I Want To Make "true Luxury Fountain Pens"! I Need Your Suggestions?

[vrr]

Fine, I will answer your question simply and concisely, or as simply and concisely as I can.

 

What is a luxury pen?

 

Is it - pens made from precious materials? Montblanc and David Oscarson think so.

 

Is it - association with those high-end precious metal pens? Montblanc also thinks so.

 

Is it - historical association? Montblanc thinks so too. As does Pelikan. And Onoto. And Conway Stewart (RIP). And Wahl Eversharp.

 

Is it - proprietary materials? ASC thinks so.

 

Is it - traditional artisanship and materials? Pilot thinks so. As does Sailor. And Nakaya too. Cant forget Yard o Led.

 

What about legacy? Hakase, Ohashido and yes, Montblanc would like a word.

 

Or is it innovation and impeccable build quality? Thatd be Conid for you.

 

The above list is far from exhaustive. Basically, my point is that there is no such thing as luxury, and that goes for everything, not just pens. Luxury is whatever appeals to your market, differentiates you, and allows you to charge premium prices.

 

So, I will ask you again, though you have made it very clear you will keep all information close to your chest: whats yours?

 

 

 

I have understood what you have tried to highlight in your reply. I understand that Luxury is very personal from person to person and thus all these brands have been able to build themselves and also survive in this world.

 

MontBlanc, Pilot, ASC, Hakase they all have their own definition of Luxury and thus we plan to send time to find that sweet spot where we can position ourselves.

 

Thanks again for the detailed inputs that you have provided.

 

I will keep updating on the progress,

[vrr]

 

 

And we didn't even hit on "beautiful" in that list...if the pen isn't pleasing to look at, I ain't buying it, and I'm sure not spending big bucks on it. Very subjective stuff here...

 

Hello,

 

Can you give me a few examples of LUXURY pens which YOU find beautiful too (do you mean Maki-e pens? ) .

This will assist me in understanding on what your reading is..... As what I am understanding is that luxury and beautiful both are very very very subjective.

[vrr]

The problem(s) I see is that "true Luxury Fountain Pens" has not been defined.

 

You appear to have little experience with the use of fountain pens... That tells me that the likely product is going to be a boutique pen, which will never see ink -- it will be so adorned that the buyer will put it in a locked, glass, display case and hang it on the wall next to one of the fenced copies of "The Scream".

 

Whereas I would prefer to buy from a name known to produce quality utility pens, and only later ups the designs to luxury adornments (I don't consider a gold nib an adornment -- and am hoping for the price of gold to drop 50% or more so companies return to using gold in the $100-200 price range)*

 

In between the two is customizers -- who contract with a major pen maker to supply the basic pen, and they then add the adornments... The route used by Classic Pens (now Lambrou Pens).

 

 

* I used to be a member in a metal detector club. When gold was $300 an ounce, the monthly raffle typically included one gold coin, some large silver coins or bullion medals, along with the run of silver half dollars and quarters. The club used to take in $900 in ticket sales, so could use 75% of the take to buy the next month's prizes. When gold hit $1000, gold was no longer available as a prize, and with just silver on the table, ticket sales dropped off

 

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for your inputs.

 

The end product, we DO NOT want to be a BOUTIQUE PEN AT ALL. What would be the use of a pen if it can not be used. That the product will be used extensively is what I would want it to be known for. So the product should have very high level of aestheics as well as usability is the call here.

 

Plan is clear- produce quality pens with luxury adornments. (I am not planning to take the Lambrou Pens route. this was the easier route, but then we will end up being the goto company for adding/beautifying a product and not for the core of the product.)

 

Gold we should be using because Gold is a better product then steel and not only because its a rare metal (though that too is important).

 

Thanks again.

[vrr]

Keep in mind that there are many people who are allergic to latex, and others who just don't like the smell - so rubber products are out of the question for them.

 

 

Yes absolutely.

[vrr]

celluloid, ebonite or sterling silver for a barrel, a gold nib made - in house (I have been utterly unimpressed with the off-the-shelf gold nibs in most pens) a torpedo shape, a piston, button or vacuum filler, an ebonite feed, and a 10 karat gold clip is pretty much where my sweet spot is.

 

Custom stacked nibs are a really fancy option that nobody is selling on a factory pen (only option has always been the sailor naginata pens, which are thousands of dollars)

 

Hello,

 

Thanks a lot for your reply.

 

This is extremely clear and to the point reply highlighting what you would love and that is extremely helpful.

 

Pen to be made in-house is going to be the focus here. In-house Nibs would require extremely high level of craftsmanship ..... Shape we are evaluating / Ebonit eFeed will be great as it is working very well with the Flex Nibs too . . . . 10 Karat Gold Clip ... is an awesome input.

 

Thanks again for the thoughts.

[vrr]

My ha'porth would be to define your USP. 'Luxury' is a bit wide. You might decide to offer really excellent nibs. You might offer pens that are pieces of art. You might offer beautiful materials.

 

- Maki-e or hand painted pens are one market. Ryan Krusac offers scrimshaw pens.

- Sailor is pretty much the only major manufacturer I can think of which offers really different nibs. Those are made in-house and they're not something you can get elsewhere.

- Overlays are tricky to do but have always been successful if well executed - Onoto, Waterman with the 'night and day' Watermina, Montblanc skeleton.

- Some makers (Kanilea I think is one) have exclusive deals on particular materials.

 

Whatever you do, be honest about it. Romillo has in-house nibs. Other great makers buy in Bock or Jowo. No shame in that. There's an advantage to buying a pen with standard nibs that are swappable - if you don't add value with the nib then making them easily exchangeable *does* add value for your customers, and lets you concentrate on the other aspects of the pen.

 

 

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for your inputs. I am adding my thoughts herein replying to your message.

 

1. I am looking at a mix of the 3 elements - Excellent Nibs + Beautiful Materials and Usability (Beautiful but to be used). Some products which are used and then passed from generation to generation.

 

2. Overlays are Tricky and Good but has limited acceptance among consumers.

 

3. Material is what we are working on.

 

4. Since the plan is to be honest and make pens which great pieces to be treasured. we are going to focus on transparency wherever products if any parts are taken off the shelf.

 

We are also understanding that people love their pens for the nib of the pen too.

 

Thanks once again.

[vrr]

A piece of jewellery that functions, precious parts, all lined up, nib perfected to swiss watch precision.

 

You are making a swiss watch pen?

 

Would we be looking at precious leathers and metals and stone? Fine inlays, enamel, etc.

 

And writes better than any pen in the market today and in the past.

 

Are we looking at something like that?

 

Or do you want to work your brand first?

 

 

 

You are very very very close to what we have in mind, as quoted by you and in your words we should be looking at a SWISS WATCH PEN so that its precise, nice, made with the best available products and designs at the point in time and above all awesomely functional.

[vrr]

you are really getting a lot of good advice here.

I hope you are a fast learner as it took me several years, quite a lot of pens tried and time spent reading this same advice, to understand what matters more for me in a pen.

If it were up to me, besides all the things already said, which are essential, types of materials, nibs, filling systems, manufacturing quality, reliability, etc., I would add one less evident factor which sometimes clashes with innovation and the need to show you are different: ergonomics.

A pen is something you hold in your hand, and you use to write with.

It's less obvious when you look at a pen, but it's when you hold it in your hand that you feel the difference.

Too many pens out there are surprising and beautiful, but when it comes to holding them they are just unbearable.

If you have not held hundreds of pens in your hand before though, it might be tough to understand the subtle differences.

It's something you should put at the top of the list though, don't let any other of those essential requirements get in the way of the one aspect which I (and I believe many others like me) consider most important, and that can make me decide not to buy a pen, even a luxury pen that I want and can afford: comfort.

 

 

Hello,

 

Thank you or your inputs. They are helpful.

 

I am certainly getting loads of advice here. This advice is from individuals who have tried, used, made and lived using the best and evaluating loads of other products in the sam category.

 

I am trying to keep pace with all that which is being shared with me. Ergonomics, is a new point highlighted, however , I understand that how a pen will feel in the hand is very critical and that is what ergonomics will be all about.

 

What I believe is that a pen is something that you will fall in love with when you hold it .... if you don't fall in love with it then its not for you, that's it.

 

And thus we will have to try and meet the expectations of as many as we can, and finally the touch and feel of the pen will be extremely essential.

 

However since comfort if extremely subjective and shall differ from individuals to individuals, I believe that this only time shall tell.

 

Thanks once again for your inputs.

[Z-Tab]

A luxury pen is something special and extraordinary from a company that makes excellent pens.

 

There are a few companies that do fine making excellent bodies for the nibs that they order in bulk from Bock or Jowo. While I think that there are great pens in that category, I do think they fall short on being true "pen makers" if their nibs aren't unique. That isn't to say that a Bock nib lacks quality, they can be terrific, but every company that uses Bock nibs is basically offering a line of special edition Bock pens.

 

The companies that I think offer something interesting to pen collectors but don't make their own nibs, are focused on pens first. As mentioned before, Conid and Edison focus on the writing experience. They offer interesting filling systems, they tune their nibs, they are made by fountain pen users who care about writing.

 

Other pen companies tend to make show pieces that are functionally jewelry. Michel Perchin or David Oscarson are examples of this, offering some very attractive designs, but I wouldn't call them pen companies. They're jewelers that make pens. I doubt that collectors will be fighting over them in 50 years. Collectors basically ignore them today.

 

If you want FPN to take notice, make a truly excellent quality pen at a great price. Then make luxury editions of it.

 

Now, I will describe the pen I would make:

- ~#8 size 14k gold in-house nib

- Laquered ebonite body and cap

- Ebonite feed

- Acrylic ink window with sterling silver windowed overlay band

- Brass Soennecken-style "Click Piston" filler mechanism

- Sterling silver clip

Edited September 23, 2018 by Z-Tab

[vrr]

A luxury pen is something special and extraordinary from a company that makes excellent pens.

 

There are a few companies that do fine making excellent bodies for the nibs that they order in bulk from Bock or Jowo. While I think that there are great pens in that category, I do think they fall short on being true "pen makers" if their nibs aren't unique. That isn't to say that a Bock nib lacks quality, they can be terrific, but every company that uses Bock nibs is basically offering a line of special edition Bock pens.

 

The companies that I think offer something interesting to pen collectors but don't make their own nibs, are focused on pens first. As mentioned before, Conid and Edison focus on the writing experience. They offer interesting filling systems, they tune their nibs, they are made by fountain pen users who care about writing.

 

Other pen companies tend to make show pieces that are functionally jewelry. Michel Perchin or David Oscarson are examples of this, offering some very attractive designs, but I wouldn't call them pen companies. They're jewelers that make pens. I doubt that collectors will be fighting over them in 50 years. Collectors basically ignore them today.

 

If you want FPN to take notice, make a truly excellent quality pen at a great price. Then make luxury editions of it.

 

Now, I will describe the pen I would make:

- ~#8 size 14k gold in-house nib

- Laquered ebonite body and cap

- Ebonite feed

- Acrylic ink window with sterling silver windowed overlay band

- Brass Soennecken-style "Click Piston" filler mechanism

- Sterling silver clip

 

Thanks for this lovely detailed view and thoughts.

 

I am understanding what you are trying to highlight.

 

Nib Making in house is really going to take us some time, however that is what we may focus on so that we can have something which we proudly call our own. Click Piston Mechanism also makes a lot of sense.

 

Thanks again or your inputs.

[Arkanabar]

vrr, I realize that I am late to this party.

First, don't be ashamed of cheap and good. One thing John D. Rockefeller was never ashamed of having said is "We must ever remember that we are refining oil for the common man, and he must have it cheap and good." Many more companies make lots of money doing cheap and good than luxury and excellent. Pelikan, Pilot, Platinum, and Sailor all do cheap and good, and so too did MontBlanc, Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, and Esterbrook, for decades.

As others have said, have a Unique Selling Proposition. Look at what your competitors at Nakaya, Franklin-Christoph, Graf von Faber-Castell, Italix by Mr. Pen, MontBlanc, Edison, Namiki, Pelikan, Yard-O-Led, Danitrio, various custom & bespoke makers, etc. etc. etc., are doing. Make sure you stand out from them in some way. Study lost brands like Omas and beloved classics like the Sheaffer Balance, too; lots of people miss them. If there was a feature they had that people really liked and really miss, by all means do that, especially if you can figure out how to do it cheap and good. Or (as others have said) take features that others may have, but combine them in a way that others have not. Combining disparate elements is real innovation. Do NOT sneer at it. So too is working out how to combine artistic techniques or forms. Do your patent research when trying this.

One way to stand out is to be beautiful in ways that others are not. Some notions you might use to stand out -- I don't think I've seen ANYONE make a pen with either marquetry or wood inlay. I don't think I see cloisonné very often. You might also consider filigree, niello, damascening, and/or metal inlay work. Do some art history and try to find something you can do in lots of 1000 or 10,000 or so, that will stand out. Or see if you can combine techniques.

If you go for brass bodies, do the lacquering right (Italix by Mr. Pen has some examples). If you plan to turn pens on a lathe, invest in quality rods of acrylic, celluloid, and/or ebonite with attractive patterns and colors. Look at some of the Ranga group buys here for ideas about attractive ebonite. Top end ebonite pens used to have gold overlay or skeletonizing, so look at that and see if that's something you might do. If you're planning to do luxury, you want better ebonite than Fountain Pen Revolution used for my Himalaya.

Do QC on the nibs, unless you're buying them from a nibmeister. (I see you have this one covered.) Hand tune them if need be. This is the service that makes HisNibs ( https://www.hisnibs.com ) stand out, and keeps him going. He adds $20-35 or so per unit, but for those who aren't able or can't be bothered to align their own nibs, it's well worth it.

Invest in quality hardware. To this day, the number one disappointment I had in my beloved FPR Himalaya was that the clip snagged the stitching on a knit polo shirt pocket. He sent me a replacement, but it had the same flaw.

Treat your customers well. This is another significant reason that Norm at HisNibs and Kevin at FPR get repeat business, selling Chinese and Indian pens, respectively, that often do not meet G8/G20 standards of manufacturing quality.

Take a close look at a Pelikan Souverän or M2xx or P2xx some time, and you'll note that their cap threads have 3 or 4 starting points. They have, as it were, a triple or quadruple helix of threads, which is how you get enough thread contact surface for secure capping and still get the cap off in one twist. But you could also look at some of the methods that used to be used for clutch caps -- study the Parker "51" (they have a set of six leaf springs inside the cap that press against a clutch ring between barrel and section, and Hero still does this on their 616 models) and various Sheaffers like the PFM (they have a blunt 3-prong spring poking out of the section that engaged a groove inside the cap). Because plastic ALWAYS fails when engaging or being used as a spring, the "51" had a metal cap, and the clutch spring Sheaffers that didn't have metal caps had really wide cap bands to prevent plastic fatigue.

 

Finally, don't get married to the idea that good pens weigh as much as 30-40g. My limit is around 25-30g, and I'm very happy under 20g.

Would someone be kind enough to explain how MontBlanc 149 is a luxurious pen please?

Well, it costs around 1000USD, something like ten thousand times what you need to spend to put lines of ink on paper.

 

you are really getting a lot of good advice here.

I hope you are a fast learner as it took me several years, quite a lot of pens tried and time spent reading this same advice, to understand what matters more for me in a pen.

If it were up to me, besides all the things already said, which are essential, types of materials, nibs, filling systems, manufacturing quality, reliability, etc., I would add one less evident factor which sometimes clashes with innovation and the need to show you are different: ergonomics.

A pen is something you hold in your hand, and you use to write with.

It's less obvious when you look at a pen, but it's when you hold it in your hand that you feel the difference.

Too many pens out there are surprising and beautiful, but when it comes to holding them they are just unbearable.

If you have not held hundreds of pens in your hand before though, it might be tough to understand the subtle differences.

It's something you should put at the top of the list though, don't let any other of those essential requirements get in the way of the one aspect which I (and I believe many others like me) consider most important, and that can make me decide not to buy a pen, even a luxury pen that I want and can afford: comfort.

What sansenri said about ergonomics is SPOT ON. Have everyone in your facility (or as many as you can get) to test each prototype pen for ergonomics. No two people hold a pen the exact same way, because no two people have identical hands. And in all likelihood, no pen is going to please everybody. For example, lots of people LOVE the Lamy Safari and its faceted section that enforces a tripod grip. I don't. Lots of people love the narrow Parker 75. Not me. And before I switched to arm writing and changed my grip (much more relaxed, much further back), I had a hard time using a Parker "51" for extended periods, and I still prefer a concave section, or a straight one (ideally with a stop) to a tapered one on "sleek" pens, e.g. Sheaffer Triumph conical nib, Parker hooded nib, Sheaffer inlaid nib. But there are tons of people who vastly prefer such a section profile. And balance is absolutely part of the ergonomics equation; so too is section material.

 

Which reminds me, I think that putting a soft rubberized section on a high-end pen, especially one you intend to market as a potential heirloom, is pure folly. I doubt even Sensa's grip will last that long.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Arkanabar

[Arrivistepen]

Hi Vikas, And now for something completely different… I'm late to this thread; however I found the question interesting. You posed the statements:”” I plan to manufacture "Luxury HandMade Fountain Pens".””and “Though I am at an advanced level of conceptualisation, my intent is to create a "TRUE LUXURY PEN" which can be handed down from generations to generations and is extremely high on quality.”

 

My short reply to you is to develop a detailed business plan that includes marketing and sales.

 

My long reply is below. Maybe TLDR & meaningless to many FP fans. I have not included any opinion on FP materials & components or style.

 

I have the utmost respect for any one that wants to, and is able to begin an enterprise. Trust me on this: You can manufacture the best high quality widget (pen, computer, toy, etc.) in the world, but without marketing & sales it will be all for naught. I spent a good amount of time in corporate marketing (not in consumer goods or pens!), market trends & “marketing” get my attention. I know far more about marketing than I do about FP’s, so I’ll defer to the esteemed knowledgeable members of this forum for the FP particulars. Interestingly I agree with many of the comments. I'm relatively new to the FP world, but I have & love & use examples of what some/many would describe as "Luxury", pens among others (what many would describe) 2^nd & 3^rd tier pens.

 

In making a company just like carpentry, it is advisable to measure (at least) twice and cut once. The risk is lost $ and time. It is one thing to have a pen company as a hobby and quite another, if you want to make $, you will need to apply some serious study and $$$. I’m sure there are plenty of “case studies” of startup companies going after a luxury segment, and vaporizing lotsa $ and time.

 

Surveying preferences on various pen components from the many truly knowledgeable FP folks here is good; as long as you know the risk of the phenomena of “Designed by Committee”; unless you have the pro’s doing the designing:

 

https://www.sutter-group.com/blog/how-to-design-by-committee/

 

Suggestion #1: If you haven’t yet been to a pen show, one coming up this summer that is in the Great City of SF: https://www.sfpenshow.com/ There you will be able to meet & rub elbows with the serious pen folk, such as some on this site. You will be able to see LOTS of pens representing many manufacturers in many price ranges in one day and in person.

 

Suggestion #2: Here are many of the known suspects that most folks would consider makers of “luxury” pens. You can see what "they" are selling, and they would be your competition. It has a cool feature of being able to sort/select items based on price ranges: https://www.pianki.com/Luxury-Pens_c_29.html

 

The excerpt quoted below is what some of these companies read concerning the world of pens. It is hereby credited to and owned by the company and website Persistence Market Research, in posting I do not claim ownership, authorship nor credit for the content below.

 

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/writing-instruments-market.asp

 

“Luxury writing instruments serve as status symbols for customers.

Luxury writing instruments are seen as a strong status symbol especially amongst customers in North America, Europe, and the MEA regions. Montblanc, Lamy, STAEDTLER are some of the most famous companies that specialize in luxury pen making in the global writing instruments market because they have a longstanding heritage in this industry. For the creation of unique designer writing instruments, C. Josef Lamy GmbH has entered into an alliance with a few globally renowned design studios. In 2017, the company collaborated with GR Industrial Design, a design studio based in Barcelona that provides customized design solutions to Lamy GmbH for new product development.”

 

“Focus on profit over volumes may restrain the writing instruments market

Writing instruments makers in a few regions such as Europe have decided to prioritize profitability over volumes by catering to the demand of wealthier and more discerning customers. They produce high-end, luxury pens that can only be afforded by the ‘1 percent’ population as the profit margins on these products are extremely high. However, ignoring the middle and low income groups entirely in favor of the high net worth individuals can negatively impact the growth prospects of the writing instruments market.”

 

My last thought, is more in the global context, relating to the meaning of the word “luxury”. What is considered a “luxury fountain pen” in India and China, may not be considered as such as compared to “Western” markets. India & China happen to be the fastest growing markets for FP’s, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the definition of “luxury” has begun to congeal among markets. Emerging markets are purchasing more and more of the “luxury” (by most definitions) brand pens resulting from the economic ascent of many of their people, and their strong desire to possess the trinkets of status.

 

Dats my 2 cents, George ArrivistaPen

[sandy101]

The power to inspire.

 

Make-I to me makes a pen luxurious. You've got this beautiful artwork that serves no purpose to the function of the pen, but it makes you want to pick it up, and write with it all day long.

 

Howver, being a Japanese tradition, most Make-I pens feature japanese scenes and themes.

 

A series of pens with alternative make-I themes would be nice. Soaring golden eagles, cityscapes and maybe even writers & artists editions.

 

I like my luxury pens to have 18k nibs, rather than 14K.

[Nerdyhistorian]

Try to make just a decent pen first: excellent nib, good filling system. If you feel after a few years: hey, I got this penmaking thing and business thing down: then start making more special pens/luxury pens.

Don´t be fooled: fountain pen users are a small market, and the market for luxury pens is even smaller.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Hello,

 

Thanks a lot for your reply.

 

This is extremely clear and to the point reply highlighting what you would love and that is extremely helpful.

 

Pen to be made in-house is going to be the focus here. In-house Nibs would require extremely high level of craftsmanship ..... Shape we are evaluating / Ebonit eFeed will be great as it is working very well with the Flex Nibs too . . . . 10 Karat Gold Clip ... is an awesome input.

 

Thanks again for the thoughts.

 

One idea for nibs if you want to outsource them is to get them from pilot, sailor, or platinum. Just don't go with a bock or JoWo. I'm bored to tears with them.

 

One idea is to talk to the folks at Flexible Nib Factory in the USA, and get them to make you a collar and ebonite feed for some less common nib like a sailor 21k or platinum 3776 (the 3776 is already made, but if you could find the nibs from sailor or just buy 3776's from japan for about $65 and take the nibs/sell the bodies for parts, and see if they'd be willing to make ebonite feeds, you'd have a JoWo or Bock nib unit with a much more unique nib option)

 

Another cheaper nib option would be to just learn to stack nibs. I'd be happy to supply you a few cheaply if you're interested in the idea of them. They are surprisingly cheap and easy to make by hand, brazing a couple JoWo nibs together and just grinding them to shape to create a cross or triple cross nib.

 

Nibs and filling systems are what will set you apart in the market, unless you want to go full venvastas and start making stuff that looks like it belongs on the set of Star Wars.

 

Avoid looking to make a pen marketed as a status symbol. It needs to have recognition to be a status symbol, or be made out of ridiculous materials. Mont Blanc has the white star, pelikan has a general shape they've had for a million years. Maki-e is, well, literally art.

 

Start in the mid range of price for a luxury pen and offer either gold nibs or custom nibs in the $150-200 range. That gets you market exposure. Then expand from there.

Edited February 1, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[surprise123]

A true luxury pen... look at Edison, or Conid. Two very reputable spurces for good pens. What sets them as "good"?

 

No cartridge converter. Please, do not make a pen that takes international cartridges. Looking at Edison, you could try out making unique fillers like vacuum, drawing piston (Conid Bulkfiller or that new Penbbs), Vacumatic (like Wing Sung 601), or a Touchdown or Snorkel filler. I know for a fact that many people would love to see a modern-manufactured Snorkel filler, maybe modernized like Wing Sung did with their draw filler.

 

Acrylic, or resin. Wood needs additional liners, making them back-heavy, so stay away. Edison uses CNC machines to lathe their barrels, but CNC is a long way off from being something your average Joe can buy. So that's good, you have your desired luxury platform. Now, I think many people in the modern pen world, especially these days, like demonstrators, large/cool/practical filling mechanisms, or good design. TWSBI rose up and conquered big time with its (mainly STEEL nibbed) pens.

[minddance]

Price appropriately. And sell them at the best venues. Make sure your plastic is precious enough.

[sopher]

As someone new to collecting (but not to using) fountain pens, whose tastes are admittedly fairly niche and outside the mainstream in everything from fashion to music, my opinion may not be very useful. in fact you might do well to do the opposite of my suggestions.

Anyway, i don't find plastic pens--be it acrylic or resin or celluloid or poly-carbonate or Bakelite or whatever--to be luxurious despite the price they are sold for. Granted, some of the marbled/sparkly/translucent materials can be attractive, but i would prefer them as, maybe, a wide inlaid band or even longitudinally inlaid stripes in a sterling or gold or platinum barrel or cap. In fact others have suggested inlay of different materials, and i think that could be amazing. Japanese zogan style inlays would be brilliant. Or katakiri-bori on a shakudo or shibuichi barrel would be wonderful. Interesting shapes--so long as they are ergonomic-- are something that would interest me.

I think the most important thing, however, is the nib. If you could duplicate the alloys and tempering of 14k gold nibs from the '20s you would have guaranteed interest. In fact, i would suggest starting with the nibs. If you began with a reputation for superiour gold nibs, maybe sold as replacements for other pens, before crafting whole pens, you would have that "branding' and reputation to generate interest at the start.

[Karmachanic]

In fact, i would suggest starting with the nibs.

 

Agreed. The market is completely oversaturated with F, M, B and 1.1 nails.

[minddance]

Produce your own nibs. A Jowo or Bock in an expensive body is.... has been done a hundred times before.

 

Better still, indicate the level of feedback/smoothness.

Edited February 3, 2019 by minddance