gunmetal vs black ti

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IF choosing between black ti and gunmetal for exactly the same kit!!

  • I would choose the gunmetal for $6

    Votes: 10 17.5%

  • I would choose the blackti for $8

    Votes: 47 82.5%
  • Total voters
    57
  • Poll closed .
ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
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Location
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I need your opinions!! EDIT IN: PLEASE do NOT criticize others' opinions!! That way, you will feel confident you can tell us what YOU think---right or wrong factually, without people taking issue with your perception!!!!

I once had a young man working for me whose job was "marketing". He continuously repeated, "Perception is reality"---something he undoubtedly heard in a classroom.

As time has progressed, I have learned to put more stock in that phrase!!

Now, I am in a position to choose what platings we will emphasize, and ultimately, which will sell most successfully.

Pulling a number out of a hat, let's say black ti is 33% more expensive, or to quantify it further, let's say you can purchase EXACTLY THE SAME pen at $6 in gunmetal, or $8 in black ti. Which would you purchase, and what is your "thinking", please?

Believe me, your answers WILL have an effect on our future plans---MAYBE a very significant effect.

Ed
 
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I would definitely go with Black Titanium since when I sell a pen I do not want the finish wearing off, and I assume that the Black Titanium would have the wear quality of Gold Titanium.
 
I buy both unreservedly. Id pay somewhat more for black ti but only to a point. And it very much depends on the style of pen.

Most people probably don't care but there expensive the pen it gives another selling point.

People know high quality jewelrry is expensive and so it makes sense that jewelry grade plating will be worth more. That's my thinking anyway.

If i was selling a pen for $50, gunmetal is no problem. For $100 I want black ti. You can't know what people are going to sell their pens for, but there is some range. You aren't going to sell a sceptre fountain for $40.
 
Dawn admonishes me that I probably undervalued BOTH choices.

In the real world, the choices are probably closer to $9 for gunmetal and $13 ish for black ti. But, too late to change, so just take this as an observation.
 
I did not see you post 4 prior to my response. The ratio of 3:4 would translate to prices of $9 and $12, but even at the $9 and $13 price points, my choice favors BT.
 
Since I don't sell pens & give away most of what I turn, I am always looking for the best possible finish at a price that lets me stretch my $ as much as possible. I buy a fair amount of gun metal kits & very few Black or Gold Ti.
 
This isn't going to help much - but it depends what I am putting on the pen. Nicer/more expensive blank would get Black Ti.
I recently picked up a bunch of gun metal and chrome because my kids are making gifts for teachers and coaches.
 
Well, I've seen quite a variety of quality in both "gunmetal" and "black ti" plating, so I'm more interested in the actual appearance and durability than I am in the label. A true TiCN plating (well applied) would be great, but past experience getting "black ti" kits that looked (and scratched) like black enamel has made me skeptical. Likewise, "gunmetal" can mean almost anything (from zinc to black chrome) and I've received both exceptionally good and quite poor plating there too. Oh, and "gunmetal" doesn't really look like blued steel (none that I've seen anyway), so I consider it a misnomer to begin with. Some of the best plated kits I ever bought (and unfortunately can't get anymore) were billed as GoldTi/Black Chrome.

Regards,
Eric
 
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Gunmetal is a nice durable finish, but for my money, Black Ti works a lot better with more types and colors of blank material.
 
I would ALWAYS go with Black Ti if it were available, and if the price was too high and became an issue, then I would go chrome for a less expensive option before I went with Gunmetal.

Pretty much the only time I've bought gunmetal is when black Ti and Chrome are not available.
 
Gun metal for me. Black titanium only if gun metal is not available. If the price were the same, maybe I would choose black ti, but I wouldn't pay even 10% more for it.

Since we are on the subject, I choose chrome over platinum, I would not pay 10% more for platinum either.

When I'm trying to sell a pen for $400 and up, that is a different story, components for pens at that price point aren't available in gun metal or chrome. Buyers at that level demand luxury, no matter what the cost.
 
Ed,
Based on my buying history from you, you already know my opinion; but I'll put it out anyway: Black Ti.
 
Having seen one of my pens (gunmetal bolt) recently, I was not pleased that the finsih was wearing so quickly. This guy loves his pen and uses it all the time. Black ti got my vote. I price for the quality of my work. I don't want the hardware taking me down. A nice rattlesnake on gunmetal hardware is soon going to be disappointing.
 
Black Ti all the way. I don't want the plating to wear off of my pens. Gunmetal only if there is absolutely no other option for a unique kit - currently the only gunmetal kit I use is the bolt action.
 
I view gunmetal as a color, black Ti as a plating. The extra few dollars for Black Ti comes back to me as an extra $20-$30 at the sale when properly marketed. If you market it right, Black Ti or Rhodium sound more valuable, rare, and durable than any previous metal. Because of this, I pretty much exclusively make Black Ti or Rhodium pens. I'm not saying tht Chrome or Gunmetal are necessarily a poor quality finish, just that my profit margin grows expedentially when using these two platings.
 
The results are interesting (nearly 80% favor black ti, at present). Please continue to vote and comment---my current thinking is to use gunmetal on pens that we consider lower end and black ti on the mid to high range.

But there is no such thing as TOO MUCH input!!!

Thanks to all who comment!!!!
Ed
 
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