Would You Buy Your Own Pen??

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Interesting question and one that can go hand in hand with another thread about the $1000 pen. One of the factors that goes into selling your pens is the conviction and ego one must have when they go to sell their products and this goes for anything we make and then sell. People ask here all the time about pricing their work when they get into sales and what formulas they use and how they go about figuring prices. Then a whole slew of options and formulas show up and the many things that need to be considered that goes into coming up with what we think are comparative prices and are worth what we charge. Then you start getting into the people who do this as a hobby, those that just give away pens, those that take to next level and sell big time and then those that sell at only farmers markets or small craft shows and the list goes on.

But with this all said I believe one question we all should ask ourselves is and I know it is hard to do because we make the product, but put yourself in this position and ask would you buy your own pens?? This question would be very helpful in answering other questions such as is my fit and finish good, is my selections of materials good and finally is my pricing where it should be. If you can say you would then in your mind I believe you are where you should be in your pen making journey. But if you have doubts and think you can change things for the better than that is how you determine if you need work.

So let me ask you all would you buy your own pens???? If you were a pen collector and saw that $1000 pen you made would you be inclined to buy it to add to your collection? To help with this lets say you can not make any more pens because of health reasons or some other reason but you still want to continue your hobby of pen collecting. Does not have to be a $1000 pen. Can be a $200 pen. Just having some fun.:)
 
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Yes.

My years in Japan around some fantastic woodworkers and finishers had a profound effect on me. Some of it rubbed off!

I don't care to get into pen creation for money (yet) because I do it simply for the pleasure of creating. However, in our travels, LOML often spots custom made, kitless and component "Pens for Sale" in stores across different states and usually calls me over. Her words are usually, "Wow, you see how much they want for these? Yours are much finer in fit and finish."

So yes, I would.

My attitude is not about how good I am, but how good that pen can be! The difference is the focus!

One other thing is that - I do make some that are no better than mediocre. I will leave a mediocre on the shelf above my lathe for a few weeks or months and look at it on occasion to figure out why it doesn't have that "Hold me" look. It is not the fit and finish, I know how to do that. It is the artistic side of the right color and wood or cast blank with the right design. After I figure out what is wrong or not compelling, I keep that image in my mind and I generally disassemble, turn the wood or casting off and trash it and move on!

In line with the sentence above: Just today, I read a "reader's response" (letters to the editor) info FWW" - One guy was asked what was the first piece of equipment he would recommend everyone to purchase to get started in woodworking. His response: "A wood fired heater - to burn all your mistakes!"

EXCELLENT thread to meditate on, John!
 
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I am no longer "in the game", but for years, I used to sell "kit" or "component set" pens, along with other handcrafted wood items, both turned and flat work. I made a comfortable living doing that. The pens I offered were very nice in their fit, finish, component quality (kit and the blank material) and that thing Hank mentioned in post #2 as "the artistic side". The caveat I will add is that my sales venue was a craft table at a Marriott resort on Kauai. That venue translates to getting much higher prices, typically by a factor of 3 or 4, than most of what I would call comparable work others have posted here when they were discussing prices. Additionally, I became pretty good at the salesmanship part of the game. All that said, my basic answer is very hearty YES, I would buy the pens that I made and sold, but not at the prices I was receiving. Being retired now, I use a selection of pens that I have made and enjoy having and using them. If I were not a pen maker, it is likely I would have purchased pens from someone else along the way.

Something else I will add, in the spirit of what I perceive John is seeking, for the benefit of those reading the discussion. I made fountain pens, making it part of the 'mix' that I offered because I felt like I had to. This was a marketing decision that had to do with the overall image I projected as a maker and seller of pens. Those higher priced FP's also helped to justify the somewhat higher prices of the other pen types being offered. Selling FP's calls for the maker/seller to be reasonably proficient and knowledgeable in that whole different world of 'fountain pen people'. Plus, you as maker and seller, had to offer FP's that functioned nicely, and be able to adjust and fix and tune them if that was needed. So I throw that in as another consideration to be addressed if one is contemplating becoming a seller, as well as a maker of pens.
 
Yes I would buy my own pen. I absolutely love the work that I do. I consider all of my pieces functional pieces of art! I actually always struggle a bit when I sell them because I would love to keep them but unfortunately i cannot do that! I do believe the price of what I charge is true market price for the type of pen I sell for the fit, artistic design and finish! I have sold pens for close to 1K and believe that it was worth the price. It has taken me years to get to the level of pen making I am at. I hope to continue to grow and keep developing more to where my pens will run more than 1K because of the hand work that will go into them. Part of the price that I have to consider is the amount of tooling, machinery, and training I have had to do to get to where I am at. Looking into the future, the metal work and glass work that I am looking into doing on my pens will cost of an investment of 10-20K for things. I am willing to invest because I want to grow. Also the pens I hope to be making will take lot longer to make than what I am making now. So in actuality I will be making less pens for a higher price. I think that at the end of the day I will be making the same amount of money as I do now but by selling less pens that take more time to make. Hopefully this answers some of your questions.

Jon
 
The short answer is, yes.

I'm 6 months back into this after a 25 year layoff. In that 6 months, I've turned well over 100 pens, and at least a dozen different kits. The first couple dozen I gave to friends and colleagues as I worked on getting my chops back. Been turning mostly inexpensive pens as I build up inventory for some craft shows this summer and fall. Slimlines, bolt actions, and Exec ball points. Acrylics, hybrid, and exotic blanks.

For the nicer kits I've been using, I move away from production mode into craftsman mode, whatever level that is for me. I'm certainly still refining my skills but Mark Dreyer's and other YT turner videos have helped a ton. I keep picking up ideas here and certainly inspiration. We have some tremendously generous and skilled turners here.

While I'm still a work in process, I am confident I can make a pen worth $200 or so. I'm not at the $1k level yet but I'm on my way.
 
My wife often says to me, "why don't you sell some of your best pens?". Best, of course, is very subjective and in my case my wife is the "biased" judge. My answer is, "for me this is a hobby and if people appreciate what I make then I am more than happy". When it becomes a "business" everything changes. Fortunately, I have the means to support my woodworking hobby, and intend to keep it that way. I get all of the satisfaction that I desire from giving them away. I have a group of about 20 retired "friends/ex-colleagues" that meet once per month for lunch to reminisce, and solve the "world's problems". I decided to give each of them 2 of my pens by my way of showing how much I value them as individuals and as a group of people. They get to choose from a "selection" that I have made, covering several different kits and materials. I only have 2 rules, people get to choose in age seniority order, and I never take any pens back home! The oldest is 88 and the youngest 68. I have a close friend who makes beautiful acoustic and electric guitars, and people often beg him to sell them, but he feels the same as me. He gives some away and puts the rest on a "display" wall near his workshop. I asked him, "why not in the house", and he said, "that isn't allowed!" :).
 
leehljp said:
Yes.

My years in Japan around some fantastic woodworkers and finishers had a profound effect on me. Some of it rubbed off!

I don't care to get into pen creation for money (yet) because I do it simply for the pleasure of creating. However, in our travels, LOML often spots custom made, kitless and component "Pens for Sale" in stores across different states and usually calls me over. Her words are usually, "Wow, you see how much they want for these? Yours are much finer in fit and finish."

So yes, I would.

My attitude is not about how good I am, but how good that pen can be! The difference is the focus!

One other thing is that - I do make some that are no better than mediocre. I will leave a mediocre on the shelf above my lathe for a few weeks or months and look at it on occasion to figure out why it doesn't have that "Hold me" look. It is not the fit and finish, I know how to do that. It is the artistic side of the right color and wood or cast blank with the right design. After I figure out what is wrong or not compelling, I keep that image in my mind and I generally disassemble, turn the wood or casting off and trash it and move on!

In line with the sentence above: Just today, I read a "reader's response" (letters to the editor) info FWW" - One guy was asked what was the first piece of equipment he would recommend everyone to purchase to get started in woodworking. His response: "A wood fired heater - to burn all your mistakes!"

EXCELLENT thread to meditate on, John!
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Excellent read by you and John. I have a pen turned and ready for sanding and finishing. The wood was donated to me by someone on this forum so I'll post the pen up here for them to see. I can already see the flaws but I am going to complete the pen and use it myself every day. I'll look at it every day flaws and all and each pen will get better and better. I still have my first pen I turned in 2017 with cracking CA finish. I wore it clipped to my tshirt every day, sweated on it every summer and tossed it in my backpack haphazardly. It's trashed but it was made by yours truly.
 
If I didn't make nice pens, I wouldn't own nice pens. So no, I wouldn't buy my pens. But I wouldn't buy anyone's pens. Every couple years, I'd spend $15 and buy a bulk pack of Zebra F-301s from Sam's Club, and repeat when I lost them all.

Would I buy my own pens on principal? Yes. I know the effort and care that goes into making them. I've seen how the quality has increased since my first pen, and in comparison to others' pens, I feel like mine stack up well. For what I charge, if I were a guy to buy nice pens, I would definitely buy my own.

On a related note, the quality of pens I see here, including from many of our new turners, is exceptional. If I stopped making pens and a friend asked for a suggestion for a turner, I'd tell them to come here and pick someone at random until they found someone with a price they liked.
 
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