Favourite Type of Pen Kit (& colour)

[Beedeejay]

Hi all,
I have done a bit of a search and found an old thread to this extent but times change as do opinions,

My question is to you all,

What is your favorite Pen Kit and why?

All opinions appreciated (remember it is a personal choice and everyone has there own opinions)

Cheers Ben,:D:D


BTW I am undecided as I haven't had the pleasure of using much else other than Siera, Jr Gent and Slimlines.... Yet!!!

[wood hacker]

In the Rollerball style my fav is the Roman Harvest and in the ball point style it's the elegant beauty.

cheers
WH

[Beedeejay]

In the Rollerball style my fav is the Roman Harvest and in the ball point style it's the elegant beauty.

cheers
WH

Thanks WH,
I am very keen to try out these 2 designs,


I thought I might have got a bigger response from everyone:?

C'mon Guys and Gals,

What is your favorite Kit & why?

[edblysard]

Elegant Beauty, (Sierra or WallStreet II as it is sold here) because it fits most hands, is a twist pen using Parker refills, has a classy simple design that works well in both wood and acrylic, and If your careful you can get two pens from one blank….plus it sells the best out of all the pens I do, both to males and females.

[Jmbaker79]

Hard to beat a Sierra Style Pen. I prefer rollerballs personally so I tend to turn more of those! I have been making a ton of Atrax kits from a vendor here in the states, Very simple lines, nothing gaudy, and has a very nice weight to it. Available in RB and Fountain, very versatile, well built, and hasnt let me down yet, except one leaked in my pocket when the cap came unscrewed! My fault! One of my current favorites for sure!

[mick61]

I like the elegant beauty for the same reasons as Ed.
Mick:D

[crazyscew]

In answer to your Question I have a few pens that I like to turn. 1 being the Sierra and then the Lucida both are easy to make and both suit ladies as well as gentlemen.
but at the moment I am playing with Patrizio's and Concava pens They're alot of fun to make and easy to shape.always enjoy streamlime pens but I do like a chellenge.
If that is a good enough answer.

I have made a lot of good pens can't keep them in my pen cases for too long but that's ok.

With the assistance of the Boys at POP's Shed being mentioned as Brian ,Chris & Joshua I have had it really easy getting pen kit's from the U.S.A. ( Thanks Guys )

Cheers guys & Girls

[gawdelpus]

I try not to have favourites as that is a bit limiting :) But one I do a lot of is the Phoenix kit ,the body is a bit longer and chunkier than a standard sierra style , and I can fit it up with any type of blank I can produce or get my hands on :), its a single bodied pen and as my main point of sale is Sunday markets ,I can produce them at a saleable price ,not what they may be really worth ,but I get reasonable returns and happy customers, which to me is all part of the enjoyment , Cheers ~ John

[Beedeejay]

but at the moment I am playing with Patrizio's and Concava pens They're alot of fun to make and easy to shape

Cheers guys & Girls


I am going to have to familiarise myself with these 2 I have not heard of them. do they go by another name at all?

Cheers Ben

[Beedeejay]

I try not to have favourites as that is a bit limiting :) But one I do a lot of is the Phoenix kit ,the body is a bit longer and chunkier than a standard sierra style , and I can fit it up with any type of blank I can produce or get my hands on :), its a single bodied pen and as my main point of sale is Sunday markets ,I can produce them at a saleable price ,not what they may be really worth ,but I get reasonable returns and happy customers, which to me is all part of the enjoyment , Cheers ~ John


Which markets do you go to? i might have to pop in an introduce myself

[Grommett]

At the moment junior gent rollerballs. Sierras are easy to make and look good but have to go out with a warning about unscrewing the cap. My personal favorite to use is the Polaris, have carried one for about three years, I like the chunky feel and there is plenty of wood in it. Just made a couple of executive click pens (Timberbits) and they could become a favorite, again lots of wood.

Cheers Michael

[gawdelpus]

Which markets do you go to? i might have to pop in an introduce myself

Hi Beadyjay :) I currently am at Tamborine showgrounds 2nd Sunday of each month, and Broadbeach (Kurrawa) 1st and 3rd Sunday each month :) Always happy to meet and share with fellow enthusiasts :)
Cheers ~ John

[Beedeejay]

Hi Beadyjay :) I currently am at Tamborine showgrounds 2nd Sunday of each month, and Broadbeach (Kurrawa) 1st and 3rd Sunday each month :) Always happy to meet and share with fellow enthusiasts :)
Cheers ~ John

Sounds Good John,
Broadbeach Is a little closer to me so I might try to get there in the next couple of weekends

[mdm0829]

I have a Woodcraft close to me, so I make a lot of navigator and Hart kits. If ordering on line, I go with the Orion from Woodturningz

[BSea]

My personal favorite is the Jr Retro, also called the Jr Victor. I really like turning custom finials with matching material.

For a ballpoint, I like the clicker, also called long clicker. The long barrel shows off the blank, and it's easy to segment in a fake centerband.

[plantagenon]

It will change as you progress Ben - different kits for different styles. I don't favour Sierra for timber as there is too much metal in it and not enough timber - although it is a cheap pen. I agree with John that the Phoenix is better for timber. I also like a rollerball and fountain pen set that is relatively cheap to buy - JR is fine for me. If you spend too much on the kit such as Majestic you will not get a return on your sales. They are more of a speciality pen, eg, weddings, retirements.

For casting I prefer the Streamline but that is a personal preference because of the style of pens I am making - casted fruit or oil painted tubes in clear resin - they are aimed at the female market as it seems women prefer a thinner pen that is more manageable when writing as for that matter will men when carrying them on a shirt pocket (not being sexist). The larger pens are really only good for desk displays and use as the are too heavy to carry in a shirt pocket. Europeans are also good to carry around as they are not too heavy.

My personal preference will always be timber and not castings because I love the varieties and grains - but that is just me.

As you progress you will find your niche as I did. The main thing is to experiment with everything even though it takes time to get it right and there are a lot of stuff-ups in the process. It keeps the mind active working out how to overcome the mistakes.

Get as much advice as you can from John as he is an expert and is not too far from you, as is dai sensei, but he is away at the moment.

Enjoy

Greg

[Beedeejay]

Thanks for such a detailed response Greg,
I am sure I will find the type I'm after, with the slimline I started turning I realised that you don't need to turn them flat and straight,
i made one for a friend who whated a pen as fat as possible, the only kit I had was a slime line so I turned him one from a 16x16 acrylic blank grom GPW, as soon as I had it round I turned the ends down to the bushes and started sanding, he loved it, so I guess your only limited to your own imagination,
Once I get my PC sorted I will start trying to up load some pics of my handy work

[SDB777]

I really like the Jr Gent 1 kits from timberbits..... I can use them as is, or use 'pieces' from them in closed-ended stuff(and not have to toss $20 in parts into a bin for 'one-of-tese-days-you'll-need-that'). Second would be any of the Sierra's....they seem to always have a good quality to them for the cha-ching!






Scott (then again, I will be kitless soon) B

[plantagenon]

Ben, try the streamline instead of the slimline. It comes out as a bigger pen and I think it looks much nicer although the only real difference is the centre band but they are great for casting as that centre band give you the little extra space from the tube. Slimlines are great if you want to really put a different shape in the timber - antique style and so forth but to me they aren't much better than a Bic biro if they are turned completely straight - again just my opinion.

Greg

[Sawdust Maker]

I do a lot of the sierra type (EBs as well)
In my view a nice piece of timber will outshine all the metalwork - I use two ot three for work and agree it's a pain in the left buttock when they unscrew

I quite like the sedona (either rollerball or fountain) the silver is hard to beat for elegance - works well as wedding pens

have done a lot of Cigars for some reason - nice looking shape but to use can be a little unpleasant to hold down near the tip