Peter, the idea for these evolved from a desire to make kitless pens combined with a love of wood. The techniques are all well-documented although I don't know of anyone doing exactly what I do. Most kitless makers would have used the ebonite as the only material, so the 'skeleton' above would have been the actual pen. My 'wrinkle' is to skeletonise these components to allow skinning with wood.
Effort v reward is an interesting one - I sell one of these for £170 with a German steel nib, and to be honest people only have to see them to want them. Effort equates to about six to seven hours of solid work, so hourly rate is £24 or so. Not really enough if this was the day job, but when you add in to the equation that I would make them anyway because I love the hobby the £170 pays for some new toys ...
Nibs are a funny one. I love writing with a fountain pen and I can't tell the difference between a slightly tuned Chinese nib and a German one. I think there's an awful amount of empty snobbery (but I couldn't say that out loud) ...
