Portrait gallery of Pens

[kjmc1957]

Hi All

Not really sure how to explain this, does anyone know if there is a 'gallery' of completed pen styles, I'm interested in the Pen kits themselves, unfortunately when you go onto the suppliers website you often get a series of compnents laid out next to each other which doesn't really show the kit off to it's best.
I know this is going to be all down to the body of the pen, is resin, is it wood is it is it is it, but when I'm trying to show prospective customers a pen kit it's easier if I can show a 'working model' I could turn one of each kit in wood and in resin but won't beacuse there are too many.

 

[Grump]

What a good idea when are you going to start this and show us your wonderful work?

 

[Woody]

Most of us have learnt from a very expensive experience and just stick with the quality kits that we like some can only afford the cheaper kits and stick with them there are plenty of photos on this forum of all the kits we turn so you could just take your pick and build your own gallery for kits

 

[rayf6604]

Have a look around this forum, there is probably every pen kit there is shown in pics here. You'd likely need to contact the member who posted the thread for each pen to ask permission to use the photo but it's an idea.

I am finding that my customers will buy from the stock of pens I have made so I keep a few slimlines, a few lucida, a few Sierra and what ever other kits I get so people can see the pen and they either buy what I have or order a general colour of wood or acrylic which I'll make up.

 

[paulm]

That is a good idea but I can see a flaw... take for instance the slimline. You could make it as a longwood, a fattop or a slimline (3 options) add into the equation that there are 100 woods ( I know that Neil knows these and many others off by heart) then thats 300 options. Add 100 acrylics and thats 600 options. Now say there are 3 basic kit colours that makes it 1800 options and then there is segmenting, Celtic knots, inlays... We know have about 3000 options...

I know, I know but I just had a idiot on the phone for 15 mins and I'm venting it here..... Really its a good idea.

 

[Grump]

For me it's a bad idea cos I only make what I wanna make.
Giving the customer a choice of something I don't wanna do or cant get stock of is not my way of doing things.
I see people asking for things to help out with an order and think to myself why take on a job you can't do?
Just my opinion but I am ready to argue the point init?

 

[Buckeye]

It's not something I would do. I have found that having at least one of each kit that I am prepared to make, made up in what I consider a cracking blank and letting the clients see them, if they see a pen they like they can either buy it or commission one similar to their spec, a commission is of course more expensive

You can try PSI and use their Pen Design Studio, you can make up all their kits in whatever blanks they have.

Peter

 

[Jim]

It can work both ways, good point is that you can offer a wide range of pens to the customer, bad point for me would be you don't get a good seller .. I only offer Barons, JR Gents and Slimlines which are my best sellers with the odd High End now and then ..

 

[cookie21]

I like the pens you mention Jim because they are mainly wood & are my best sellers, the Lucinda's etc are more tywainese metal than wood