Fountain pen question

[Chuck B]

A co worker wants me to make her a fountain pen. Which kit would you suggest?

Thanks

Chuck

 

[Dario]

Depends on the budget [][]

But I won't hesitate to endorse Jr Gent II [^]

 

[mrcook4570]

The Baron is nice.

 

[alamocdc]

Emperor or Jr. Emperor if she can afford it.

 

[Randy_]

For her own use or as a gift to a male. A lot of the FP kits might be too big for a female unless she has unusual taste and likes very big pens.

 

[Chuck B]

Dario,
She's not looking to spend a whole lot of money.

Just a decent band name & a good price.
Who have you guy'shad good luck with this type of pen.

BB & AZ ??

 

[Dario]

Jr Gent II (from CSUSA) is very affordable (for the quality) especially when you get it on a group buy. I love Platinum finish.

That said, Baron (Berea) is a bit smaller.

 

[Chuck B]

I'm sorry guy's I forgot to mention it's for her hubby. That is the only type of pen that he uses.

 

[alamocdc]

The Sterling Silver Churchill is nice too (from BB or Bearthoothwoods). Maybe a little higher than the Jr. Gent ($1 or so), but it has a nice feel.

 

[bjackman]

I'm always one to throw the El Grande line into the mix. Nice diameter, lighter weight than any other FP kit (for those who actually write with their FP's), and lots of possibilities to customize.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

I have to admitt, now that I have the cap issue fixed on my Rhodium Americana, I like it (you have to buy the tool for the cap) It's lightweight but still a looker. I also do like not having the threads on the pen for the cap. Just my $.02 here, but I carry mine and use it all day.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Recently I was commissiomed to make a fountain pen as an anniversary gift for a womans husband.
I had a design consultation with the client.
What I did was show her differentpens I had already made and asked her to select different aspects of the pens she had seen that were appealing to her.While she answered I took notes and used them to design the blank.
In my case the goal was to remove or hide as much of the "kit" as possible. I truth I selected the kit based on how it could be modified to attain her wishes.
In your case since you are more interested in the appearance of the kit selection I would ask her to "confiscate" her husbands favorite pen for a day and let you see and feel that one.
If you are real sneaky she may even introduce you to him and without him knowing your motive strike up a conversation about fountain pens, let him educate you as to his likes and dislikes about different pens.
At the end of the meeting you should have a good idea as to what type of pen HE would like to use.
(it would be REAL sneaky if during the meeting he didn't know that you made pens)

 

[ed4copies]

Just introduce yourself as "her friend, Bill"!!

(Inside joke)

 

[ctEaglesc]

Originally posted by ed4copies
<br />Just introduce yourself as "her friend, Bill"!!

(Inside joke)

[](I hear "Bill" is a real S.*.B.)

 

[Chuck B]

Eagle you are evil, I like that in a person[]
I live in Rhode Island & she lives in Connecticut about a hour & 15 minute drive away.

Eagle I will see if she can borrow his pen for a day without him knowing.

Everybody Thank you very much for all your replies.

 

[Randy_]

One more thing to think about. Maybe the reason she is getting him a new pen is because he is not real crazy about the one he has. So looking at his current pen may not be of much help??

 

[Chuck B]

Randy,
She just said he only uses that type. She saw some of the Slimlines I made for other co workers. & asked me do they have the FP style I said yup but you can spend a lot of money for a top of the line pen. She's thinking of it being a B Day gift. She just wants a good quality FP tht won't cost lot of money. I'm charging her only $10 for my time. She's a good friend of mine.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Originally posted by recon
<br />Randy,
She just said he only uses that type. She saw some of the Slimlines I made for other co workers. & asked me do they have the FP style I said yup but you can spend a lot of money for a top of the line pen. She's thinking of it being a B Day gift. She just wants a good quality FP tht won't cost lot of money. I'm charging her only $10 for my time. She's a good friend of mine.

If that is all you are charging, 10 bucks won't buy much time for a top of the line fountain pen.
As a nice gesture I wouldn't bother charging her anything for your time.
Instead I would write out a bill for a good quality fountain pen and Write "birthday discount" add in the cost of your time so she sees what it costs in the labor for craftsmanship.
$10.00 for your time makes you look cheap and the craft we all do look easy.
If you want future business from her in way of referrals or sales it is harder to justify an increase in price.
Like I said $10.00 makes you look "tacky"

I recently got finished making a blank that has six cuts in it.
It took 15 minutes for each cut.
This did not include the prep time for th material or glue up time.
each time the blank was glued up the surface had to be cleaned and resurfaced for the next cut.
I could put that in a slimline pen.
I could put it in a titanium gold fountain pen.
There is already one and a half hours of time in the making of the blank and it is nothing real fancy, just different.
The blank still needs to be drilled, tubed and milled and with glued up blanks like this one it takes more time than a solid wood blank or an acrylic.
If you think all your time is worth to make a commissioned pen is $10.00 you should at least let the customer know what it really is worth whether you charge that or not.
Either that or make it an out and out gift.

 

[alamocdc]

I agree with Eagle here, Chuck. Before I took $10 for a nice fountain pen, I would just give it to her along with an invoice showing the full price. Mark it paid in whatever manner pleases you.

 

[Chuck B]

Eagle & alamocdc,

Your right I didn't think of it like that. I'll take your advice. Yea it can be a lot harder then it looks especially the finishing part.