I didn't realize how many people like giving a nice, unique pen for a gift. I've been fortunate to find a ready market for pens and pencils I've been making. Granted, I still give quite a few away as promotions, samples, or trades, but I've been able to cover the cost of the lathe, tools and materials handily. It's nice to have a hobby that will pay for itself as well as allowing you to expand to better tools.
This Christmas is the first I've been making pens and have found that I need to keep a fairly large inventory available all the time. I'm sure you folks who have done this for a while know this already, but it's all new to me. Now I'm trying out new styles and materials to expand a little. I haven't gotten into the more difficult one's yet, as the Slimlines and European are selling well so far. Today I tried a couple of Comfort Sets and really like them. One is Oak and the other is Whitetail Deer antler. Both sets are spoken for already.
Turning these things is a lot of fun, takes very little time and materials and is instantly rewarding (if done right!). Thanks to all of you who post and add picts here at the Creek. It's inspiration to all of us "newbies" to try new things and not be afraid of failure once in a while. I know it has me. Thanks for looking, have fun and be safe!
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