Favourite Type of Pen Kit (& colour)

**plantagenon** · 8th February 2013, 08:58 PM

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** · 8th February 2013, 11:29 PM

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** · 9th February 2013, 04:20 AM

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** · 10th February 2013, 05:44 PM

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** · 10th February 2013, 09:01 PM

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

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