Pen Kits

[martynbez]

Hi all,

Had a quick look on the internet but not having much luck.
Really enjoying pen turning and looking the by the pen kits in bulk (20/30) as they can get expensive buying 1 or 2's.

Anyone UK or EU based sell in bulk like this?

 

[marcros]

Taylors of mirfield certainly used to do deals on 5s. They may well do you something on more if you ask.

Beware of comparing apples and oranges though, I would only buy 20 or 30 if you had tried a couple first, even if you overpay for the first few. I found a huge quality difference between a decent kit and a cheap kit so don't buy on price alone. The other thing that you can do to make it cheaper (sort of) is to buy a few extra sets of tubes which are pence each, then only assemble the final pen when you have sold it. When you actually buy the kit, you have its tubes left over and can keep going that way. It allows a customer to chose the plating colour and the wood combination too with minimal extra effort on your part.

 

[Jamesc]

+1 for Taylors of Mirfield. My wife uses them almost exclusively and they have always been ready to deal. Very friedly bunch to boot.

 

[NikNak]

Would agree with the above advice, but also add in.... depends on the type/style of pen you want to turn. If its going to be mainly slimline style then i'd say try Fun-e-turns on ebay (cant remember the exact spelling) but know she will mix'n'match colours even on smaller quantities. Axminster do ok'ish kits. I've tried Taylors and was a little mehh to be honest nothing wrong with them, just a bit middle-of-the-road in my opinion. If you're looking to make top end pens then personally like Turners Retreat the best. Their Gents and Classic kits are Rhodium plated, and when made they not only look great but they feel and have weight to them too.

One very odd thing i have come across tho.... regardless of who's or which kit you use, if the recipient has what was once described to me as a 'wet fish handshake' i.e. clammy, then dont be at all surprised if the they come back and say the plating is wearing/rubbing off. It happened to me a few years back. I made a gorgeous Atrax style pen, using a swirl green acrylic blank and finished using a gold kit (its what he wanted). Made it for a guy at work for his girlfriend who was an exec secretary. Couple of weeks later he came back and said the plating's wearing off. Shocked i said bring it in and let me see. Sure enough it was. Went back to the supplier and explained. They said they'd never had any complaints before but would send out a new kit. I swapped over the kits parts with the turned acrylic body bits and gave it back. Two weeks later he came back again..... the plating's rubbing off. Except in the meantime he was starting to rant about the girlfriend at work, saying she was lazy fat and sweaty. I googled a bit and put 2+2 together and concluded the girlfriend fell into the wet fish category. The last i heard they never married

 

[Dalboy]

If you want top quality pen kits then another to look at is Beaufort inks pen kits

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you look at Turner's Retreat avoid the Noble range - the caps don't post to both ends, despite its still being on the description. I was told it would be altered but it hasn't been. A lot of plastic and quite expensive.
They're brilliant for blanks, but their kits are no better than anywhere else imo. I tend to avoid gold plated ones no matter from where.

^^^^^^ Beaufort are good. (I'm sitting waiting for a Taylor's delivery).

 

[Democritus]

I’ve always used Taylor’s of Mirfield, and found their kits to be good quality.
They have always been very helpful as well, and i’m sure they would consider a possible discount on as large an order as you are thinking of placing.
D.