# Proof of concept?



## jskeen (Jul 15, 2008)

I've been looking for a way to make some cheap fountain pens that I can use as giveaway's along with my higher end rollerballs, to try to lure some of my better customers onto that slippery slope.  Kinda like the way credit companies give cards to college kids.  [}]

I started with the Flat Top American chrome kit.  ($5.10 from the last Berea group buy)  and this is what I ended up with.  








Didn't get the 6 or 7 coats of ca I usually use, just good enough for me to write with for a while and see if I like.  I put one of Lou's steelflex nibs in it and used some good noodlers heart of darkness ink, and I really like the way it writes.  

The wood is one of 8 blanks I got from a block of ziricote I won as a club meeting doorprize, and I'm going to try several variations on this kit in the same wood to see what I like.  With a net cost of less than $10 for the kit and the nib, I think this might make a good loss leader to drum up some more FP sales.  

I have in mind next replacing the squared finial with a rounder matching wood one, and rounding the closed end instead of squaring it, to see if I can get away with a little more shape to the barrels.  I am also thinking about a way to add a small nylon plug to the threads, kind of like you see on nonslip nut's to hold them on the bolt, to try to smooth up the threads and keep them from coming loose in my shirt pocket.  


Let me know what you think of the idea, the execution, additions or variations.


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## Dan_F (Jul 15, 2008)

I would be more inclined to get some of the Pilot disposable FPs to give away as teasers, then suggest that your customers imagine how much nicer a hand made pen would feel. I would think there would be too much time involved in making a "cheap" giveaway pen. It would also lessen the perceived value of a hand made fountain pen, which can generally bring a  higher price than a rollerball. If you give away a nice pen, what's the motivation to move up?

If you are selling Jr. series rollerballs from CSUSA, you can simply unscrew the rollerball nib section and replace it with one for a fountain pen. The FP nib/sections are only $4.50. Then if your customer likes it, you can make another pen. 

You could even make a "loaner" or two, and lend them out for a week at a time. 

Dan


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## redfishsc (Jul 15, 2008)

Hope you don't mind if I multi-quote you a bit. Just a few thoughts.



> _Originally posted by jskeen_
> 
> I've been looking for a way to make some cheap fountain pens that I can use as giveaway's along with my higher end rollerballs, to try to lure some of my better customers onto that slippery slope.  Kinda like the way credit companies give cards to college kids.  [}]



Sounds like a good idea. Oddly I can't sell a rollerball worth a flip. Everyone wants a fountain or a cigar ............D)




> I started with the Flat Top American chrome kit.  ($5.10 from the last Berea group buy). Didn't get the 6 or 7 coats of ca I usually use, just good enough for me to write with for a while and see if I like.



For a "tester" pen that's fine, and the finish looks nice to me! I'd be wary of giving away a pen that has a finish that I normally would consider "sub-par" however. You want your freebies to be the same quality of your "for sale" pens, JMO, because you don't want folks even getting the HINT that you MIGHT in a thousand years make cheap stuff. 



> I put one of Lou's steelflex nibs in it and used some good noodlers heart of darkness ink, and I really like the way it writes.



I gotta try those one day soon.  



> With a net cost of less than $10 for the kit and the nib, I think this might make a good loss leader to drum up some more FP sales.



I would only make this kit a giveaway if I planned on selling that kit. I love the looks of that kit, but IIRC, the threads are metal-on-metal and can feel gritty when closing. How do they feel to you? Does it come open easily? Basically I'm saying "do you want customers to think that your fountain pens feel gritty and will open too easily in a pocket?".

You have a good idea going. Just some thoughts to consider on giving away "cheaper" kits--- I worked retail management (grocery) for about a decade before becoming a carpenter. In a situation like that, I would not EVER sample out to a customer a piece of cheap perch fillet and then tell them how nice our lobster is. I'd just bite the bullet, steam a lobster, and <s>eat it all myself and then tell them how good it was</s> er, uh, sample it out to them.

In other words, make nothing sub-par, sell nothing sub-par, give away nothing sub-par. 

Set your "par" and stick with it. 


Oh, and BTW, I eat cheap perch fillet all the time. [][][]


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## Brewmeister35 (Jul 15, 2008)

I like the ideas you want to add to it but dang, for free?  Can I have one?  [}]

I'm real curious about that nylon plug.  What a cool idea!


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## redfishsc (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Brewmeister35_
> 
> I like the ideas you want to add to it but dang, for free?




That was kinda my first thought, but some folks are just fountain-pen phobic. Giving them one to play with can cause a contagion. I have one customer that buys all sorts of FP's as gifts for friends, yet never bought one for himself. After about the 8th purchase, I just made him a chrome baron fp alongside the 9th pen. So far I've made him two more   since then, all still gifts though.

Still, I'd only give away one or two per year, and it would have to be special situations where thought they might pick up the novelty. Folks that are very practical oriented "get'r'done" types aren't likely to go with a fountian pen. But folks that buy art for their walls, drive fancy, schnazzy cars, buy/sell Amway/Quixtar, basically anything even remotely eccentric, and they are a FP candidate. At least that's how it seems in my area.


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## Buzz (Jul 15, 2008)

Apart from all the marketing advice you're getting, thats a really nice looking pen, your closed end design is very attractive.  Nicely proportioned.[8D]


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## jskeen (Jul 15, 2008)

Let me clarify my thoughts here.  This pen will never be seen by a customer at any price.  This one was simply to see if it was possible to get rid of that goofy looking black plastic part at the end, and to see if the kit itself felt and wrote good enough for me.  The second part of the question is, can I fix the problem of the metal to metal threads somehow to get that part up to my standards.  If I can make this plastic plug in the threads idea work, or come up with something else to take care of it, then I might consider making up some pens with what I consider acceptable fit and finish, to sell and possibly to pass along to a few of my customers as a teaser.  But, only if I can make it work to my satisfaction.  This kit will never compete with a Jr. Gent or Emperor, but it may make an acceptable entry level fountain pen, with a low enough cost to introduce some people to fountain pens who wouldn't lay out the cash for one cold. 

I also looked at the idea of simply including a FP section with each rollerball, but couldn't get rid of the 10k gold ring, and it wouldn't match most of the kits I use.  If somebody sold a solid black plastic section I would reconsider that part, but would probably still see if I can get this FTA kit up to par, if nothing else for those customers who say "I like fountain pens, but these are all to thick, do you have anything thinner and lighter?"

It's just a thought for now though.


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## desertyellow (Jul 29, 2008)

I think you're on to something.


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