (an uncommon wood) for sale on PenturnersParadise and got no interest in it at all. I placed 5 blanks on Ebay and got no bids. Can't recall how much i was looking for per blank, $15-20 i think, thought it was reasonable. Thats why i have never put any on the classifieds here
 
Another issue with the cost of wood, is the overall size.
For example you may be able to find lots of top quality pieces of Cherry Burl in pieces large enough to make a pen. this leading to one situation with supply and demand. since there are a lot of them the price per piece will be relatively low. But say a cherry Burl large enough to make a guitar out of would be extremely rare and could cost hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars. In this way a particular wood for use in making tables could be so rare it is basically unobtainable. yet as pen blanks they are fairly easy to get.
 
As said there are different types of rarity.

Rare because they are extremely scarce - Chittum Burl, Cocobolo Burl
Rare because few source them - Irish Bog Oak, Ancient Kauri
Rare because of an historical association - HuangHuali, Andrea Dora
And Others


Prices will depend on those and other factors. Sometimes the prices for pen blanks are small for rare woods since they are made from off-cuts of the wood that would normally be destroyed otherwise.
 
Russianwolf said:
As said there are different types of rarity.

Rare because they are extremely scarce - Chittum Burl, Cocobolo Burl
Rare because few source them - Irish Bog Oak, Ancient Kauri
Rare because of an historical association - HuangHuali, Andrea Dora
And Others


Prices will depend on those and other factors. Sometimes the prices for pen blanks are small for rare woods since they are made from off-cuts of the wood that would normally be destroyed otherwise.
Click to expand...

Irish Bog Oak isn't scarce, I've met a lot of people recently who use it for sculpture , they mainly use the roots and solid trunks are just left to crack and break up on the bog. I guess people feel it takes too much work to harvest it directly from the bog, season it and cut it
 
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