Why do these kits have so little wood thickness!?! V

[SoloWorx]

Been turning for about a year. I just don't get it. Why do these designers design the pens Finished diameter just a gnats ass bigger than the tube OD? A little extra meat in the wood would go a LONG way in preventing issues in cracking and finishing issues? Why must the wood layer be so thin. Really?!? On several very popular kits. Over under shotgun, executive, 30 cap bolt and others from PSI are culprits.

 

[Hendu3270]

Might boil down to cost. If you turn a cigar style pen, but used tubes that were 7mm tubes, your blank material would be thicker, yes. But your actual components of the pen might end up being made out of twice the amount of material as they are now. Which would mean a higher cost for the manufacturer, and they're always wanting to produce something for the lowest cost possible. I may be waaay off in my thinking, but this is my first thought on why.

 

[76winger]

I just made 3 Over & Under pens two days ago and although thin, I thought there was enough to be "OK". But yes, some are really on the thin side. I think the same thing for some of the plastic threaded couplers in the bottoms of the caps on many of them as well, especially after I had one break on a Cambridge recently.

 

[SoloWorx]

Hendu

Not sure about cost. Make the barrel ID smaller maintain the pen OD should allow for a thicker wood layer. Should make no difference on cost with the blank purchased. Gould only change the diameter of the through hole

 

[Hendu3270]

Hendu

Not sure about cost. Make the barrel ID smaller maintain the pen OD should allow for a thicker wood layer. Should make no difference on cost with the blank purchased. Gould only change the diameter of the through hole

I agree, wouldn't affect the blank at all. I'm saying the actual pen components that are pressed into the tubes. If you were turning a larger diameter pen, with little 7mm tubes, the components would have to be small enough to fit inside the small tubes, yet still have an OD to match the larger pen style. Would make for a heftier pen, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

[ed4copies]

MANY years ago, I was told it was to keep the weight of the pen down.

People were thought to like light pens.

(Interesting, since I sold a TON of cigar pens that were NOT light)

 

[jttheclockman]

Ed hit it on the head. It is all about the weight. I wish there was a way to voice our opinion and tell these manufatorers what we would like to see in a pen. Dave from Timberbits has been listening to a point and has done some better kits for us but still there is designs that just don't make sense. In my other post about what would you like to see in a pen?? My first and foremost would be less bling and in fact no bling. Could take alot of weight out of a kit.

 

[Fred]

Weight is a problem ... but wait, can wood really weigh all that much? I daily carry a Trustone Black and Gold Matrix with Emperor hardware and I have no problem with it weighing quite a bit. I believe that this is possibly one of the heaviest finished pens available. And I am only 5'8", BUT I do know when the pen is in my shirt pocket. It might be a boat anchor to some, but I have sold quite a few of them lately for $400+ so I will continue to carry it and or one of the other Emperor's I make. :biggrin:

 

[jttheclockman]

Weight is a problem ... but wait, can wood really weigh all that much? I daily carry a Trustone Black and Gold Matrix with Emperor hardware and I have no problem with it weighing quite a bit. I believe that this is possibly one of the heaviest finished pens available. And I am only 5'8", BUT I do know when the pen is in my shirt pocket. It might be a boat anchor to some, but I have sold quite a few of them lately for $400+ so I will continue to carry it and or one of the other Emperor's I make. :biggrin:

You may like it and I like a beefy pen myself but that is the big reason. Keep the weight down. Alot of the bling pens from the top sellers are weighty but are collectable pens and not really everyday users. The pens you are selling maybe fall in that catagory too.

This has been a pet peeve of mine ever since I got into casting. I want a pen that has some room to cast things other than decals.

 

[mmoncur]

I think the kit manufacturers are stuck in the 70's or 80's. Maybe then it made sense to keep weight down to make a nice practical pen that would compete with the Bics or whatever, but these days anyone who carries a wooden pen knows darn well they can get a lightweight pen that writes just as well as ours for 50 cents.

If they carry the wooden one they're someone who enjoys pens or wants to make a statement, and in either case a bit of extra weight makes the difference between it and a Bic that much more clear and probably helps sales...

I have a bunch of commercial fountain pens that cost over $100 and every single one weighs weigh more than a slimline. Doesn't hurt their sales at all...