Pen blanks

[bally15]

Hello everyone, just thought I would see what you consider normal blank costs??
Living in Canada things get a bit pricey with exchange and postage. Lately there have been several great deals that I have taken advantage of but 20-50 at a go still gets tough. The wife starts asking questions on packages arriving!!!!!!!!!!!
On sites I'm paying over $5US plus shipping which would be $25 from 1 blank to 25 blanks.
Keep in mind its a hobby for fun, i only try to cover my costs.
How many blanks do you guys/girls keep on hand??
What pricing do you draw the line at??
Matt

 

[The Falcons Quill]

At those prices you have a few options I would consider.

For wood pens, just use found wood unless you really want a special type, you can get a lot of nice pre-dried, and likely spalted wood from old firewood piles.

For Acrylic, you may want to consider making a big purchase of materials and start casting you own. This has a larger upfront cost, but gives you options.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[magpens]

Just keep buying .... eventually your wife will give up !!:biggrin:

 

[Lucky2]

Yes it is a hobby, and like all other hobbies, it can be expensive. There are ways to help keep the expenses down, but, you won't be turning the same class/quality of pens. Personally, I usually have around a 100-150 blanks on hand. Most of my blanks are purchased from American sellers, and with our Canadian dollar being as low in value it is quite expensive. I try to buy in bunches, and I always try to get flat-rate shipping boxes. I find buying this way to be the most economical way to go, but, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and pay top dollar. As to drawing the line on how much I'll pay for a blank, I've never done that. For me, it mostly depends on what and "WHO" I want the blank for. If I get a request for a pen, I never give a price right off hand. I first have to figure out what I'll use for materials, then I'll quote them a firm price rather then an estimate.

 

[Rob_Mc]

You could also find Canadian vendors and buy from them. That'll save on customs, duties, exchange rate and cross border shipping charges.

 

[1080Wayne]

Best advice I can give is to stop buying blanks . Alberta has plenty of wood equal in attractiveness to just about anything you can buy . You just have to learn where to find it . Get rid of the notion that only `exotic`woods are desirable . Caragana , aspen poplar , saskatoon and many others all have stories that local buyers understand because they grew up with them .

 

[Pens By Scott]

Wayne's right, you can find lots of suitable woods in Alberta. Find a couple of local Arborists... look for "free wood" on classified sites.

Speaking of Caragana, Wayne, do you happen to have a stash? I haven't been able to get my hands on any for some time...

Matt, where in Alberta are you? if you're around Calgary, I have some walnut blanks i could let go really cheap...

 

[luckyscroller788]

There used to be a Canadian outfit selling lots of acrylic blanks on ebay at a very good price. I haven't looked on there lately to see if they are still around. I think they were called KMS tools, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

 

[More4dan]

Also, find a custom cabinet shop near you. Scraps and cut offs can sometimes be had for a song and an occasional dance.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[1080Wayne]

Wayne's right, you can find lots of suitable woods in Alberta. Find a couple of local Arborists... look for "free wood" on classified sites.

Speaking of Caragana, Wayne, do you happen to have a stash? I haven't been able to get my hands on any for some time...

Matt, where in Alberta are you? if you're around Calgary, I have some walnut blanks i could let go really cheap...

Suppose it could be called a stash . Less complimentary terms could also be used .

 

[magpens]

https://www.kmstools.com/

KMS tools do sell pen blanks and kits in their retail stores but I didn't know that they had an Ebay presence.

There used to be a Canadian outfit selling lots of acrylic blanks on ebay at a very good price. I haven't looked on there lately to see if they are still around. I think they were called KMS tools, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

 

[Curly]

William Wood-Write has the largest selection of blanks and kits that I know of here in Canada and when you factor in the costs from buying from the US, they are cost effective.

Disclaimer. They sell Marla's blanks.