Taking pen making to the next level?

[Amihai]

Hello, this post is a little long but I think the community will find it interesting:

I've been making custom pens for several years now, most of which are the so called bespoke / kitless type.

Currently I dont get to work much in my shop, as I study in my CNC class. I should finish the training and receive a professional certificate in a few months.

As always, I like to take the not usually taken roads, and instead of applying to the usual defense / aerospace / medical industry CNC jobs, I had this crazy idea of combining my training and current hobby / business, and opening a small pen factory!

Now, I know that part of the charm of our unique craft is the fact our pens are handmade, but I don't plan on mass production either. What I want is to produce small batches of exotic wooden pens fast, and have them standardized to exact measurements.

I may be wrong, but I assume that no one here has done that before. What I will ask you is this: does anybody here know about any source of information regarding the manufacturing procedures for pens? The main things I found online were short videos of pen factory tours aimed at general visitors, nothing aimed for pen makers.

I guess pen factories won't be quick on sharing their secrets... But maybe someone here has good source of information or an idea where to get it? I could start from zero solely on my experience as a hobbyist and my training on CNC lathes, but it's always better to learn from others experiences and mistakes.

Thanks a lot to you all and our great community,
Amihai.

 

[jttheclockman]

Not to discourage you but to throw some water on your flame. But hope it continues to smolder some. When you say sell your type of pens, you want to now compete with the big boys Pelikan, Mont Blanc of the world. Because that who you would be up against. Not us pen kit makers and sellers. There are a ton of us out there and we compete for that $$ too. Now there are people here that make kitless pens and sell in the same market as we do but can take large orders for repetitive pens. That is basically what you are thinking of doing from what I read. That is a tough sell. You want to start your own brand of kitless pens. In today's market that will cost big $$. Kitless pens have less moving parts so you have that going for you but the nibs are basically covered by a few top brands. The delivery system of inks is pretty standard so you are not inventing anything there. As far as pens themselves and blanks used the market is just about covered. You would have to throw a ton of money into advertising and getting your product out there. Unless I am missing something, all I can say is good luck and wish you all the best.

 

[Todd in PA]

It's been done several times before even in my short tenure at IAP. Here is an article naming 62 people doing what you describe, including IAP member Carl Fisher (F3), and former member Ash, aka Valleyboy of Rockster Pens.

62 Of The Best Custom Pen Makers From Around The World

There are custom pen makers all over the world who take a singular pen or fountain pen & turn it into a masterpiece. Here's our list of 62 of the best!

www.galenleather.com

 

[hokie]

I doubt you're going to find any step-by-step guides or instructions for how to use CNC to make pens as part of a business model (if that's what you're asking specifically), but there are certainly plenty of people out there that do exactly what you're suggesting.

Here's a video of one pen company giving an overview of their CNC setup:

As you may notice throughout that video, it's all resin-based material being worked with. I assume you'll find wayyy fewer pen makers working with wood in a CNC setup. The only production pen maker I am aware of that makes wood pens with a CNC is Ryan Krusac. I can't find the video at the moment, but I recall him explaining in an interview that he had to re-program his CNC when he got a new machine. In this interview, he alludes to coding:

As an aside. when I think about CNCs in pen making, I often think about this guy who got in over his head and disappointed a lot of prospective buyers on a Kick Starter and caused a bit of a stir in this forum by offering to make pen kits for "kitless" pen makers: https://www.penturners.org/threads/cnc-manufacturing.176383/

Good luck!

 

[leehljp]

Brian Goulet of GouletPens also made it big. He started here in 2008 or so, and then started his company in 2009.

The Goulet Pen Company

Goulet Pens provides fountain pen enthusiasts the most personal online shopping experience through comprehensive education, exemplary service, and products we believe in. We offer thousands of fountain pens, inks, paper, and accessories to get you writing.

www.gouletpens.com

About Goulet Pens - The Goulet Pen Company

We're so glad you've found our store. Meet our team and learn more about our mission and values.

www.gouletpens.com

 

[jttheclockman]

Have to say there are alot of examples of people taking that next step into pen making and crossing over into the big boy pants. Time money and energy is involved with doing things like this. Going as big as some of these people really takes a team too. I wish you luck if you go this route and do not forget where you started. Many of these people that started here and moved on never stop by any more and we do not hear from them. Good luck.

 

[Amihai]

Have to say there are alot of examples of people taking that next step into pen making and crossing over into the big boy pants. Time money and energy is involved with doing things like this. Going as big as some of these people really takes a team too. I wish you luck if you go this route and do not forget where you started. Many of these people that started here and moved on never stop by any more and we do not hear from them. Good luck.

Even if I do end up going down that path, I promise to come here and visit!

 

[monophoto]

Hank mentioned Brian Goulet - he started out as a pen turner, but his success has really been as a pen seller/marketer/evangelist. And he's probably done more to generate excitement in the pen world than anyone else in the last 50 years.

But there are examples of people who have made names for themselves based on their outstanding pen-making skills. Two people come to mind - Brian Gray of Edison Pens, and Ian Shon of Shon DSGN.