Are there accepted standards for descriptions of blank lumber that vendors / private sellers are expected to follow?

[FGarbrecht]

I see all kinds of descriptions of pen blank material in the 'for sale' forum and am curious if there are some agreed upon standards for grading, or are these descriptions just marketing? For example, what does A+++ mean really? It sounds good, but is it as good as AA+++? How about exhibition grade; I assume that exhibition grade blanks should blow your socks off, but are these descriptions just in the eye of the seller or do they mean anything objectively (is there a correlation with standard hardwood lumber grading)?

 

[MRDucks2]

They mean nothing on their own. All in the mind of the seller. Once you have sources you have bought from they may be able to help you with their selection but you really can't compare. My A grade may be your Exhibition grade or vice-versa.

 

[penicillin]

So far, all I have seen is marketing hype.

If there are multiple descriptions on one vendor's website, it informs you about relative quality between items from that vendor, nothing more. I think it is natural to assume that "Exhibition" is better than "Premium" is better than "Standard" from a given vendor, but it tells you nothing about their products compared with other vendors or what those terms actually mean.

Certain vendors may have their own internal grading standards to teach trainees how to sort products, but I have never seen them published.

 

[walshjp17]

Unlike diamonds and other precious stones, there are no standards for wood blanks. Standards are usually developed by international organizations (trade, product, ISOs, etc.) and there are no such beasts for blanks.

 

[1080Wayne]

In my opinion , just marketing . One would expect some consistency from an individual supplier , but less between suppliers . Also need to recognize that we have different ideas as to what constitutes beauty . I sell S&P shakers ranging from $ 50-200 , priced based upon what I regard as beautiful . At least the person who lifted a $200 set agreed with me .

The one attribute which could be somewhat quantified is curl . Not very difficult to measure number of curls per inch , yet it is never done .

 

[GaryMGg]

IMHO and based upon my experience buying hundreds of board feet of lumber, these labels have value when used to purchase from specific, well-known vendors.
These select sellers publish their grading standards.
For instance:

Great American Gunstock Company

www.gunstocks.com

Having said this, some companies don't have their grading standards online (to the best of my knowledge), http://cookwoods.com. However, they offer great products and service and must have an internal standard as only certain timbers get their best ranking.

Some folks just throw it out there A++++.

 

[jttheclockman]

As all have said eye of the seller and nothing more. There is no way to grade lumber as a standard. Good luck as they say and try to find a reputable seller that has been here awhile. I hate seeing these vendors come here with no past experience and start selling blanks. I always had this problem and I guess it is just me.

 

[FGarbrecht]

As all have said eye of the seller and nothing more. There is no way to grade lumber as a standard. Good luck as they say and try to find a reputable seller that has been here awhile. I hate seeing these vendors come here with no past experience and start selling blanks. I always had this problem and I guess it is just me.

Not just you John. It's been bugging me too which is why I asked.

 

[GaryMGg]

...There is no way to grade lumber as a standard....

There is a very specific way to grade lumber. The industry has a standard; it's published, repeatable and measurable.
The thing is it's for lumber and we're talking about turning blanks. Turning blanks—especially pen blanks—are too small to use the lumber grading standards.

 

[hokie]

As long as a photo of the blank is provided, the description is *usually* moot because the buyer can decide for themselves whether a blank is "exhibition grade" or "A+++++++". What's almost criminal is the photo enhancement of blanks. In fact, there is even one prolific seller on this site that seems to make a habit of saturating the heck out of their blank photos. No one comments on it and there seem to be no complaints, so I don't have any desire to start a ruckus.
I have come to rely on HobbitHouse Wood ID when I am in the market for wood I am not intimately familiar with. I love how they really go into the detail of how a wood should appear as far as figure and color.

 

[socdad]

As all have said eye of the seller and nothing more. There is no way to grade lumber as a standard. Good luck as they say and try to find a reputable seller that has been here awhile. I hate seeing these vendors come here with no past experience and start selling blanks. I always had this problem and I guess it is just me.

It is not just you ...

 

[penicillin]

The only pen blank grading I have seen is with olive wood from places with religious associations in the Middle East. They all appear to be used as marketing terms without specific, well-defined standards for comparison. Terminology and pricing is based on how much grain can be seen in the wood.

On a personal note, I am not convinced that paying higher prices for "exhibition" or "premium" pen blanks yields better looking pens. The resulting pens from ordinary olive wood blanks (with certificates) have been very nice. Denser grain would not have yielded better pens. Just my 2 cents worth.