Commercial vs. Turned

[MPoeller]

After a long stint of not following this forum because I have very busy with work and the impending holiday I am in search of knowledge. Please help.

I had a customer ask me today, "What is the difference between one of your pens and a $350 Parker."

I was not really sure how to answer. After searching a little bit I noticed that mine are iridium nibs and most of the parkers are 18K gold. Other than that I would say that theirs are commercially made and mine are hand made. Mine are cheaper, but I think that they are better quality. (Maybe I should raise my prices&gt I deal mainly with Gentlemen's, Emperor, and Stateman pens.

Are there any other obvious differences that I should know about.

Forgive me if this has already been answered but I was not able to find anything in the forums using the search.

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

I would have said "About $200"[]

 

[MPoeller]

[][][]I like that!!!!

Not sure that he would have though.

 

[RussFairfield]

Same answer.

Add an 18k nib to your pen, and there is no difference.

 

[Ron Mc]

Yours wasn't made on a machine in a factory. You put your heart and sole into each pen you create to make sure that is becomes the unique work of art that it is.
[]

 

[kent4Him]

One other point, they have a name, and that is what people are paying for. I've seen some ugly Monte Blanc's, but people buy them anyway. Your pens may be nicer, but until you have the name, you can't charge what they do.

 

[bob393]

Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA
<br />I would have said "About $200"[]

What he said[]

 

[johncrane]

l would of said lm selling custom made pens.its all up to you if you dont like it why dont you go and buy the $350 Parker.put it back on them []

 

[jaywood1207]

Just charge $350.

 

[gerryr]

One of the major things that sets us apart from the commercial boys, is the variety of materials. Does Parker make a pen in Canarywood or Soapwood or Flame Box Elder or Dawn's Pen Potion #9? No, the choices from the commercial manufacturers are limited by necessity. We have an almost limitless variety of materials we can use to create truly unique one-of-a-kind pens. Put one of Anthony's 14K nibs on it and it's every bit as good as a Parker or Mont Blanc.

I sold a fountain pen with one of Anthony's 14K nibs, to a customer who already owned a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck and was told that there really wasn't any difference in how they wrote.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

FYI, the MB's don't have a high quailty name any more in the FP community. There was just a discussion on this subject and the over all theme was that they did not like them on a whole.

Honestly, after the "about $200" which I do like, but that does not mean that it's better. I think a better approach is to take it on the labor & overhead route. It sounds a lot better to say that you handmake a small number of these pens and do not have, nor want the costs associated with making the number of pens that MB needs to make to stay afloat. It's not about total sales, it's about the margin of profit.

That said, I have been spending some time on the Fountian Pen Network and I have to tell you, some of the pens that are just floating in their for-sale section are sitting at the top end sales for us.

 

[mick]

I'll echo what Ron said ....you're creating a one of a kind work of art. You've poured your creativity and skill into your pens. Monte Blancs or Parkers are spit out on a production line by the hundreds ....if not thousands! Let potential customers know that you're an artist...the above mentioned companies are just that .....Companies that manufacture pens. Another difference in your pens and mass produced ones are the personal one on one service you provide to your customers. Not something you find when buying a Parker or other brand of commercially produced pen.

 

[Chuck B]

What is the difference between the nibs? Like two tone, iridium, 14 carat, 18 carat, German made ones?
When I made the Baron I got from BB it was annotated that it had a two tone German Iridium nib?

Chuck

 

[ctEaglesc]

"I had a customer ask me today, "What is the difference between one of your pens and a $350 Parker."

I would tell him wwhat I tell anyone else.
Mine are different, you might add, they are as unique as you are.

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by recon
<br />What is the difference between the nibs? Like two tone, iridium, 14 carat, 18 carat, German made ones?
When I made the Baron I got from BB it was annotated that it had a two tone German Iridium nib?

Chuck

Without hijacking the thread too much, some of the difference in nibs is marketing hype.

The difference between the gold nibs and steel nibs is like night and day to a fountain pen devotee. Go to a fountain pen store and try them out. One of the finest made steel nibs available is made by Lamy and can be found in their lower priced pens. It glides effortlessly across paper and leaves a consistent smooth line. Next, try a gold nib. The pen seems to want to write by itself.

In terms of "two tone", that is the masking (creative design) and relates to appearance rather than performance.

As for German-made, that too is marketing. Most nibs are made in Germany...at least until the Chinese decide to get into the business.

Iridium? Well, although many companies claim an iridium tip, most have changed to different metals. The price of iridium is up there with platinum and rhodium.

 

[Chuck B]

Lou,
Thank you for explaining that.

 

[MPoeller]

Thank you all for the info. I have replied and used a conglomoration of all the answers that I received here.

I must say that I believe that the guy was not trying to be mean. I think that he was just ill informed. It does seem like a silly question since he had just told me that he did not want to spend the money on an emperor pen since he has a tendency to loose them.

My answer should have been, "If you are worried about losing the pen why would you even consider a $350 dollar parker. You are better off with a quality writing insturment from me. Buy two for that matter, then you have a backup when you loose it."

Thank you all.

Matt

 

[fiferb]

When people tell me they wouldn't want a nice pen because they would lose it, I tell them they wouldn't lose it if they had a nice enough pen to hold on to.

 

[baldysm]

I have heard several pen people say that kit pen nibs are not made in Germany. I'm tending to believe them.

The acronym they use is IPG, meaning Iridium Point Germany. Notice it says Germany, it does not say Made in Germany. So legally, they are not breaking any rules.

I don't claim to really know, but I suspect most or all kit pen nibs are Asian made. Nothing wrong with being made in Asia, just they are not German made as they would like you to believe.

 

[baldysm]

One more thing, iridium is not used much in nibs. Even the high end pens like Monte Blanc and Parker, and has not been used much since the late 30's if memory serves.

Most tips are an alloy, often including osmium, and may not have any iridium at all.

 

[ed4copies]

According to an article I read recently on a "pen nib site", there really never WAS iridium guaranteed to be in iridium tips. They have tested many early pens and found less than 40% really contained ANY iridium.

Those (customers) who test my knowledge of nibs are usually only interested in impressing you, not buying your "no name" pen.

IF the discussion is truly two-way (customer has some faith in YOUR expertise), the sale CAN be made. My line is, "I make pens the way Mont Blanc USED to, BY HAND. Now, you can spend a lot of money for a cast pen with a Mont Blanc name, but isn't that the same way they make BICs??"

Just a thought