Turned Pens

[Barefoot1]

OK, this is a long story but I am out of my depth here so bear with me.
I have a good friend, Steve, and he works for a car dealer here in Utah. He got a great deal on a new Caddy CTS and is really in love with it. He is absolutely nuts about the wood trim in it and went to the trouble to find out what kind of wood it is. Turns out it is sapele, very dark, very heavy. So then he goes out and searches the web for this wood and finds what he believes to be pens made from it. So he orders 5 since the price was so good and tells me all about it and that he ordered me one.
I about fell over laughing when he brought the box out last night and they were pen blanks. Not turned. I am still laughing. Steve is not a wood worker and so was a bit mystified by all of this and after a call to the dealer he realized that the pen he saw was an example of a pen made from these blanks. Now he has 5 blanks. So I am going to buy the pen kits and see if I can find someone local to turn them.

My question (I know, you thought I would never get to it.) is what is a good kit to get? Are some better than others? What would you recommend based on your experience. I would think quality in the end product is what we are shooting for.

[Mike Crosa]

Thomas from what I have been reading the cigar type pen is the most popular with men. So if it is for men then that type. If for women then you could get away with the 7mm size. I saw your other post about doing it yourself. And believe me it is more involved than just turning and putting in the kit. You are talking different mandrels different kits and on and on.

[William Young]

That was funny Mike.
Kinda hard to write with a pen blank.
Yes a Cigar pen is a nice man sized pen but it is quite heavy compared to some of the other pens if the wood in question is a dense , hard, heavy wood but I am personally not familiar with that type of wood. A cigar pen might be a little much for a smaller man with smaller hands.
You might be best to refer him to one of the sites that show all the pen kits .
Some people like a click top pen while others like a twist-open pen so I stick mostly to those styles. Some pen turners buy expensive high end kits where half of the pen has to be unscrewed and removed before you can even write with it . I tried a few like that and cannot get rid of them around here because they can't just take it out of their pocket and start writing with it.
It all depends on the market in certain areas and the preferences of the clientèle
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Id start by finding a local to turn them. He may have a mandrel and bushings, and possibly kits, so he could steer you towards what will work best for both of you. Dale