Hard Wood Mice...

[Oneslowz28]

Kinda cool. I didn't want to post this in the links section because these are nice.

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Wooden-mouse/351244

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311258661174.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311258661373.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311258661399.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311259265217.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311258660975.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles2/131931/projects/351244/1319311258660903.jpg

[billygoat333]

wow those are nice! I bet my ex brother in law could make those. kid is a freakin whiz with wood.

[Liquid_Scope_99]

My father in law would go ape sh... crazy for one of those

[Zephik]

Oooh, I want one!

Edit: Okay, wait a minute. How much is 668 €? Isn't that like a thousand dollars in USD?? Dear lord these mice are pricey! Laughably pricey.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

look at the amount of work put into em heh i would say from an artistic standpoint it is worth it..

[Zephik]

Nah, not even from an "artistic" standpoint. That's just an easy way to ask for a ridiculous price tag, anyone can do that, which is what this guy is basically doing. From an "artistic" standpoint, its worth maybe around $400 at most. You could say they're one of a kind, but nothing really makes them truly one of a kind. Not in any kind of artistic special kind of way anyway. Now, if they were hand carved... nah, still only worth $400 at most. Add in some gold or something and then maybe we'll talk about extreme price tags.

Don't make it out to be something that its not. Its not art, its a machined wooden mouse with a simple design and a bit of hand polish. Its very nice, I'm not arguing that, but its not worth a thousand dollars by any stretch of the imagination except for the delusional kind. But, he'll still sell a couple because there are people out there with plenty of money to toss around and that's all he really needs is to just sell a few. Hell, sell 20 of them, which is fairly possible being available worldwide, and bam, you just made twenty grand! That's what this guy is thinking, no way does he think that they're actually worth that much. I might even go so far to say that he's a bit of a scam artist in that sense.

For a thousand dollars, I want the most beautiful wooden mouse I've ever seen. I also want it to be both wired and wireless like a Razer gaming mouse and I also want it to perform just as well as one. It also better have some serious hard work put into it. Something that just makes it special and worth a thousand dollars, even if it isn't actually worth a thousand dollars.

In conclusion; It's not really art if anyone can do it. Art is unique, it's special, its one of a kind. This is just a simple wooden mouse that is machined. If at the end of the day, you can honestly say that this mouse is worth a thousand dollars, then that's what its worth. Personally, I couldn't possibly even begin to think that this mouse is worth that much.

/and thats my "I'm tired of the "its art" justification" rant for the day.

[Liquid_Scope_99]

honestly i love it but im saying IMHO $150 $200 tops like Zephik said its is awesome but it was an idea machined.
I have seen a lot more custom hands on work thats goes for a lot less than a grand .
Im not flaming or anything i thought maybe your conversion was off but i guess not .
if i could ever pull off something like that by hand and im in no way saying i could i would sell em all day long for half that if somebody wants one

[p0Pe]

i love the clean looks of it. great work on the making of them, but 1K lol? no.
ill just forget the price tag, and enjoy the looks:)

[mDust]

/and thats my "I'm tired of the "its art" justification" rant for the day.I can't wait to read tomorrow's...:D I get into arguments all the time with a couple of friends over what is and isn't art...they are much more liberal than I am in that department. e.g. toilets, dirty clothes, unmade beds, etc...I say these are not art...it can't be art when the "artist" didn't do a damn thing. In this case, drawing in AutoCAD and turning the power on to a CNC mill doesn't constitute art. Hand-carved would be different.

I also wouldn't shell out a 1000 bucks for one of these. I might if I was making 200,000 a year...but I'm not, and money seems more valuable to me.
They are very nice mice but I'll bet that lacquer shine won't last long with sweaty palms.

[Luke122]

Guys, I think the artist has the right to charge whatever price he feels his work is worth. Let's not bash him for that.. we all agree "Yeah, awesome.. but too expensive for me!" If that's the case, then this IS a modding site.. build one yourself!

Follow this model:
1. Build wooden mouse.
2. Market to others.
3. ????
4. Profit!!!

I say, kudos to him for making them. They are amazing, and I'd love to have one.

Do I have that kind of money kicking around? Nope.. but some people do. And some people put more value on design and appearance than anything else. When you find the point in the market where those two groups coincide, you are golden. :D

Quote from the site:

"The idea behind the product is to get the maximum out of natural materials and extend lifetime warranty. AlestRukov computer mice have warranty coverage of over 5 years and can be upgraded to extend the service. "

http://www.alestrukov.com/models.html

The more I read about these, the more I agree with the price. :D

[mDust]

If that's the case, then this IS a modding site.. build one yourself! In all honesty, I don't want one. But what is the mysterious step 3? lol

[Oneslowz28]

You can not knock an artist for what they charge. With art you are not just paying for a product, you are paying for that artist time, artistic ability, his design and most of all his name.

My average wedding photography package is around $1500 for 4 hours and 100 proofs. That package included a nice album, 2 11x14 prints and a small print package. Can you get the same thing for less? Of course you can. There are photographers around here who will do the same package for $800. On the other hand there are photographers who charge upwards of $25,000 for a similar package and you do not get prints, those are extra. The difference between the low end photographers and myself is I feel that my time and skills are worth more. The difference between me and the high end photographers is that they have the name to back up their prices. The thing we all have in common is we all use very similar gear and our photos are all in the same quality bracket.

Sure the mouse was carved on a CNC machine. But did you stop to think that that CNC machine cost a few hundred thousand dollars? Or what Autocad cost? or the wear and tear machining each mouse cost? or the time spent designing and finishing the mouse? WHat about the cost of the wood, electronics, and cord? Sure he may be marking it up 600% above cost but that's his right as an artist and business man.

[Oneslowz28]

In all honesty, I don't want one. But what is the mysterious step 3? lol

I believe the ?????? step 3 he mentions comes from the Underpants Gnomes business Plan first used in South Park Episode # 30 (season 2 episode 17).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Gnomes_plan.png


South Park is the best show of all times BTW.

[Luke122]

Correct!

[mDust]

I believe the ?????? step 3 he mentions comes from the Underpants Gnomes business Plan first used in South Park Episode # 30 (season 2 episode 17).

Correct!ahahahahahahahahaha!:D

I wouldn't doubt there are CNC mills that are hundreds of thousands as ultimate precision and cutting methods can boost the price substantially. But most small companies don't use them because they would never make a profit. We're talking KIA vs Saleen here for you car guys. Both brands of car will get you to where you want to go, but we can all agree (I hope) that one of them just does a more satisfactory job.
He's probably using something along the lines of these:
http://www.fryermachine.com/toolroom/mb_q_series1.html
I also own copies of 3DS Max and AutoCAD that I got for $250/ea:D and yes, they're current versions, full licenses, and legal. My source told me not to tell anyone else how to get them though or else I lose my privileges...

[Indybird]

Yeah I was on his website, and he really had me hooked for a moment there; I kinda wanted one (expecting it to be like $80-$100). Then I saw how much it really was and then the a similar form of Zephik's rant went through my head.



For a thousand dollars, I want the most beautiful wooden mouse I've ever seen.

Perhaps an inlaid design all over the whole mouse? Maybe with some gold leaf in the design. And every single design is unique. Yeah there we go, now that would more justify the price tag.

-Indybird

[Luke122]

If nothing else, this has me contemplating the difficulty of gutting my Logitech mouse, and carving a wooden shell for it..

[Indybird]

OHHHHH, I figured out why they are so expensive.

They are all made out of rare woods such as ebony, or african mahogany.

-Indybird

[Airbozo]

...
Perhaps an inlaid design all over the whole mouse? Maybe with some gold leaf in the design. And every single design is unique. Yeah there we go, now that would more justify the price tag.

-Indybird

For that price I would like someone to sit at my desk and move it for me... ;)

But hey, OneSlow is right, the artist can charge what he wants for his product.

I saw some similar mice while I was in Kauai made of Koa wood. Very nice work and they were ~$250. The shop owner could not tell me if they were hand made or machined. They had 3 in stock and I was told the artist had also made some keyboards, but they sold out in the first week. The keyboards were selling for over $1000! They had a strict "No Photo's" policy otherwise I would have went nuts in that shop with pictures.