Adding Fountain Pens to my line up

[Jswalters100]

Hi All,
I have had enough interest in fountain pens in the last few shows I did that I'd like to add some to my line up. What would you recommend I try out?
Thanks,
Jeff Walters

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello Jeff. I see this is your first post here so Welcome from NJ to the site. I am sure you will get many answers that can help. I would just like to give some friendly advice about the topic. at times I too would like to include fountain pens in my arsenal but what I have come to realize from not only watching and reading threads here on the site but from talking to other fountain pen users. First they are a breed of their own for sure. They are particular with weight of the pen, feed methods and nib size and consistency. The pen kits that are fountain pens are just like other rollerball and ballpoint pen kits in that the components that supply ink are satisfactory at best and many times you read here of people stepping up to put in higher end parts in all kits. This mainly is done because we are trying to compete with the everyday ballpoint pen that cost 25 cents. We try to take our craft higher than this and many times it takes better components to get there. That is the first thing. The next thing if you are going to sell it maybe wise to learn how to tune a fountain pen and fix them. They can be finicky and as I said most fountain pen users are too. Matching nibs to the user is important. One nib does not fit all.

I am not in any way trying to dissuade you from getting into making fountain pens, but trying to give you some friendly advise as to what you could be in for. I myself never took the time to learn and thus do not offer them. Maybe when I have time I may get into that side of this hobby. Good luck in your venture and again welcome to the site. As I said you will get great advice here from the real fountain pen makers.

 

[Mike8850]

I agree with everything John said but I have been getting requests from younger people for an entry level fountain pens.
I think they want to try a modestly priced pen to see if it's something they might like .
Also welcome from Mid -Michigan I do several shows down in your area so may be we've met.
Mike

 

[monophoto]

Hi Jeff

I fully agree with what John has said, but let me go a bit further from the point of view of a fountain pen user.

FP users are generally prepared to spend a bit more for pens, but they also have more stringent expectations. Some of the things that I would think about include:

• FP kits are available with either a snap-on or screw-on cap. Screw-on caps seal better which means that the pen is less likely to dry out between uses, and that means that it is more likely to write immediately after the cap is removed. In addition to possibly drying out, snap caps also represent a potential risk that the cap could come off inadvertently, for example as the pen is clipped in a pocket.
• As far as I know, all FP kits are designed to use 'standard international cartridges'. When you offer a pen for sale, you should include a standard international converter and one cartridge (with standard black or blue ink). Not all kits come with converters. By providing one cartridge, you allow the purchaser to use the pen immediately, but later switch to the converter to enjoy more options in bottled ink if he so chooses.
• It would be helpful for you to augment your sales pitch with some general knowledge about FP inks. However, I don't think you need to offer a selection of inks for sale just because you are selling FPs. Experienced FP uses will have preferred sources of inks, so all you would need to do is direct newbies to a few suppliers - perhaps by having a list of a few on-line dealers that you can provide with each pen you sell.
• In the FP world, it is acceptable for a pen to be inked for testing purposes prior to sale. The normal approach is to just dip the pen into a bottle of ink and allow the prospective user to see how it writes. After testing, the pen that is equipped with a converter can be quickly flushed in plain water so that the purchaser can fill it with his choice of ink. By the way, YOU should test every pen you plan to offer for sale at your shop so that you know that they will write before the sale begins.
• Some FP kits use interchangeable nibs, and offering to swap out a nib to meet a prospective purchaser's preferences might increase sales. However, my sense is that the kits that have interchangeable nibs are more expensive than kits on which the nib cannot be interchanged, and more expensive kits translate into higher retail prices. I think that a good starting point would be to equip each pen with a medium nib, but be prepare to substitute a fine or broad nib on request. Fine nibs are fairly popular, but they are also scratchier and might be offputting for potential first-time users. You are likely to get more requests for fine nibs than for broad nibs.
• If you get into FPs in a big way, you should get some training in basic nib tuning. You don't need to be a master nibmeister, but you should be able to offer basic nib alignment and smoothing services on the pens you sell.
• Mike raises a complicated issue - FP prices can vary over an extremely broad range, and it might not be feasible for you to try to compete across that entire range. Really inexpensive entry-level FPs like the Platinum Preppy retail for less than the cost of most low-end FP kits; even less-expensive commercial pens like the Lamy Safari or Al Star sell for less than you would probably want to ask for a hand-made pen made using one of the low-end kits. And attempting to compete at the high end of the market might be a challenge because that market niche is fairly small, and you would have rather high front-end costs for expensive kits with only a limited prospect for sales.. So my opinion is that targeting the $50-125 pen market is probably the sweet spot; obviously, the nature of the actual market you are targeting could change this calculation; potential FP sales are probably higher in the suburbs of a large city than in rural areas.
• However, if you want to compete at the high-end of the FP market, I suggest that kitlless might be a more viable approach than offering kits made using expensive pen kits. People who are willing to spend several hundred dollars for a pen are more likely to do so if they know that the pen is the product of an overall exercise in craftsmanship and not an assembly based on prefabricated components.

 

[EricRN]

I agree with most of what is said too. I find that FP users strongly prefer something bespoke and kitless. I've not had much success selling fps on Etsy. Sold a few, but they tend to sit. Maybe that's starting to change where folks are starting to look for entry level pens.

Last piece of advice, if you do a lot, use a solid kit with a good nib. I like the Beaufort Ink kits. I've had bad experiences with the nibs in the Dayacom kits drying up.

 

[gbpens]

While I have sold FP at shows for years they represent about 10% of the two part pens I sell so it is not a major item. The FP market can be broken into two categories: one is the casual or beginning user who wants to try a fountain pen. The other is a serious user who asks what kind of nib, feels the weight and tends to walk away. Since weight seems to be an object with some people I am trying to replace some of the metal parts with resin parts that I turn. Perhaps this summer will give me an idea if I am on track with my hypothesis.

 

[Jswalters100]

So much good information here. Thank you for all the detailed responses. Most of the interest I get are indeed young people who are interested in trying a fountain pen. So I think my best bet is to offer some entry levels FP's at my shows later this year. I am in no way ready for the serious collector but who knows in the future. I will continue to study up on it.
Again. Thank you all
Jeff Walters

 

[boatemp]

I asked the basically same question but must have put it in the wrong section. A lot of good info and just what I was looking for. Thanks guys. Any and all info is appreciated even tough it was given for a different person