KC Twist kit

[aggromere]

I haven't made a pen on a mandrel in nearly 2 years. But in my continuing quest to find an easy to make nice looking pen that I can put a cigar band on I ordered a few KC Twist Kits from CSUSA. It is a 7mm kit but comes with no centerband so you can do what you want with the middle. It was very easy to make and finish (I might just start turning some more on a mandrel). I made it overly fat to hold a cigar band so not sure about the shape.

I'm wondering;

Anyone have any long term relationship with this kit? How it holds up etc. This is the rhodium plating, but it doesn't look as good as the plating on the jr gent, or it could just be me.

It is a very light pen (honduran rosewood burl) and I think it could take a smaller cigar band and display it well. Just wondering what you guys think, or what suggestions you might have. Looking for simple, easy to to do stuff to try and get a pen out there that is $50.00 or less. All in this one cost about $12.00 in materials and took about an hour to make.

Thanks for looking.

 

[aggromere]

I just whipped out another one. No pics though. For my housekeepers boyfriend. He is a jack daniels fan and it's a jack daniels blank, but with a slightly skinnier design. It really shows off the wood. but one question. How the heck do you get the black glob of whatever it is on the point off so it will write? These are the first cross type refills I've used in a long long time.

If you are like me and have no shot at a kitless pen, this is about as close as you can come. Only 4 parts and since it is a slimline type you could use any number of pen clips that are readily available. I'm obsessed with the kit now!

 

[Drstrangefart]

If you're able to sell that for $50 or less, I think you may have nailed it. I'm currently trying to bring my lowest price point down to $25, but it's difficult. Found wood on cheap slimline kits. And still making them look good. They tend to hover closer to $35.

 

[PenMan1]

If you're able to sell that for $50 or less, I think you may have nailed it. I'm currently trying to bring my lowest price point down to $25, but it's difficult. Found wood on cheap slimline kits. And still making them look good. They tend to hover closer to $35.

You can get to $25 pricepoint if you want to.
Many here sell TN or RH slims for +\- $4. Add .50 comfort centerband, pour your on PR blanks +\- 1.00. About $6 total cost, no CA finish to yutz with. Just mm to 12K finish with Plastx. Very quick.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I'm not pr casting yet. One day, but not yet. I just crack out slims right now. I picked up a bunch of Black Friday Slimlines at Rockler out around Roswell, and those are the limit of my on hand stock. But, I work in landscaping at a college and have crazy access to found wood. Letting a buttload of spalted water oak cure on my back deck right now.

 

[its_virgil]

Why not just buy a quality slimline, toss the centerband, make the bottom barrell a little longer that the upper and guess what you have? You got it...a KC twist...and maybe for less $$$ especially if a chrome kit is used. I have found chrome to be a very durable and nice looking plating.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I haven't made a pen on a mandrel in nearly 2 years. But in my continuing quest to find an easy to make nice looking pen that I can put a cigar band on I ordered a few KC Twist Kits from CSUSA. It is a 7mm kit but comes with no centerband so you can do what you want with the middle. It was very easy to make and finish (I might just start turning some more on a mandrel). I made it overly fat to hold a cigar band so not sure about the shape.

I'm wondering;

Anyone have any long term relationship with this kit? How it holds up etc. This is the rhodium plating, but it doesn't look as good as the plating on the jr gent, or it could just be me.

It is a very light pen (honduran rosewood burl) and I think it could take a smaller cigar band and display it well. Just wondering what you guys think, or what suggestions you might have. Looking for simple, easy to to do stuff to try and get a pen out there that is $50.00 or less. All in this one cost about $12.00 in materials and took about an hour to make.

Thanks for looking.

 

[jfoh]

Have you thought about making that kit as a one piece style? It would look very nice with your wood and the shape you are using.

 

[Drstrangefart]

If you just eliminate the centerband on a slimline, or even better, drill a 1/4 inch hole in a piece of blank and mount it between barrels on the lathe (make your own center band), all kindsa possibilities open up.

 

[aggromere]

the second pen I turned looks better than the first and I reduced the size, but it will still display a cigar band. I actually think it looks real nice. $6.95 for the kit, maybe $4 or $5 for the blank, only four parts, rhodium plating, less than an hour to make. by the time i glue a band on and finish over it I might be to an hour or hour and 15 minutes. My cheapest pen is the executive from psi and I sell it for 59.95. I think this pen looks and feels better and it is the easiest two tube pen I;ve made. Just put it on the mandrel with no center bushing, line the wood up, tighten up and turn it to size all at once and sand. The put the small center bushing back in and give it a few coats of thin CA and good to go. Since the whole shape but the very ends is pretty much freehand you can do anything you want. You could segment something for the centerband or do just about anything. I might try to close the clip end and thread the lower barrel just above the nib and make a small cap just big enough to cover the writing tip and make it look like ash and make mini replica cigar pens. Don't thank it would be too hard. Oh wait, I can't thread yet, lol.

 

[PenMan1]

Good point, Don!
I was just looking back trying to find Butch's slum line challenge back last spring. A lot of good Looking stuff came out of that series.

 

[Drstrangefart]

the second pen I turned looks better than the first and I reduced the size, but it will still display a cigar band. I actually think it looks real nice. $6.95 for the kit, maybe $4 or $5 for the blank, only four parts, rhodium plating, less than an hour to make. by the time i glue a band on and finish over it I might be to an hour or hour and 15 minutes. My cheapest pen is the executive from psi and I sell it for 59.95. I think this pen looks and feels better and it is the easiest two tube pen I;ve made. Just put it on the mandrel with no center bushing, line the wood up, tighten up and turn it to size all at once and sand. The put the small center bushing back in and give it a few coats of thin CA and good to go. Since the whole shape but the very ends is pretty much freehand you can do anything you want. You could segment something for the centerband or do just about anything. I might try to close the clip end and thread the lower barrel just above the nib and make a small cap just big enough to cover the writing tip and make it look like ash and make mini replica cigar pens. Don't thank it would be too hard. Oh wait, I can't thread yet, lol.

The first several pens I turned used this exact same process despite advice not to. They came out really nice. I wanna do some more later on. They were slimlines, though. Good way to makes slimlines more interesting.

 

[aggromere]

Another KC Twist

Well, I'm now obcessed with this kit. If i could figure out how to make a nose cone from the same black as the center band I think I would have something.

This is Alt casein from Exotic Blanks with a centerband segmented to the lower barrel (to give each end the same length look) of Alt Ebony. I think it turned out really nice. One of the nicest looking pens I have made in a while that didn't have a cigar band on it.

I thought the Alt casein was tougher to turn than the real casein but actually think the stripes in the Alt show up better. The pen is real light and has a nice feel to it. The twist mechanism is actually very smooth.

All in all I really like this kit.

 

[ldb2000]

Great pens Peter . PM sent .

 

[bitshird]

Peter, I am so glad you posted the Alt. Casein pen, the HRB KC looked real nice, but I've been wondering what the alt. Casein looked like, I think it looks better than the Rosewood, (just my opinion) you can play all kinds of games with a 7mm twist pen, and make some beautiful stuff.

 

[aggromere]

yea i like the alt casein with the blank centerband. I'm going to work on making me a nose cone out of the same center band material and making the pen again, maybe evena finial and try and find a decent clip. thanks.

 

[aggromere]

More KC twist

I can't sleep at night. I wake up dreaming about KC Twist pens. I can't believe its been a couple of years or more since I made a slimline. I made two when I first started and that was it. With all the help and info on the forums my penturning skills have improved enough to revisit them. (looking for an inexpensive easy to make pen). I use only pre rounded stock of man made materials to cut down on the work involved. I posted a couple already and really liked the Alt Casein one I did. Here are a few more;

1. Olive wood from Monty that sells the glue with 3 bands of Amboyna burl sawdust glued into grooves with CA.

2. Jack Daniels wood. (gift for my housekeeper's boyfriend, apparently a big JD fan)

3. three yet to be used turned blanks of Alt Briar Upper with an insert of alt Ivory, and an alt Ivory lower with various fake band treatments.

I have a new shipment of kits coming tomorrow from Craftsupply, but when I ordered the first batch of five I ordered some extra tubes. I always do that because I make so many mistakes. I am going to decal some cigar stuff onto the lower barrel and use these to replace the Cigar Pen Kits as my least expensive pens. They look really nice, but you can tell immediately when you pick them up that they are not the pen the Jr. Gent Twist is, (just based on weight and feel) but so far people find them pleasing and they are fun and easy to make.