Probably starting bids at $10-12 for the simple pens and see how high they go. The parts kits alone cost $5-6 for the simple pens and go up from there. That doesn't count the wood blanks and the reusable parts in the kit
The fountain pen kit alone was $9. Depending on how it turns out (and how hard it is to finish) I might start that one's bidding at $20.
This is why pen-making is so popular. Easy, low resource requirements (except money for pen parts), and then you have a huge number of pens and have to start selling them at crafts fairs next to all the other pen makers....
At which point they start selling you pepper-mill workings.
I'm sort of a pen buff myself, since I write a lot at my second job and spend a lot of the first one selling the things.
How do you seal the wood though? it seems to me after a while a wooden pen would absorb a lot of dirt & sweat off the hands and get ugly, or else you would have to seal it with some sort of slick varnish that would make it difficult to write with.
Also, what sort of refill do they take? I'm guesing Parker, those seem to be the most common thes days.
The finish I'm using is a rub-on wax (Hutt Wax is the brand name) which is specially designed for lathe-work. It hardens into a wax resin once it's friction-melted into the wood by buffing it at high speed with a cotton towel.
wow, that sounds really cool. I can't wait to see the pics. Hopefully we'll be at Condor, so we can see them in person. I hope the fountain pen ones work out!
so, have you ever thought of making knitting needles :)
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The fountain pen kit alone was $9. Depending on how it turns out (and how hard it is to finish) I might start that one's bidding at $20.
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At which point they start selling you pepper-mill workings.
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How do you seal the wood though? it seems to me after a while a wooden pen would absorb a lot of dirt & sweat off the hands and get ugly, or else you would have to seal it with some sort of slick varnish that would make it difficult to write with.
Also, what sort of refill do they take? I'm guesing Parker, those seem to be the most common thes days.
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The finish I'm using is a rub-on wax (Hutt Wax is the brand name) which is specially designed for lathe-work. It hardens into a wax resin once it's friction-melted into the wood by buffing it at high speed with a cotton towel.
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What few actual wood pens I've seen were really nice, I've never actually been able to hold onto one very long. Other people like them too it seems.
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so, have you ever thought of making knitting needles :)
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