jttheclockman
Member
Unless he went over there and cut them himself.
COA
- Thread starter Rotor13
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robutacion
Member
I agree with you on some points but not so much on others, far too many blanks sellers...? probably, do you make more money selling blanks than making pens..? yes and no, it all depends on what sort of wood/blanks you are selling and what market value levels do your made pens sell at, if you are in the right place, have the right skills and promote you product right as some folks on IAP have been doing for a long time, a single pen made by them fetches 10 to 50 times more than what many others may be able to sell them for, product quality or product uniqueness may/will determine the final cost but not always, I have a bloke that is my best customer buying pen blanks, he is an old man but he still manages to turn and sell about 50 pens a week, his average price is $25 and the average price he pays for pen blanks is about $1.75 + the kits and other stuff he still makes money but recently and after he used every species of wood and possible variants I ever had on sale, he asked me if I could get him some particular types of woods/pen blanks that he always heard of but never had worked with, anyway, to make a long story short, I have provided him with blanks from my own private collection most a lot more expensive than anything I sell, I have very clearly told him how much each of those blanks was going to cost him so, he agreed and he got them, some weeks later he sent me an email to let me know he sold all those special blanks I sold him, however, he did not manage to sell any of them for more than the normalk $25, they sold quick he said, no wonder why...?This all comes down to buyer beware and also seller beware if caught. I trust no one when it comes to that stuff because there is no physical proof and if you want to say all these documents are proof. then show proof the documents are real and the circle begins. Way too many blank sellers these days. That list keeps growing and that I ask all the time is it not better to just make and sell blanks and make more money than trying to sell a finished pen. far less work for sure. many times buy a long board and cut to blanks and charge outrages prices and that is why I laugh here and on facebook what people ask for blanks ++++++++++++ shipping. Not for me man. Born at night but not last night. Good luck with the sales of those precious one of a kind blanks.
People have the right to do what they want (within reason/law) if folks decided to stop making and selling pens to start selling pen blanks or even a combination of both, that is all fine by me, are they making more money that way, I can't say but I can tell you that selling pen blanks is not that much easier than seller pens (exceptions do apply), if you have a good wood supplier for cheap prices, slicing all up and selling it may make them a few good bucks but they may need to handle heavy weights, for those like me that all sell what they cut/salvaged/collected themselves the end product has surely did not come as "easy" as making pens and that I can ensure you.
Are there people selling their blanks overpriced..?, absolutely, and that is not only Olive wood but many other wood species. Are people selling blanks that they deliberately miss-identify to sell for a higher price...? no doubt. Do most sellers tend to over grade their blanks with terms such as "exhibition grade", "rare", "unique", "burl", etc.,..? well, you know the answer to that, huh...?
On the other hand, if you and many others can source their own woods, the blanks costs are considerably less than if you buy them, no questions there but there will be only a limited number of species that you can get that way, are they sufficient...? maybe, maybe not so, sourcing pen blanks from other sources/sellers is the obvious answer, that gap is what I have been focussing on all these years, provide people with pen blanks species that they would never be able to get from the wood commercial trade but regardless how hard those woods were to "acquire" I like to believe my prices are fair even for someone overseas but this is not about me and my woods, it's about folks being accurate and honest with what they are trying to sell, there are a few other wood species that I would be as vocal as I am with the Olive wood issue, if they were something that I could source myself and share to the world, my point in all this is simple, be honnest, be fair and don't be greedy and don't do to others what you don't like for yourself...!
PS: That may explain why I never succeeded in business...!
Cheers
George
robutacion
Member
Not selling BOW pens is not the goal, if true BOW blanks are what you want to build your pens with for religious people then you have to source BOW blanks if you trust your supplier and Ed at Exotic (just because you identified your supplier) trusts of his source then, you've done all you could but just imagine that somehow the people you make those pens for, have had the wood tested and proven not to be BOW, how would you feel even if you are not religious...?
Did you ever considered that possibility before you became aware of the BOW scam that has been going on for many years...?
You have the right to ask the question, is what I'm getting really what I intended to get..?
Cheers
George
Ok thought about this more over the weekend and not sure how to write this but here goes.
If certain customers like seeing something notarized I guess its OK but there also maybe ones that think this being nortized doesn't mean anything and are they trying to over sell the authenticity of something or worse?
wolf creek knives
Member
Ok thought about this more over the weekend and not sure how to write this but here goes.
If certain customers like seeing something notarized I guess its OK but there also maybe ones that think this being nortized doesn't mean anything and are they trying to over sell the authenticity of something or worse?
[/QUOTE
Point taken although I don't agree. If I'm buying a CM Russel piece of art I want every legally binding document that shows it's authenticity. His art work has sold for millions. I don't believe by notarizing something you're trying to "over sell" the item, I believe you're offering the buyer a bit more insurance. That doesn't mean there aren't bad people out there that would take advantage of the situation, but you can't lump everyone into the same category. There are a lot of honest people out here unlike the individual mentioned in an earlier post.
MRDucks2
Member
I could be wrong but paintings and art by the likes of CM Russell and others fall under that governing body area. For artwork of this nature, there are a specific set of criteria that must be met to certify it as, for instance, an original CM Russell. This information is gathered by a certifying agency or person and then a certificate of authenticity, again with specific info, is issued and signed by certifying agent. The notary is certifying that they witnessed the signature of the agent/certifying person sighting the COA and/or other signed documents. I am pretty sure all a notary is, is a witness.
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Yes a witness of the signature but that's it they can't add any authenticity to the claims made in whatever is being signed.
I have a few pieces of USS Missouri teak. The teak shop there puts it out for active duty and veterans to come and take a piece. Lots of it is not original deck, but scraps from their work to upkeep and replace portions of the deck. I spoke with their head carpenter there and he told me how to identify the old 1940s deck. He said the dead giveaway is the thickness and the oakum residue. In 1980's they replaced the whole deck with a thinner layer of teak. It was an honor to work with those guys. The wood makes great pens.
wolf creek knives
Member
I have a few pieces of USS Missouri teak. The teak shop there puts it out for active duty and veterans to come and take a piece. Lots of it is not original deck, but scraps from their work to upkeep and replace portions of the deck. I spoke with their head carpenter there and he told me how to identify the old 1940s deck. He said the dead giveaway is the thickness and the oakum residue. In 1980's they replaced the whole deck with a thinner layer of teak. It was an honor to work with those guys. The wood makes great pens.
I have 10 pieces of the 11 U.S. Battleships now, that's all I could find. The only one I can't get is the Alabama as I was told that it still has it original decking and they're not expecting to do anything with it any time soon. Most of the decking I have I'm pretty sure is 2nd generation as most of the original decking was redone after WWII when the ships went in for repair and refit. I do have a few pieces that I know are off the original deck (the California, New Jersey, South Dakota). I did talk with a very nice lady in the Missouri museum that told me that the decking was not a WWII original (it was scrapped in the late 40's) but that this particular plank did see action in the 1991 gulf war invasion which his also included on the COA. I'm just happy to have a piece of Teak off each ship that at one time was installed as decking. So I'm content with what I have and hope to start on this project this winter. Now I just need to find an appropriate kit to fit the pens I want to turn. If you don't mind me asking, what Island do you live on?
I'm on O'ahu right now. That is awesome having deck wood from so many battleships! Ptownsubbie.com has really cool engraved .30 caliber kits (in the picture with Missouri teak). The Missouri museum sells the bolt action in gun metal gray with the teak wood. They look pretty cool.
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wolf creek knives
Member
I'm on O'ahu right now. That is awesome having deck wood from so many battleships! Ptownsubbie.com has really cool engraved .30 caliber kits (in the picture with Missouri teak). The Missouri museum sells the bolt action in gun metal gray with the teak wood. They look pretty cool.
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Those are nice. Thanks for turning me on to the website. I've already made contact with them and hope to have an answer soon to something else I'd like to get someday. And by the way, that is a very nice looking pen you're showing. My wife and I visit Kauai every other year for two weeks. I absolutely love Kauai and can't wait to get back. I might have to make a swing by day trip to O'ahu and visit the Missouri and Arizona again. Thanks again- Tom