BigDaddyChris 2 Posted August 5, 2009 My friend is a metal machinist and made me this weeding tool. I LOVE IT! I have been trying to get him to produce more so we can introduce them to people in the field, but he doesnt think people will go as nuts for them as I have. It's a Sharpie marker, with the felt tip removed and replaced with a machined tip made from industrial drill rod. He used a micrometer to make the end that snaps into the body of the marker exactly to spec. It fits so naturally in hand, and is easy to use, and when not in use the cap snaps on so no one gets stabbed by accident! what do you think he could sell these for? I'd pay $20 if I ever lost mine, lol! do you think there is a market for them? let me know what you think! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest round2racing Posted August 5, 2009 OMG, that is GREAT!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarconastic 29 Posted August 5, 2009 Not to rain on your parade, the tool you have there is pretty cool. But $20 for a weeding tool is pricey. the best weeding tool I have are a pair of machinists tweezers that run $7. next on the list is a set of O-Ring removal tools that cost $10 for a set of 4. and after that is a Dental tool I got from wal-Mart for I think $7. Innovation is the mother of all invention, to quote a phrase, so there may be a market for it, but I would reccomend designing a new handle for it. Sharpie might throw a fit.. Kevin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted August 5, 2009 i use an exacto knife, or equivalant with a chipped blade tip. they work pefectly. very cheap too if you buy a thousand at a time. match that kind of pricing and you might have a marketable item. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlzimmerman 11 Posted August 5, 2009 I can't use a single tip...well I can but I am about 3x as fast with a $2 set of manicuring tweesers. Xacto has a larger handle for their blades......no offense but I think your market is pretty covered with cheap stuff, hard to compete with china! Now make me a really hard tough pair of tweesers that fit nice in my hand for $10-15 MAAAYBE $20 that I can't bend or beat up.....you have my attention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted August 5, 2009 best tweezers can be had from medical supply places. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted August 5, 2009 I found a pair of tweezers in a mobile home i was disposing . Somebody had ground the tip to a point . Works great & I like the price. With a set of dental picks at Harbor freight selling for $2.99 . Very hard to compete . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kenya Posted August 5, 2009 Well, everything on TV sells for $19.95- shipping extra. At least just about everything Billy Mays sold- . Rest in peace Billy. It's crazy, but it's the simple things that makes millions........... go for it, market it. Just get sharpie off of it & give it a catchy name. I'll say that I remember when I first saw that on a little known forum- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted August 5, 2009 i use an exacto knife, or equivalant with a chipped blade tip. they work pefectly. very cheap too if you buy a thousand at a time. match that kind of pricing and you might have a marketable item. bb +1 I have an Xacto that I use for cutting and one with a broken/dull tip that I use for weeding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fivestar Posted August 5, 2009 As cool as that is......and it is cool......Here's something that costs $1.25 and is the best thing I have ever used.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sandman 5 Posted August 6, 2009 That's pretty cool. I might build myself one. sue me Actually I buy packs of those disposable snap blade utility knives from the dollar store. They come with two different sizes and the blades retract for safety. The large ones are good for cutting the vinyl off and the small ones are great for weeding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loren 0 Posted August 6, 2009 That looks like a pretty great tool (and comfy!) but I highly doubt anybody would pay $20 for it. At that price, it seems more like a novelty item that somebody would buy just to see if it's worth the $20, then when they realize that it probably isn't, they'll go back to their perfectly working made-in-china $2 weeding tool. Now if it was in the $5-10 price range, on the other hand, it might be a different story. I say go for it! By the way, I just got into vinyl cutting this week, but so far I HATE the exacto for weeding... The blade is too sharp + flexible, so it catches + bends all the time.. I bought a hook + pick set from Wal-Mart and those things work great! ..and only $5 for the set. Loren Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kart45 6 Posted August 6, 2009 +1 dull/chipped Xacto and tweezers. My dad is in the watch & clock repair business and has loads of tweezers that have been deformed enough to make them worthless for watch repair - but they are excellent for the tough micro-weeding jobs That being said I do like the idea of being able to put a cap on the sharp end, great idea! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted August 6, 2009 I don't have $20.00 in all my tools together... metal exacto knife, blades pair of pointed tweezers, scissors. pack of darning needles. I do alot of detailed graphics, So, I just use a needle to pick up the extra vinyl. I just stick them in an old mouse pad as a pin cushion, Always at hand. Needles $1.25 pack versus $20.00 I will "Stick" with the needles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted August 6, 2009 speed doggy, try embedding one of those sewing needles in the end of a wodden dowel about the size of a "sharpie", you will wonder why you did not think of it sooner. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted August 6, 2009 really for me, the needle size is just great for my hands and fingers.. that's why I use them... I have tried other stuff,, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Linda1 15 Posted August 6, 2009 I love this little tool. It is easy to hold and the curve of the hook makes it easy to use. It is part of this kit that I bought to use with my cricut. The kit cost about $18. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigDaddyChris 2 Posted August 6, 2009 I think if my friend could figure out a way for the machine to automatically cut the tips without human intervention it would cut the cost way down. But he says the automatic lathe presses the fine tips so hard when cutting it bends the tip and chops them off to a stub. so he has to manually make the sharp ends by hand. we could just sell the tips with instructions on how to insert them into your own sharpie, and it would hack the cost way down. I didnt suggest they would cost $20, I just said that's what I would offer to pay for a new one if I ever lost mine. I think $10 is a good price if we were able to make them complete, or $5 for the tips alone with instructions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarconastic 29 Posted August 6, 2009 Now your talking. Get innovative and find ways to make your product work. Kevin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnewcomb 0 Posted August 8, 2009 As cool as that is......and it is cool......Here's something that costs $1.25 and is the best thing I have ever used.... I use something similar - just with a wood handle. Pack of 5 - $2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmonica 0 Posted August 8, 2009 I think you should get your friend to make another one, only with a retractable (click to open) Sharpie instead of the one with the cap. It's one less thing to worry about where you set it down and you can open the click type with one hand, should your other hand be busy holding something. I'd pay $10 for one if it was the click type, guaranteed not to break (the Tip) and if you offered offered a free lifetime replacement if the tip ever did break, just like Craftsman hand tools does. Great idea though! Stick with it. You may just revolutionize the weed market! Good Luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ammo 6 Posted August 8, 2009 just for info. the cricut blades (purchased at walmart 2 for $9) will work on the pcut 630 so if you need one quick and easy to get to had to edit the post should have been the pcut 630 sorry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Schramm Posted August 10, 2009 That is cool! I think you could market them to prisoners as a shank but I wonder what Sharpie would do to you?!?! Personally I do not like straight things to weed with I used dental pics and they are great and cost about .50 each on ebay in bundles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigDaddyChris 2 Posted August 10, 2009 I have learned over the years that everyone prefers different tools, this one is my fave. My first boss loved the pointy tweezers and was very VERY picky about what the tips looked like. my least fave tool was a snap-blade when i was working for this (insert cuss-word here) he swore by it and insisted that I use it too, pretty much forced it on me. I hated that thing, but got good at using it. i still catch myself using a snap-blade knife if I am too lazy to walk over to the tool bench to grab my "sharpie." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEEZ 0 Posted November 15, 2019 After 4 years of usage,i can now guarantee that Fiskars 3 Claw Garden Weeder is best of all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites