How long does it take you to pick the right blank?

[Beautys_Beast]

When I make pens, I usually lay out 8 to 10 pen kits that I want to turn that day. Then, kit by kit, I go through all my blanks and figure out which blank I want to use for which kit.

Am I the only person that this seems to take a LONG time to do? I want to finish to highlight the blank and vice versa, I want to use my nicer blanks, for some of the higher end pens I'm going to make. I want each pen to speak to me when it's finished. Something I am proud to say I created. I'm not alone in this am I?

 

[McKenzie Penworks]

Depends on the kit... Slim lines, close my eyes, grab. Emperor pen kit I agonize forever unless I already had a blank ahead of time and purchased a kit to go with it.

It gets worse when you make your own cast blanks though. I stood there at my workbench for probably 30 minutes trying to figure out what colors I wanted to mix together for a couple of nicer kits I just bought.

Of course, then someone walks up to my table at the craft show and buys the one I hated and doesn't look twice at the beautiful one I agonized over.... So...

 

[greenacres2]

I'm the opposite--hardware can be made hundreds of times and look the same, but the blank, whether wood, cast or a combination...that only will exist once. No tree has ever produced in the past, nor will in the future, ever produce the piece of wood I have in my hand...that is awe-inspiring to me. And I want to do it justice. Agony, and worth every minute of it.

earl

 

[jkeith]

Of course, then someone walks up to my table at the craft show and buys the one I hated and doesn't look twice at the beautiful one I agonized over.... So...

hah! I got a good chuckle out of this comment!

I just recently went to my first "craft show". It was actually fair day at my wife's elementary school. She signed me up as a vendor and told me I was going to be there anyway to help out so I might as well to try to sell some of these pens I have been "spending so much time in your shop" for. I actually ended up selling a decent amount of the pens I made but most people bought the ones I thought would never sell. All the pens I exclusively planned out and thought were nice hardly got looked at.

 

[jkeith]

Am I the only person that this seems to take a LONG time to do?

I spent an obscene amount of time, then I change my mind, spend more time, change my mind again, turn some blanks so I am committed to a certain type of kit and then stare at the kit and blanks for a while...

After all this I usually ask my wife and daughter for their opinions and go with what they say. :biggrin:

 

[McKenzie Penworks]

I'm the opposite--hardware can be made hundreds of times and look the same, but the blank, whether wood, cast or a combination...that only will exist once. No tree has ever produced in the past, nor will in the future, ever produce the piece of wood I have in my hand...that is awe-inspiring to me. And I want to do it justice. Agony, and worth every minute of it.

earl

Oh I do that too. There are some pieces of wood that I have to find JUST the right thing to do with them. Then the stars align and STILL someone ends up buying the one I didn't think twice about. :tongue:

 

[Mr Vic]

Never pick the right blank. Always pick the one on the left.

 

[Marcros]

I tend to only use 3 or 4 kits. A cheaper single tube one which I don't put the premium blanks on because I cannot charge enough to warrant it. The others, I tend to choose some blanks and then match them to either chrome, gold or gunmetal when they are done. I often don't buy the kits until I have turned the blanks for them- I use some extra tubes that I buy when getting any new kit. saves a bit of money tied up in WIP!

 

[Beautys_Beast]

The kit doesn't nearly matter as much as the blank. The blank makes the pen. I have a few kits, like the "traditional, from PSI, with the clip on cap, that I make with whatever random blank is first out, although the black with white thread seems to be very popular. But with a Broadwell kit, it can take me an half an hour of agony picking the right blank.

 

[JPW062]

I start with the blank and pick a kit to work with it.
The theme pens I make, such as rifle pens for hunters, are either acrylic or simple wood.

 

[Herb G]

IMHO, there is no right or wrong way to match up blanks & components.
Some people just have a natural ability to match both together effortlessly.

I am not such a person. It took me years to develop an ability to look at a piece of wood or plastic & decide which kit would look good matched with it.

It is one thing to look at a piece of wood or plastic online & say this kit or that kit would look good together. It is something else entirely to have the kit & blank in hand & look at it together in person.
What might look good online might not be so hot in person.
:wink:

 

[robutacion]

I'm the opposite--hardware can be made hundreds of times and look the same, but the blank, whether wood, cast or a combination...that only will exist once. No tree has ever produced in the past, nor will in the future, ever produce the piece of wood I have in my hand...that is awe-inspiring to me. And I want to do it justice. Agony, and worth every minute of it.

earl

I couldn't agree more and I can even go further by saying, that very reason is what feeds my motivation to do what I do, still today...!

Cheers
George

 

[greenacres2]

I'm the opposite--hardware can be made hundreds of times and look the same, but the blank, whether wood, cast or a combination...that only will exist once. No tree has ever produced in the past, nor will in the future, ever produce the piece of wood I have in my hand...that is awe-inspiring to me. And I want to do it justice. Agony, and worth every minute of it.

earl

I couldn't agree more and I can even go further by saying, that very reason is what feeds my motivation to do what I do, still today...!

Cheers
George

Yes George, it shows in what you do. I hope to never lose that feeling, it feeds my soul.
earl

 

[WriteON]

When I make pens, I usually lay out 8 to 10 pen kits that I want to turn that day. Then, kit by kit, I go through all my blanks and figure out which blank I want to use for which kit.

Am I the only person that this seems to take a LONG time to do? I want to finish to highlight the blank and vice versa, I want to use my nicer blanks, for some of the higher end pens I'm going to make. I want each pen to speak to me when it's finished. Something I am proud to say I created. I'm not alone in this am I?

Hi...I have to vary on the subject..... I told a friend of mine to come over and pick a blank (a gift for his grand daughter) After an hour of let's see how this looks and let's see how this looks...... I stuck his head in the Vise.

Generally I pick fairly quick as I my favorites.

 

[MRDucks2]

I have my blanks pre-sorted to some extent. I have the "Best Blanks" in a wooded box my lathe tools came in. Then I have my above average blanks in a separate box from my average blanks. On my bench I have a box of "Other" blanks made from pine, poplar, oak, etc that is generally off scrap pieces of wood, furniture, a broken baby gate, etc.

I decide which box I want a blank from, light, dark or medium color. Then I pick four different blanks in that family and lay a piece of the pen metal on each and pick one.

If it is hard to choose, I call on my wife to narrow it down. Maybe 10-15 minutes on a new selection all together. Some, I know what I am using as soon as I see the kit.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Scissortail Pens]

I'm another one that believes that the blank picks the kit and not the other way around. The kits are pretty well there, it's the wood that changes on every single piece, you have to let it tell you what kit it wants.

 

[gtriever]

And sometimes, you change your mind after the blank is turned. I'm currently turning a pair of PSI Dragon pens, one in Antique Pewter and one in Antique Copper. The two blanks I had picked out for them couldn't be any more different; Lava Explosion #13 and #22. But, after finishing the first and being halfway through the second, it looks like I may reverse the kits.

 

[budnder]

Yeah, I'm a "blank first" person also. Most of the time, it's a specific blank or piece of wood that's motivating me to make a pen... then it's trying to find a kit to bring out the best of it.

For me, it's about the blank, and the kit is a necessary evil.:cowboy: