MARKSMITH Production Update + Packaging - KICKSTARTER Update #13

In the previous update, I showed the bodies and tips after machining. Later I received pictures of the clips and bolts. All these pics are from post-machining, but before the final surface finish.

Here are the clips:

Marksmith permanent marker clips post machining — MARKSMITH Clips (This looks a bit haphazard, but any scratches are removed in the final finishing process.)

Here are the bolt slides:

Marksmith permanent marker bolt slides after machining — MARKSMITH Bolt Slides post machining

I've been told that the first production batch is finished. The packaging (gift box) has been approved and we're waiting for those to arrive.

Gift Box Packaging

You may be thinking... Who cares about the packaging for Kickstarter? I just want to use my Marksmith ASAP!

In addition to the presentation, the packaging is an important part of safely shipping the Marksmith. If Marksmith was shipped from the machine shop to us without packaging, it would still need to be carefully individually wrapped, padded, and boxed. I receive raw parts all the time for other products we make, and it is a constant struggle to get the factories to properly package the parts so that they don't arrive damaged. In some cases, I even have custom shipping crates that I ship back to the factory empty to have them refill. Once at our workshop, Marksmith also needs to be well packaged with the extra refill cartridge to be shipped to you. The best way to achieve all of this is with a custom box.

The packaging had to be changed from the metal tin box to a heavy-duty cardstock box. I had told them early on that the box needed to fit a Marksmith and a refill. The initial metal boxes were a bit small, but I thought they had planned to get a larger size to fit the refill too. This is what the original metal boxes looked like:

I liked how the metal boxes looked, complementing the Marksmith design.

When they showed me their solution for fitting a spare refill, which was to place the cartridge against the Marksmith, I said that was not acceptable, and there needed to be some padding between the two. Also, the clip was now facing the lid and would need a layer of padding to prevent rubbing on the lid. The tin box ended up being too small for both the Marksmith and refills.

The metal box doesn't have enough space to properly separate Marksmith from the additional refill cartridge. Yes, that is a black Ti body Marksmith with natural Ti clip from when we were testing different finishes.

Unfortunately, there were no other "off the shelf" sizes of the tin box that would work. The minimum order qty for a custom size tin box is 10,000 pcs, so I could not do a custom run either. That meant the only quick solution to nice packaging is a cardstock box similar to the one I showed in a past video. This is a preview of the box design showing the front flap.

Preview of the new box design. This is the front flap.

Special thanks to MARKSMITH backer, EDC enthusiast, and awesome designer, Arvid Al Chalabi (see his Youtube here) who helped with the logo and design layout. It was awesome to get a passionate Marksmith backer on board to help out with that. I'll reveal more about the work we did in a future update.

So as of right now, we're waiting for the packaging to be completed, then the machine shop will put the finished MARKSMITHs into the boxes and ship them to us. At our workshop, we'll put the permanent marker cartridge into the Marksmith and the extra refill in the box, test functionality, inspect the quality, and ship them out to you.

Thanks,

Daniel + Team Engineerable