Pen blanks

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bally15

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Joined
Nov 15, 2015
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45
Location
Alberta
Hello everyone, just thought I would see what you consider normal blank costs??
Living in Canada things get a bit pricey with exchange and postage. Lately there have been several great deals that I have taken advantage of but 20-50 at a go still gets tough. The wife starts asking questions on packages arriving!!!!!!!!!!!
On sites I'm paying over $5US plus shipping which would be $25 from 1 blank to 25 blanks.
Keep in mind its a hobby for fun, i only try to cover my costs.
How many blanks do you guys/girls keep on hand??
What pricing do you draw the line at??
Matt
 
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At those prices you have a few options I would consider.

For wood pens, just use found wood unless you really want a special type, you can get a lot of nice pre-dried, and likely spalted wood from old firewood piles.

For Acrylic, you may want to consider making a big purchase of materials and start casting you own. This has a larger upfront cost, but gives you options.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Yes it is a hobby, and like all other hobbies, it can be expensive. There are ways to help keep the expenses down, but, you won't be turning the same class/quality of pens. Personally, I usually have around a 100-150 blanks on hand. Most of my blanks are purchased from American sellers, and with our Canadian dollar being as low in value it is quite expensive. I try to buy in bunches, and I always try to get flat-rate shipping boxes. I find buying this way to be the most economical way to go, but, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and pay top dollar. As to drawing the line on how much I'll pay for a blank, I've never done that. For me, it mostly depends on what and "WHO" I want the blank for. If I get a request for a pen, I never give a price right off hand. I first have to figure out what I'll use for materials, then I'll quote them a firm price rather then an estimate.
 
Best advice I can give is to stop buying blanks . Alberta has plenty of wood equal in attractiveness to just about anything you can buy . You just have to learn where to find it . Get rid of the notion that only `exotic`woods are desirable . Caragana , aspen poplar , saskatoon and many others all have stories that local buyers understand because they grew up with them .
 
Wayne's right, you can find lots of suitable woods in Alberta. Find a couple of local Arborists... look for "free wood" on classified sites.

Speaking of Caragana, Wayne, do you happen to have a stash? I haven't been able to get my hands on any for some time...

Matt, where in Alberta are you? if you're around Calgary, I have some walnut blanks i could let go really cheap...
 
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There used to be a Canadian outfit selling lots of acrylic blanks on ebay at a very good price. I haven't looked on there lately to see if they are still around. I think they were called KMS tools, but I'm not 100% sure of that.
 
writeitdown said:
Wayne's right, you can find lots of suitable woods in Alberta. Find a couple of local Arborists... look for "free wood" on classified sites.

Speaking of Caragana, Wayne, do you happen to have a stash? I haven't been able to get my hands on any for some time...

Matt, where in Alberta are you? if you're around Calgary, I have some walnut blanks i could let go really cheap...
Click to expand...

Suppose it could be called a stash . Less complimentary terms could also be used .
 
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