# Quality pen kits?



## tigerturnings (28 Feb 2008)

Some years ago I bought some Craft Supplies pen kits and mandrel etc., and had fun turning them up and giving some away.

I was less than impressed when the ones I kept for myself started losing their gold plating within a few weeks of use. Granted I probably bought the bottom of the range kits, and didn't do anything special to protect the gold plating.

I'd like to have another go at pen turning but the first experience has made me wary. Can anyone recommend some decent pen kits with the metal parts finished in a way that'll withstand prolonged use?


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## Carl (29 Feb 2008)

Hi Tigerturnings.

I get my pen kits from www.turners-retreat.co.uk they have some good quality pen kits plus you can send for there mail order catalogue, also there is www.stilesandbates.co.uk hope this is of some help.

Regards Carl


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## Old Dave (29 Feb 2008)

I have used Turners Retreat pen kits in the past.

I had the same problem with the gold plating rubbing off very quickly. Again I only got the lower quality kits. 

My biggest problem was the pencil kits - I have had to replace the mechanism of a pencil I did for myself 3 times within a year. It does not encourage me to do more, and I would be very recluctant to give them to friends, and even more reluctant to sell them.


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## jpt (29 Feb 2008)

HI

Most of the kits you can buy in this country come from the same manufacturer so it doesn't really matter where you buy them from.

unfortunately the cheaper kits are well know for wearing quickly so it is best to spend a little bit more and go for the super de lux or equivalent ones.

A trick one pen maker I know uses is to put a thin coat of varnish on the gold parts, he uses a top quality nail varnish, this seems to stop the wear.

john


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## greggy (29 Feb 2008)

hi tiger turnings,as all i do is turn pens and sell a lot, i do not use or sell the gold fitting kits. the reason you have experienced. if you want quality platings you will have to go for titanium, black titanium, rhodium, sterling silver, or a combination of either. if you are going to use gold do not get the upgrade gold as it is worse than any other. the only gold i use is gold/titanium. all of the above will last nearly a lifetime. oh and while we are on with pens i do not use clicker pens/pencils as they are all rubbish with the exception of the new sierra click from arizona silhouette. hope this helps.


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## rogi (1 Mar 2008)

Hi greggy,

Where do you source those kits, the only suppliers I can fund are in the US ( http://www.bereahardwoods.com/price/kits/ ) and to ship to the UK, want a large (for me) minimum order.

Regards,


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## greggy (1 Mar 2008)

hi rogi, welcome to uk workshop. i get my kits from turners-retreat, csusa, williamwoodwrite, woodnwhinsies, or i get them on group buys on the pen turners forums


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## DaveL (1 Mar 2008)

Hi Rogi,

Welcome to the forum. 

Your link has been caught by our spam trap, it will stop happening once you have a few more posts, here it is:
http://www.bereahardwoods.com/price/kits/


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## stevebuk (1 Mar 2008)

greggy":31oh5hfp said:


> i get them on group buys on the pen turners forums



and where might they be??? :lol:


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## greggy (2 Mar 2008)

there you go steve http://www.penturners.org/forum/portal.asp


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## tigerturnings (2 Mar 2008)

Thanks for the responses - it's good to know it was not just me having trouble with the typical pen kits we get in the UK.

Following up Greggy's suggestions I spent a little while googling for UK suppliers of the rhodium and titanium pen kits, and found a black titanium kit on eBay, along with an (expensive) rhodium gentleman's pen and a standard pen in titanium from Turner's Retreat. Rutlands also offer a Dakota Titanium nickel plated twist pen

My other problem with the kits I've used before was the twist mechanism never locked properly, so the ballpoint used to retreat in use; I'm not sure whether the above would suffer from that or not. If anyone's used any of those and can comment that'd be great; otherwise I'll probably either get some to try in time, or possibly look into the US suppliers' shipping costs.

Cheers

Neil


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## greggy (2 Mar 2008)

neil, a lot of the time the reason for the refill retracting whilst writing is because the refill is not screwed in all the way, also make sure you always remove the grease from the transmission before inserting into the tube. hope this helps.


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## stevebuk (2 Mar 2008)

tigerturnings":vgg7pn09 said:


> I'll probably either get some to try in time, or possibly look into the US suppliers' shipping costs.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Neil



Keep me informed neil of anywhere you can buy a decent amount from, and i might go in with you to buy some, instead of paying silly money over here from ebay..


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## stevebuk (2 Mar 2008)

greggy":1uj5cbbl said:


> there you go steve http://www.penturners.org/forum/portal.asp



Thanks greggy, i have applied to join, are you in there at all..


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## greggy (3 Mar 2008)

yes i am steve. :wink: you dont get good quality kits on ebay, gold slims are ok for beginners, but i would not sell them as the plating rubs off too quickly.


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## greggy (3 Mar 2008)

neil, you can get the streamline and euro pen kits in black titanium from turners-retreat at a decent price, dave also has these in rhodium
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s..._Pen_Kits___Jr_Retro_Pen_Kit___jr_retro?Args=


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## stevebuk (3 Mar 2008)

hi
i thought turners retreat was in nottm, this is an american catalogue, i could be wrong. :?


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## Richardhw (3 Mar 2008)

Turners retreat is just off the A1 roundabout at Blyth if you know it, just south of Doncaster :wink:


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## greggy (3 Mar 2008)

turners-retreat gets all his kits from craft supplies usa, the statesman pen kit will be arriving in the next couple of weeks, as will some more high end kits.
as the uk association of penmakers meet there every so often we have pestered him into getting decent kits. any questions just pm me.


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## stevebuk (4 Mar 2008)

pm sent greggy.
thanks


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