Would you buy a handmade pen

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edicehouse

edicehouse

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I was thinking about this on the way into work this morning, before you started making pens would you have bought a handmade one? If I was at an event I would look, barely touch, get wide eyes when I see the price.
 
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Never seen a handmade pen that i know of, untill i made my first one. i found a psi mag. and looked at the pen kits and said i would like to do that , i placed a order for a lathe and some pen kits from psi and went to work. all that money and i had never turned on a lathe much less make anything on one.
 
i bought one maybe 7 years ago now... Acrylic american flat top fountain pen... thought to myself, i could do that... the rest of the story should be pretty self explanatory... :biggrin:

--Dave
 
I would have been one of those people that says "I can go to Walmart and get a year's supply of Bics for the price of one of those." Maybe, just maybe, I might have bought one for a present, but I doubt it.
 
I think it would have to something very unique like some of the steam punk pens I've seen on here. It would have to be something that I consider to be beyond my skill set.

I haven't started selling pens in part because I feel like I am just an assembler of parts at this time. I want to get to a point where I am doing something you can't find in a kit.
 
I don't know about hand made, but I used to buy whatever wooden pen I lay my eyes on. I still have some wood pens (unusable) I bought in the 1970's.
 
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I bought one nicer pen 10 years ago and struggled with the concept of spending more than $30 on a pen I was probably going to loose. So no I would not have bought one. Oh and I still have the $30 pen!
 
I did, at the time I asked the seller to make me a fountain pen to match. After about a year of promises I decided that I will make my own. I still see this seller from time to time but now I am glad that he never made the fountain pen.

Donovan
 
This is an interesting quandary Ed. Having grown up around crafty people all my life, I'm a total hypocrite. We'll see something at a craft show, blown glass lets say. I see the price and think "No freakin' way dude!". But then looking at what I get for pens, I feel a little bad at how I view prices from other craftsmen/women. Knowing what I know now about the effort and skill it takes...I probably would buy one, but may ask for a discount :eek::wink:
 
I still to this day sometimes feel the way you described. Although I don't think they are overpriced I just never thought I had the money to spend on things like that. Now that I know and realize the time and work that goes into handcrafted items I don't cringe when I see the price. Like someone already mentioned I guess that's why I have a hard time selling pens for what they are worth. Pen making is also strictly a hobbie and any profit I make just goes into more things to play with. I'm sure it would be a different story if the money was needed to support my family. Before someone faults the comment on me not spending money on things like that. It's not that I don't think those things are worth it, I'm just spending money on something else that my wife thinks are not worth it.
 
Nope, would never spend that kind of money on a pen. I also would not buy my hand made furniture, nor would buy my bowls or vases. The idea of a $300 wood bowl seems crazy to me! The most I ever spent on a piece of art was $125 and that was for a handmade glass perfume bottle. It does bring me joy to look at it, but it must have been a weak moment for me when I bought it. I've either worked full time as a custom woodworker,or as a second job, to create and sell my work for nearly 42 years. I accepted the fact years ago, that it's a small percent of the population that will buy my work. I've been very fortunate!
 
Kenny Durrant said:
... Although I don't think they are overpriced I just never thought I had the money to spend on things like that. Now that I know and realize the time and work that goes into handcrafted items I don't cringe when I see the price. ...
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That I definitely agree with... There's a dichroic glass artist that shows at the N.O. Art Market. I really like his work, but I just haven't been able to justify my spending that much on something purely aesthetic. I'd rather have something like a new metal lathe or milling machine. Must be the Scotsman in me.
 
A very good question that also makes one think.(basis of a good question, I reckon).

A fellow teacher gave my wife a slimline pen done in walnut and maple in around 2000. She handed it to me and said, "you could do this, couldn't you?" I told her I wasn't interested and does this guy really try to sell these? ($10) at the time,

No, I would not have bought a pen/pencil at the time. Might be something about knowing who the guy is and he's making a profit from his good works and I'm sitting idly by not doing something I know I can do as well, if not better. Yes, self involvement on my part. But it did get me to thinking. Although it took me about 7 years more to get off my chair and put into actions.

I am now again sitting on my "laurels", deciding what and which direction to go in pen making. I am thinking whether or not I can make a "kitless" instrument that someone would want enough to buy it.

Russ
 
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I would not have in the past.

There are typically 3 kinds of people I run into at shows. Those who really appreciate the time and effort that goes into handcrafted anything. They are perfectly happy to pay a craftsman or artisan for their work without a second thought. Those who think that because it was made by someone in their garage that it should only cost pennies. And ultimately those who are indifferent. They may nod and say nice work but really could care less about the work, the pricing, or the creator.

I was in indifferent group until I started turning. I quickly found myself in the first group once I really learned to appreciate the work and skill necessary to execute your vision. I've spent more money in the last several years with other vendors than I ever would have looking in from the other side.
 
With all the money I have spent on the hobby I could have bought quite a few of those very high priced pens I have seen. Only thing is I would have missed out on the enjoyment of making my own. I also couldn't have afforded to pay for a high end pen in one payment.
 
There are typically 3 kinds of people: Those who really appreciate the time and effort that goes into handcrafted anything. They are perfectly happy to pay a craftsman or artisan for their work without a second thought. Those who think that because it was made by someone in their garage that it should only cost pennies. And ultimately those who are indifferent. They may nod and say nice work but really could care less about the work, the pricing, or the creator.
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I think that this is true on a far broader level than just hand made items. My daughters are in an organization called Westernaires. It is kids from 9 to 19 that learn to ride mounted drill at a lope. They are recognized world wide as the finest mounted drill team at speed. Each year they put on a show and the kids have to sell tickets. The show, the drills, are pretty much the same from year to year so it can be hard to sell tickets. They've seen it once so why go again. What I have learned is that each year you have a new group of kids and horses riding the drill and that there is a considerable amount of effort put forth by the kids to get ready for the show. Because I know more about horses and training them, I enjoy each show because I know what it takes to do what they do. Most of America loves the horse as an icon of bygone days, but gone is the day when most Americans understood what it takes to work with a horse.

The more a person understands and appreciates what it take to make something, the more likely they may be to pay for something that is unique and made just for them.
 
As a single guy in the Corps, I was walking around a gun show with my head down focused on the gear for sale, not even seeing the people behind the tables. I turned a corner and ran into a table full of wood and antler pens. I had never seen or heard of hand turned pens before so I picked one up and started looking at it. I decided it was the coolest thing I had seen in quite a while, and that I had to have one (two actually, pen and pencil set). When I looked up to find the guy to pay, I was face to face with a GySgt who worked with me (he may have been a SSgt at the time). I don't know if I would have made the purchase if there was only wood to choose from, but the antler - I couldn't pass that up.

I loved woodworking and making things but never felt a desire to get I to turning myself, I just enjoyed using my new pen and pencil.

Fast forward a decade. I was out of the Corps, married with kids, and a friend drops a 50 plus year old broken Shopsmith in my lap. I fixed it up, got it running and dialed in and realized that I now owned a lathe. Well, I had to learn to use it. My mind quickly remembered my antler pen and pencil and I just had to try it. So, here I am today, making pens for friends and family, mostly from woods and antler that are meaningful/sentimental to them, and now starting to sell a few.
 
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I bought a handmade pen from a retired Jr. High woodshop teacher. He sold them around Christmas time to make some extra money.

soon after that, I took a 1-day class from him

it was all downhill after that.

and still sliding.
 
I have bought a few as gifts, but not for myself.

I thoroughly enjoy watching a real pen junkie see my display at craft fairs.

Once you tell someone that you made all the pens and other things they are looking at their whole view of things changes.

Bye
 
I learnt to write with pencils and fountain pens only Parkers and Sheaffers were known for me, and then at high school did technical drawing with mechanical pencils and calligraphy with Rotring ink pens, the first wooden pen I've seen was in a woodworking show and it was the coolest thing I ever seen, I bought my lathe in that show and never stopped making pens. I know that even if I stop selling them I would continue doing it just for me, because is something that I enjoy a lot and is the most rewarding money I can spend
 
I would not have bought a handmade pen for me, but as a special gift for someone else. I probably would have blinked a few times at the price and then be very careful with my selection.
 
I bought one as a gift in about 2000/2001. Later started turning because It seemed like a cool thing to do. I've now got a collection of pens turned by IAP members that is probably something over 100 pens and growing.
 
I should have added to my earlier post is the best pen I have is hand made. It is the kit less pen I won on the Oaklahoma Auction I won a couple of months age, never been it is in a display case in my ded
 
I may have bought one as a gift, but not for myself. While I appreciate fine craftsmanship and art, in general, I don't have the desire to own it. I enjoy looking at it, I am inspired by it, and I try to duplicate the different aspects I see in my own projects. I think it comes from being raised in a family of DIYers. I see such things more as inspiration than something nice to own.
 
I think I would have. In my case, I think the issue is that I didn't know they existed. I have two Watermans. I was never impressed with Mont Blanc I always saw it as something below a Waterman.

I now carry a custom pen that I kit bashed from an Apollo Infiniti. It has a defect in one of the most gorgeous pieces of Bocote I have seen.

I think it is more of an issue of people not knowing they are out there than if they would buy them.
 
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