Tru-Stone

[Leatherman1998]

How much do you raise the price of pens with tru-stone? I was thinking add the price of the blank and $5-10 more.

Levi Woodard
Woodardwoodworks.com

Sent from my Rooted Galaxy Player.

 

[Sataro]

I don't have the best solution for you on this one. But I have been using a simple formula for the past 4 years. I just add up the cost of all the materials that I have in the pen. I then double this figure & add $10 to the total. I end up with the funds to purchase two more identical pen kits (including pen blanks) plus $10 for my labor. I sell nothing for less than $20 minimum. Works for me. But penmaking is for my enjoyment & not a business adventure. So this solution is not for everyone...

 

[Holz Mechaniker]

It is not about the price of the blank it is the time and labor of working and making that blank round and shiny.
So that begs the question you should ask yourself. How much is your time worth?

 

[ed4copies]

It is not about the price of the blank it is the time and labor of working and making that blank round and shiny.
So that begs the question you should ask yourself. How much is your time worth?

There is a "yin" and "yang" to this.

Yes, it will take you longer to turn trustone than a piece of normal wood or simple wood burl.

BUT, the trustone can be sanded to 1000 grit and tripoli and white diamond polished and it's good to go!! You will still be putting a CA finish on your wood, long after the trustone pen is assembled.


From the customers' perspective, they don't CARE what you had to do. So, you should probably price the pen at the level that you think you can sell it.

 

[76winger]

Since I mostly sell online, I add the cost of materials, add listing and selling fees, then add a more realistic labor charge to come up with my selling price. From this I can usually buy two to three more kits for each sold (or tools or supplies or whatever I see as the next move to "grow my craft").

 

[Holz Mechaniker]

BUT, the trustone can be sanded to 1000 grit and tripoli and white diamond polished and it's good to go!! You will still be putting a CA finish on your wood, long after the trustone pen is assembled.

Only up to 1000? I must not be using quality enough sandpaper...

From the customers' perspective, they don't CARE what you had to do. So, you should probably price the pen at the level that you think you can sell it.

That is a sad truth. the curse of this disposable economy. Hand crafted vs mass production. is the lost reality of what By Hand is all about