# Just re-think  custom pens



## avbill (Oct 5, 2011)

Many //  maybe just a few turners have stated that a threaded post [ bottom] of the pen  is more sell-able than a non-postable pen..

Yet then we turn a custom pen such as the web site  photo or a closed end pen or any custom pen  we as turners  are forgoing any type of post-able  pen.

Yet we take strands to this end. I was recently in a Monte Blanc show room  and none of their pens were post-able.  And their Mark Twain fountain pen was 2,000 + dollars.  


So my questions are :    to what relativity are we kicking ourselves in the head with the idea that post-able fountain pens are very important to your sells?  

parker , sailor, waterman,  and mont blanc make very few if any post-able fountain pens   WHY?


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## IPD_Mr (Oct 5, 2011)

Bill the most obvious answer to this for me is weight.  I have a Jr. Retro that is 50g with cap and full of ink.  We have a Pelikan tortoise that is 15g capped and 8g without the cap.  Most people that are FP people do not want the weight of the pen pushing down as the nib is suppose to glide over the paper.  I have a larger Blue O Blue Pelikan that is 20g without the cap.  This pen is much larger than the Jr. Retro


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## Buzzzz4 (Oct 5, 2011)

So should we be looking at reducing the amount of weight in our component pens? How much would taking out the tubes help as long as we aren't making the bodies from wood?


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## Dan_F (Oct 5, 2011)

The weight of the tubes is not that significant, it's the metal fittings, sections, finals, etc, that make most kit pens so heavy. I will only use El Grande and Churchill style of kit pens - they have more plastic than the others, and though they are decried as looking/feeling "cheap", they are significantly lighter than the metal clad alternatives, and shaped much more like a traditional fountain pen than the JR type pens, with their long skinny metal sections and bulbous bodies. 

I never understood the "have to post" thing - I never post my El Grandes, as they not only add weight overall, they become quite top heavy, very unbalanced. I will post my vintage pens, as the caps are generally so thin and light that they don't affect the balance of the pen. Some of the larger modern pens are not designed to post, due to the wight/balance issue. 

Dan


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