We're headed into full year #2 since purchasing LaserLinez and now have the Liberty, Desire, Coyote, and Click Coyote pretty well figured out. Our finishing methods are finally where we like them and we've even managed to take the polishing phase from 48 hours down to about an hour thanks to our friends at Mass Finishing. That means it's time to plan for the next year and figure out what kits we want to bring to market.
My current plans:
Jan/Feb: Snap cap pen design using rollerball and fountain pen options
March/Apr: Click version of the Falcon (old LaserLinez design.. would only be 4 parts total to the pen, 2 machined, 1 clip, and the SKM88 click)
From there I'm thinking of releasing the Raven and Eagle which are capped Jr. sized fountain and rollerball pens, we'd just probably let our various resellers carry them so they all have some things that are a little different.
What I'm wondering is... what am I not thinking of? Should we have a "bolt action" type pen that isn't bullet themed? More of a toggle really... do we mess with slim line or close to slim line type kits if they'd still be like $15? What would you guys like to see from a US Manufacturer in stainless steel? Themed kits are NOT an option. Think profiles that can be done on a lathe, if we have to mill anything that adds cost.
I should mention we'd like to do Brass but matching clips are tough... we don't use plating currently so that would also mean that it would patina over time and the clip strength wouldn't be ideal. We DO have access to a PVD coating facility that can do black/gold/etc but quality PVD could add as much as $5 to the cost of a kit.