General question regarding platings

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aldjmc

aldjmc

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Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Does anyone have a "rule of thumb" they use when selecting platings for their pens? I don't know what looks good and what doesn't, so I'm looking for something like "use gold plating if the blank is darker wood, or chrome when..."

or am looking for something that isn't there? Design is not my forte...
 
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aldjmc said:
Does anyone have a "rule of thumb" they use when selecting platings for their pens? I don't know what looks good and what doesn't, so I'm looking for something like "use gold plating if the blank is darker wood, or chrome when..."

or am looking for something that isn't there? Design is not my forte...
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Angus, I ask my wife. I'm color blind so I have not idea about what goes with what. She helps me out a lot. I do Know that Chrome goes well with dark woods and Gun Metal with a Gold highlite goes well with lighter woods like Maple etc. Other than those two, you're on your own.
 
wolf creek knives said:
Angus, I ask my wife. I'm color blind so I have not idea about what goes with what. She helps me out a lot. I do Know that Chrome goes well with dark woods and Gun Metal with a Gold highlite goes well with lighter woods like Maple etc. Other than those two, you're on your own.
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Thanks for that tidbit. I've been using the "ask my wife approach" as well - she accuses me of being colour blind even though I'm not.
 
You can use gold with anything.

Chrome ... generally, I don't use it with wood pens, ... and for acrylics I stick to the bluish colors .
 
There is no hard fast rules. Many choices out there today. I stay away from the gadget pens because the plating on them is cheap. They put the money in the gadget part. Chrome stands up the best I found. I like to use gold with browns and silver and platinums with greens blues and reds. I highly suggest though develop an eye if you want to take this hobby anywhere. That goes for matching blanks to kits as well as using good looking blanks. Today people throw all kinds of colors and mix them and think they look good. To me they look like mistakes. Have an idea. Same goes with shapes of pens turned. Use the high name pens as a reference. Remember you are making a premium hand made pen and placing a price tag on it. Make your pens stand out above the Bics of the world.
 
jttheclockman said:
There is no hard fast rules. Many choices out there today. I stay away from the gadget pens because the plating on them is cheap. They put the money in the gadget part. Chrome stands up the best I found. I like to use gold with browns and silver and platinums with greens blues and reds. I highly suggest though develop an eye if you want to take this hobby anywhere. That goes for matching blanks to kits as well as using good looking blanks. Today people throw all kinds of colors and mix them and think they look good. To me they look like mistakes. Have an idea. Same goes with shapes of pens turned. Use the high name pens as a reference. Remember you are making a premium hand made pen and placing a price tag on it. Make your pens stand out above the Bics of the world.
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Thank you for the advice. I'm a fan of simple, so bizarre shapes and gaudy colours will not be in my collection. I see the gadgets kits online and will heed your advice. I'm also a fan of cheap, so lots of my kits are "budget" ones. There is no way I could sell any of my pens as premium, not even close. Maybe one day. It will be interesting to see what markets are like for fine quality handcrafted items once the world finds its new normal.

stay safe.
 
aldjmc said:
Thank you for the advice. I'm a fan of simple, so bizarre shapes and gaudy colours will not be in my collection. I see the gadgets kits online and will heed your advice. I'm also a fan of cheap, so lots of my kits are "budget" ones. There is no way I could sell any of my pens as premium, not even close. Maybe one day. It will be interesting to see what markets are like for fine quality handcrafted items once the world finds its new normal.

stay safe.
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I can't add much that John hasn't already said and he's right. I did shows, several of which were higher end art shows, for 8yrs before taking a break in 2014 for a couple of surgeries for my hand and later my shoulder. In those 8yrs simple sold. Outrageous shapes didn't. The funline colored kits didn't. Nice classy warm woods need gold or gold titanium if you want return customers. Some woods work well with chrome. Purple heart comes to mind. Acrylics mostly chrome works but from time to time there'll be a blank that's brown or gold based then you can go either way. The longer you make pens you'll develop an eye for shapes and colors. I know I did.
Lastly don't sell yourself short. We're our own worst critics. I did my first show 5 months after I starting turning, at wife's urging. I didn't think my pens were good enough either but I sold probably 30 pens including several higher end pens. I was amazed, people were giving me money for something I was having fun doing. Anyway I digress. Run thing by your wife or some friends until your more comfortable making your own choices of colors, styles and platings. Most importantly use this forum, it's a great bunch of guys and gals to run things by and learn from. We don't mind helping!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
I had shown these not too long ago but here is a group of pens that I mixed kits with what I thought looks good with the color of the blank. just an example.

Copy of IMGP0507.JPG
 
mick said:
I can't add much that John hasn't already said and he's right. I did shows, several of which were higher end art shows, for 8yrs before taking a break in 2014 for a couple of surgeries for my hand and later my shoulder. In those 8yrs simple sold. Outrageous shapes didn't. The funline colored kits didn't. Nice classy warm woods need gold or gold titanium if you want return customers. Some woods work well with chrome. Purple heart comes to mind. Acrylics mostly chrome works but from time to time there'll be a blank that's brown or gold based then you can go either way. The longer you make pens you'll develop an eye for shapes and colors. I know I did.
Lastly don't sell yourself short. We're our own worst critics. I did my first show 5 months after I starting turning, at wife's urging. I didn't think my pens were good enough either but I sold probably 30 pens including several higher end pens. I was amazed, people were giving me money for something I was having fun doing. Anyway I digress. Run thing by your wife or some friends until your more comfortable making your own choices of colors, styles and platings. Most importantly use this forum, it's a great bunch of guys and gals to run things by and learn from. We don't mind helping!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
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Thanks for the reply and information. I feel like I'm getting good advice!
 
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