Lighter Pen?

[Fibonacci]

I am looking for a fairly light pen that is still reasonably nice.

I have a friend who wants a nice pen (read: not a slimline), but says that most everything else I have shown her is too heavy. I have tried Sierra, Sierra Elegant Beauty, Polaris, and cigar pens, but all of them are fairly heavy.

Can anyone recommend a high quality pen that weighs less?

 

[Andrew_K99]

What blank does she want? I ask because most kits are pretty light compared to the blanks.

AK

 

[titan2]

You could dye some balsa wood.....now that'd be light!


Barney

 

[bensoelberg]

Maybe you could make a modified slimline. There are some mods out there that really change the look of a slimline so that it is almost unrecognizable.

 

[terryf]

Try buckeye burl on a Saturn or Orion kit

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Streamline is a nice pen, and very light

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

One of The reasons that American penmanship has gotten so bad is because of Mr. Bic and Dr. Cross with their skinner than "Twiggy and lighter than air pens. Take a good look at the next person you see writing with a "LIGHT" pen and notice their finger nails on the writing hand. You'll see that the blood on the nails is beet red from the pressure that they must put on the pen just to hold it and then the pressure that they press the pen to the paper to get it to write. They cant have a natural flow to their writing when they are so tense just holding and pressing the pen to paper. Whenever I get this objection to the weight and size of my pens I will ask them to write with the bic pen I carry with at shows and point out their pressure on their nails and to the paper. Some, not all see the reasoning and will buy after telling them that with in a short time of using the larger pen their hand fatigue will disappear. This works for me and I've had many repeat customers that only wanted "light and skinny pens" .

 

[DrPepper8412]

My vote's buckeye burl. It's gorgeous, and super light weight. Doing a small pen kit will also help to cut weight, or making it closed end, cuts some of the weight off (if you have the skills to do so).

 

[Chatham PenWorks]

What about the El Grande, Ligero, Apollo Infinity...? I think there are a few more variations of these. These are larger pens, but not much larger than a Polaris to hold, and much lighter. These are basically all plastic, with brass tubes, and metal trim. And don't be afraid to show a woman the larger pens, as you may be surprised. With that said, though, I'm with Roy. The heavier pens just seem so much easier to write with, too me.

 

[65GTMustang]

The new Duchess Pen from PSI is extremely light - I mean really light, the lightest pen I have ever made – included credit card mini pens!!!!
I used a mother or pearl trustone on the first one made - Perhaps you want to look at it?

 

[Fibonacci]

What blank does she want? I ask because most kits are pretty light compared to the blanks.

AK

She wants wood. That is the only requirement there, so that is easy.

I will look at the ones mentioned above. I tried her out with a polaris with no blank and that was still too heavy.

Personally, I like heavier pens. I am also a fairly big guy though. My wife doesn't like the cigars or polaris kits, but is a huge fan of the sierras.

 

[65GTMustang]

I'm telling you if she like the crystal look around the top band you could use M3 adn it would till me a light pen!....lol
Using wood - no problem still the lighest I have ever some across.

 

[Fibonacci]

Hmm, I am sensing a theme across the suggestions: $$$.

I think she might be out of luck. While I am interested in making pens women will buy, she doesn't want to buy one, she just wants one. I currently give away most of my pens, but the Polaris is the most expensive one I have around. I am not close to her or anything, she just walks past my office all the time and ogles my pens.

Both of the Sierra Elegant Beauties were for family, and the were the most expensive things I have made.

The Saturn/Orion might work. I think I might still have an Anelli kit from Woodnwhimsies that looks similar. It is enough different from a slimline to be distinctive.

We just need to get someone to sell high end kits for $4-$5 dollars, then we can all be happy, right?

Once I start selling pens, I expect to be willing to buy more expensive kits and blanks, but my lathe problem already consumes pretty much all the disposable income I have dedicated to toys.

 

[Chatham PenWorks]

http://www.bereahardwoods.com/pen-kit/sets/El_Grande_elite_FP_platinum.html

http://arizonasilhouette.net/Clearance.htm

Check out the 2 links above. They're not much more than the Polaris. If the price is all that's turning you off, this might help.

 

[Fibonacci]

Any idea why Berea says to use a 33/64" bit and Arizona Silhouette says to use a 13.3mm? 33/64" is about 13.097mm.

Are these the same kits, or is one of them a knockoff sold under the same name (sierra style)? Given my recent experiences, I am much more sensitive to the trade space between price and quality.

How is Arizona Silhouette as a company to deal with? I have looked at them a couple times, but thier website is kind of painful to navigate and always gives me a headache. That said, some of the best companies I have dealt with have had terrible websites.

 

[Rmartin]

El Grande, no doubt. I have sold dozens of them to women. Not the ballpoint though, I only have made the 2 piece rollerball.

 

[JimB]

In the past I made the Comfort pen, just leave off the rubber grip. You make them like a slimline but they are a bit larger but still very light. I believe several of the distributors sell them and are available in a few platings.

BTW, it sounds like you should be selling them not giving them away.

 

[Fibonacci]

BTW, it sounds like you should be selling them not giving them away.

That is an ongoing discussion.

I got my lathe in late Jan/early Feb, so I am very much a beginner. I had never used one before that. I see a lot of issues with the pens that I make and have held off selling them for that reason. My wife looks at them and makes fun of me for caing about the piddly little things that are wrong with them.

Another aspect is my salesmanship, or lack there of.

My first job out of college was as a salesman for a sensor company. The deal was a salary + commission for the first 3 months, changing to only commission after that. I lasted three weeks before my boss called me into his office to tell me I was a terrible salesman and he was moving me over to customer service.

I spent about 2 months at that until they decided I was too much of a pain in the butt. I evidently spent too much time bugging the engineers for information on various things (so I could help customers more effectively), so I was once again transferred. This time I ended up as an engineering tech doing process design.

I spent about 9 months at that before deciding the big boss was a prick and leaving to get an engineering degree so I could do the same work for twice the money. Not having to work for him anymore was a definate bonus as well.

I have never willingly done sales since.

I have considered opening a Etsy shop, or trying to pimp my pens through the wife's facebook page. My tentative goal is to have a dozen pens that I consider saleable and open some kind of shop with those. I have a 12 pen wallet from Woodnwhimsies, so it is an easy to track goal.

I am considering trying to go back and fix some pens that came out reasonably well, but have bad finishes or are slightly off axis, but I get a lot more pleasure from making new things than fixing old ones. If I am giving them away, I don't have to be as concerned about them being right, but I feel like there should be a higher standard for something I am selling.

 

[JimMc7]

<snip>
How is Arizona Silhouette as a company to deal with? I have looked at them a couple times, but thier website is kind of painful to navigate and always gives me a headache. That said, some of the best companies I have dealt with have had terrible websites.

Arizona Silhouette is a good vendor in my experience. Fair prices and same day shipping. FYI, Bill makes it clear you should examine kits when they arrive to ensure no problems -- no refunds after a few days (I don't remember the exact period but it's clearly noted on the box).

Some find Bill a little gruff -- I don't -- I'm happy as long as he offers good products at fair prices and fast shipping. He usually has one of the best selections of wood blanks IME.

 

[soligen]

The amount of metal in the kit is the biggest thing that affects weight. If you are willing to do mods that replace or leave out metal kit parts you can get much lighter.

You can make your own finial from wood, which is lighter, your own CB, and even you own nose cone. (but for the nose cone avoid very light woods for durability.

If you want to go down this path and want advice, ket me know. You can find examples of light weight pens (modified and kitless) in my gallery.

And, light weight does not have to mean thin.

Also be aware that sometimes it is balance that matters more than actual weight. I suggest when a customer trys a pen and has a weight concern, you ask if it seems heavy on top or bottom. Without asking they might not think about it, and the answer can help steer you to making the right pen for them.

 

[JimMc7]

If weight is the only issue -- a Navigator (or Baron) pen portion is 20 grams -- same weight as a slimline. I don't normally write with the cap posted, anyway. The Baron is a larger diameter than a slimline if that's a factor, too.

 

[Rick P]

Fibonacci

I had the same "nope not good enough" issue with my bows, it actually got to the point where friends would stop by to see how close to being finished I was on a bow and literally grab them out of my hand before I could cut them up for fire wood! Thing is if you don't see room for improvement your not growing as a artist/craftsmen and pens really dont have any limits. If you wait till your work meets your standards you will never sell any of it because as you gain more experiance your critiques of your own work will become more refined............I have a good friend who has been waiting for a bow for 2 years! I just haven't made the right one yet. (No he is not a paying customer just a fellow bow hunting fanatic)

PS a PSI Partizio might work?

 

[Fibonacci]

PS a PSI Partizio might work?

That looks pretty sharp. It is a bit steeper than most of the small pens, but it looks nice.

Have you made them? Are they good quality?

It looks like it is the same guts as a slimline, is that true?

-------------------

I guess the real standard for whether or not something is good enough to sell is whether or not someone is willing to pay for it. Only way to find out is to offer them for sale. Maybe I will try setting something up this weekend. I have an extra day off.

 

[Rick P]

Same guts but the finished pen is a bit nicer/bigger. I'll be posting pics of 2 I tunred this evening as soon as I am done resizing them. I like them they are a good pen I can sell afordably........not my favorite but a step up from the slims and trim lines.

 

[randyrls]

I am looking for a fairly light pen that is still reasonably nice.

I have a friend who wants a nice pen (read: not a slimline), but says that most everything else I have shown her is too heavy. I have tried Sierra, Sierra Elegant Beauty, Polaris, and cigar pens, but all of them are fairly heavy.

Can anyone recommend a high quality pen that weighs less?

An El Grande family pen is a large pen that is light weight. The finished blank material is VERY THIN, so it weighs less. But I suspect that you want a non-capped variety.

Added later; A high quality ink infill is the best thing you can do to improve the preceived quality of your pen!

 

[Smitty37]

Same kits

Any idea why Berea says to use a 33/64" bit and Arizona Silhouette says to use a 13.3mm? 33/64" is about 13.097mm.

Are these the same kits, or is one of them a knockoff sold under the same name (sierra style)? Given my recent experiences, I am much more sensitive to the trade space between price and quality.

How is Arizona Silhouette as a company to deal with? I have looked at them a couple times, but thier website is kind of painful to navigate and always gives me a headache. That said, some of the best companies I have dealt with have had terrible websites.

They are probably the same kits. AZ sells most of Barea's kits and state that proudly somewhere on their website.