a bit of an unusual question... i have made a fountain pen, so how much would you be willing to pay for it if I were to sell it? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

For a specialty item like this, you're not looking to sell it to the average person who wants a practical pen (like most of us are). They'll go buy a Parker with a plastic body. You're upcharging for the uniqueness; you could get hundreds of pounds if you write a good little story about the wood you used, and the tree it came from, and find the right buyer. I'm sure there are established pen stores you can contact to see if they'd be interested in selling such a piece for you. You'd get less, naturally, but your products would be getting in front of the right eyeballs to be sold.

Or, keep it, and have a truly unique pen as a status symbol 😊

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

My status symbol is one i made from cigar wood

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

What are the specs? Was it from a kit or from scratch?

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If you image search "wooden fountain pen" you see lots of similar pens the same shape and with that same section, so my guess is that it's a kit.

I see you turn the wood yourself. It's very nicely done, I must say!

Maybe etsy would guide your pricing?

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/907603725

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Thanks, the problem is very few people have made pens with this wood on those sites.

I used purpleheart, which is probably 4-6x more expensive than any of those in the etsy shop (I primarily make furniture, and a log of olive is even 10x cheaper than purpleheart of similar size). It is also somewhat harder to turn due to it's density.

edit: there are some purpleheart pens but nobody really knows how to finish it properly. A furniture guy from the uni of Edinburgh once told me that you should use turpentine and a fat coat of linseed oil.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago

I'd lead with that in your sales pitch :)

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

nobody really knows how to finish it properly

Including yourself? Are you saying this is an open question in the woodworking field? It's an opinionated and debated question?

Or are you saying that "others" don't know what you've discovered through trial and error, so you get superior results?

I don't know anything about finishing wood beyond tung oil for cutting boards and using Thompson's Water Seal for water and UV protection for decks.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Well its response to finishing varies hugely on a sample to sample basis, due to prior heat exposure, moisture, age and other things hard to verify (more than other words) so it's a matter of getting lucky

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

a kit but I electroplated the pieces with gold and the wood is turned by hand.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

$3.30

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

So... about tree-fiddy?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

$179.95 US.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

wow

this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2024

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