Kits

[artme]

What are peoples opinions on Kits?

One experienced OS turner I met swears by Dayacom.
Claude prefers Schmidt refills.
People here have their own opinions.

Perhaps it would be easier to steer people away from suspect kits than to Say "xxxx is best".

Is there a possinility of forumites making a bulk order through Dayacom? I'm told that their minimum order is 500 for one type of coating.

Finishing: Saw the best glossy finish ever on pens in Honululu. Fellow refuses to say what he uses. I'm wondering if forum members are prepared to experiment with finishes and post results, Think outside the squar for thing that may not have been used yet.

[funkychicken]

Dayacom and Berea kit are top bloomin' notch. I stay away from chinese kits (Rizheng), they aren't as good quality.

Schmidt refills are standard with Berea kits and are top notch

Dayacom only talk to companies, not a bunch of turners like us. Plus, getting people to order 500 of the same kit isn't really possible

[Froggie40]

I think you will find that you can't do a bulk order direct with Dayacom you have to go through the Aussie agent, the minute you send them an email trying to buy in bulk it will be forwarded to the agent.

Froggie

[BoomerangInfo]

Dayacom and Berea kit are top bloomin' notch. I stay away from chinese kits (Rizheng), they aren't as good quality.

Hey FC,

Do you have some direct comparisons/experience with the Rizheng kits? I've browsed their site, and what they sell looks suspiciously like what several of the "recommended" US sites are selling as well, not that it's that easy to tell really, but I'm pretty sure.

Even with those guys, you have to buy in bulk to get better prices than what you can get locally anyway, due to postage costs.

Russell.

[PenTurner]

I have to concur with FC about quality, have tried both kits and the standards do differ. Amos:)

[funkychicken]

I've made a few Rizheng Sierras and the threads are a bit scratchy, the shaping looks a bit so-so and one I made didn't even twist properly. The end of the mechansim was too thin and just spun in the finial.

[BoomerangInfo]

I've made a few Rizheng Sierras and the threads are a bit scratchy, the shaping looks a bit so-so and one I made didn't even twist properly. The end of the mechansim was too thin and just spun in the finial.

Good to know, now if we could just identify what the distributors of "unknown" quality are selling, it might help.

Russell.

[artme]

Not 500 of " one kit ", but 500 of one plating.

Take the point about distributors and have no wish to step on supporter's toes. Sorry Brett.:doh::doh::B

[dj_pnevans]

I have used kit which I know come from Rizheng and have had no problems with them at all. At the end of the day can any one put there hand a there heart and say that the higher end pen kit's don't come from a manufacture or supplier such as Rizheng, as it all comes down to the all mighty dollar most retailers will go for the cheaper price. This is only my opinion with many years in retail.
David

[David Mitchell]

I have used kit which I know come from Rizheng and have had no problems with them at all. At the end of the day can any one put there hand a there heart and say that the higher end pen kit's don't come from a manufacture or supplier such as Rizheng, as it all comes down to the all mighty dollar most retailers will go for the cheaper price. This is only my opinion with many years in retail.
David

I have also used lot of different pens from Rizheng and agree with dj pnevans
there is no problems with them :B::roll:
Regards
David:2tsup:

[munruben]

Finishing:Saw the best glossy finish ever on pens in Honululu. Fellow refuses to say what he uses. I'm wondering if forum members are prepared to experiment with finishes and post results, Think outside the squar for thing that may not have been used yet.Another good idea, maybe you should start another thread about this subject. Would be great to compare finishes others use.

[funkychicken]

I have used kit which I know come from Rizheng and have had no problems with them at all. At the end of the day can any one put there hand a there heart and say that the higher end pen kit's don't come from a manufacture or supplier such as Rizheng, as it all comes down to the all mighty dollar most retailers will go for the cheaper price. This is only my opinion with many years in retail.
David


Eh?

Dayacom make all the high end kits (Emperor, Imperial, Gent, Lotus, Statesman)

[regulated]

My two cents. I don't like Dayacom kits. I have bought a fair few of them and they have nothing on the Berea kits. Too many problems. They were the low to mid range stuff but. I didn't know they make the high end stuff. From all reports the high end stuff seems ok.

BJ

[Pasho]

Guess What they are all made in the same country and I will leave it at that. I have tried all 3 manufacturers and there is some small differences in the cheaper brand that pen turners would notice but I have had no problems with any of them.:2tsup:

[funkychicken]

Rizheng are chinese, Dayacom and Berea are Taiwainese

[Buzz]

To the original question: “What are peoples opinions on Kits?”

Both Dayacom and Berea make good kits, and their resellers, not surprisingly, claim that their products are the superior ones.

I personally prefer Berea for the mid range pens, eg, the Baron over the Jr Gent. I make pens to sell, and my best sellers in this bracket are the Baron, Sedona, El Grande and Churchill which are competing with Jr Gents and Statesmen etc. As far as the larger pens are concerned, the Dayacom ones such as the Statesman, Emperor and Lotus are beautifully made but too big and “loud” for my personal taste, and the majority of customers. In reality they don’t sell quickly enough for me to be interested in having too much money tied up in such kits.

Problems occur with them all. I have a batch of Baron’s at the moment whose clip finial can be pushed home with finger pressure. No big deal, as I always glue most parts anyway. I’ve had the same problems with Dayacom kits at different times too.

There are a whole bunch of makers fitting “O” rings to Dayacom fountain pens to overcome the problem of caps unscrewing themselves too easily in pockets and bags. The Berea El Grande, and Churchill have been selling for years with a particularly fragile centre coupler that breaks very easily. They are now, after heaps of complaints from makers, supplying these kits with much stronger metal rather than plastic couplers.

And as for the Rizheng kits, which I sell, they work just fine and I think are good value. I was buying these same kits for years from suppliers here in Australia before Dayacom went on-line and people started this whole (seemingly fruitless) exercise of trying to work out where all the kits originate and how many different makers there actually are.

[BoomerangInfo]

Interesting comments Chris.

My main concern is whether I'm likely to sell a lemon to a customer by going with a particular supplier. Obviously breaking couplers is serious, jammed mechanisms not something you want, but even plastings that wear off is a concern. If it's pot luck with any of the manufacturers, than I guess it doesn't really matter.

Either way we have to be happy that what we are offering customers matches our quality standard, am be prepared to live with the consequences. Those who have years of experience with certain brands will stick with what has worked best for them. Those of us newer to the game will have to learn from our own experiences, and just be prepared to offer replacement guarantees for faulty equipment, and wear the cost. Do any of the kit manufacturers offer warranty on their kits? I've never seen it mentioned.

Russell.

[Buzz]

Russell

Most adverse comments about quality seem to be aimed at Rizheng which is rather pointless, while they are not in the same league as Dayacom or Berea, they don't pretend to be. If people want to sell Slimlines with platings that will last for ever, easy, use Rhodium or Titanium, but expect to pay for them.

My Slimlines are made to a price, no apologies, I sell hundreds of them to the tourist and corporate sectors with the 24k gold ones going for $22. I've never had one returned! I make them in the three major WA species of Jarrah, Sheoak and Marri because the iconic WA timbers are what these sectors demand. The reality is that people paying $22 for a handcrafted pen really don't have any unrealistic expectation about plating durability.

Tell you what though, if customers were as critical of our work as we are ourselves, plenty of them would be coming back:)

Additionally, the durability of 24k plating can vary enormously with the individual, just like precious metal in jewellery reacts differently to a persons chemical make-up, so do pen parts.

As for guarantees, while it may not be stated anywhere on their web-sites, I have never head of any complaints about quality issues that were not addressed promptly by the supplier when they were made of aware of the problem, whether that is defective parts or poor plating issues.