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FS: Handmade writing instruments

Doc1647545523

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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An old friend of mine began making fine furniture and pens/mechanical pencils in his spare time at home. He's been giving away his work for years to his friends, but is finally at the point that he wants to begin selling some of his work.

 

He makes pens by hand, to your specification, out of virtually any obtainable wood. He has over a hundred rare wood blanks in stock and also makes pens out of acrylic blocks (like pens from the Art Deco era). He uses clips that are gold-filled, silver, nickel, and copper, and also has specialty clips.

 

He puts various "innards" into the pens, but he mostly uses Cross and Parker mechanicals so that you can find refills easily. He can make ball-point, felt tip, and roller ball (no fountain pens yet).

 

He packages the pens in simple plastic presentation boxes but can go upscale to rosewood boxes.

 

Prices are from $18 for a handmade oak ballpoint pen up to $50, which buys an exotic wood pen/mechanical pencil matching set boxed in a rosewood presentation case. I have found his pens to be priced at about one-fifth the price of comparable pens.

 

Unfortunately, my friend hasn't yet set-up a website or taken good photos of his work, but I'm trying to get him motivated to do that. He keeps about 50 pens on hand as samples of the variety of what he can produce.

 

What I have pictured are pens I'm willing to give away for FREE :eek: to people who would appreciate this novelty rifle pen which my friend made from .30-06 shells. He bought the shells pre-drilled and then turned the wood by hand, sanded and finished it. As you can see, the clips are rifles. The mechanism is by Cross and is a twist-type ballpoint pen. If you will carry this pen and get some enjoyment out of it, I'll give it to you. I just ask that you pass along my buddy's contact info to people who show interest in buying a similar pen. Or, if you have an interest in having a pen made for yourself or as a gift, let me know so that I can pass his contact info along to you. Post to the thread or PM me and I'll get you his email.

 

I have four more of these rifle pens to give away. They are in kato, padauk, curly zebra and curly maple. Just let me know if you want one and I'll deliver it to you at a meet or at Cars & Coffee.

 

Curly maple:

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/curlymaplebright.jpg

 

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/curlymaple.jpg

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/curlymaplecloseup.jpg

 

Here's the curly zebra:

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/curlyzebra.jpg

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/curlyzebracloseup.jpg

 

And here's a pen he made for me with a medical logo clip:

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/pens/medical.jpg

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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Bad ass doc!

 

Very cool pens, very cool of you to pay it forward.

 

I like them, but I'm sure there are others that would appreciate them more.

 

I'm having some really upscale acrylic ones made for me, they're oversize, with gold hardware. If you want, I'll post pics when he finishes them for me and you might want to have a few made.

 

Thanks for your interest!

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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I would like a curly maple rifle pen, one of those would be great for my daily workings :)

 

Steve spoke first on the curly maple. I can give you the curly zebra or the kato (kato is a darker wood). If you want a curly maple, I'll give you my buddy's email and you can tell him what you want on the pen (wood, clip, mechanism) and he'll price you one. He usually prices the rifle pens at 30-40 bucks, depending on rarity of the wood. He has to pay a premium for the rifle clips.

 

Let me know if you'd like one of the two remaining free pens I have.

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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Oh wow this would be amazing to have.... to bad I live in Dayton... :(

Maybe if he gets a website up and running I could buy one eventually.

 

He has set-up a PayPal and ebay account, but his photography is so crappy that it amazes me that anyone buys anything based on that. My photos today aren't great, but you can at least tell it's a pen :rolleyes:

 

If you'd like a rifle pen he can accept payment through PayPal and ship the pen to you. I'll try to take some photos of his pens to post to this thread later this coming week. Then, if you see something you like, just email him and start the ball rolling. He unconditionally guarantees that you'll like the pen or you get a full refund (he's never had anyone want a refund).

 

Mike asked how long it takes him to make the pen. If he has the wood in stock, it's a little over a week. If he has to order the wood, it's closer to 2-3 weeks.

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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hmmmm. if you can conceive (and draw) what it would look like, I'll forward it to him and see what he thinks. He turns the wood on a lathe (doesn't whittle it), so I can't think of how he could do it. But you make the drawing, and I'll run it by him.

 

(I really need to do some photos of his samples--just too busy right now)

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Doc1647545523 Newbie

Doc1647545523

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Tell your friend to use Etsy. REALLY easy to use and Great way to get his shit sold.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll pass it on to him. His first priority is to get some good photos. I'll see if I can set up a time to do some simple photos for him this coming weekend and will post the results to this thread.

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baron_ Newbie

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I'd certainly like one of these freebies.

 

And wouldn't be opposed to buying one of his others....if I can get one 'free'

I think that's very reasonable

 

Any left?

 

 

I'm an attorney. I'll use the pen quite a bit....and will pass along if anyone else sees 'em and wants one

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