cap style pen kits

[mdwilliams999]

I decided to try the Orion pen sold at WoodturningZ. It's a nice pen but a little dissatisfied with the plastic threading on the cap. I was wondering if anyone had some alternatives without a dramitic jump in price. I would like to find something in the $9.00 - $14.00. Basically a good balance of price, quality, and attractive looking.

Thanks Mike

 

[Ruby pen turning]

Plastic threads inside the cap all have. Plastic threads on the nib seem to be the lower cost kits. Spend $20.00 or more and you will most of the time get metal thread on the nib and plastic in the cap. plastic in cap = no scratched nib sections and no metal to metal contact.

 

[ToddMR]

Woodcraft sells the navigator and even the Sedona. I think the sedona is like $20 roughly. The navigator is around $15 or something like that. Been a while since I have bought one. Also alot of places online sell the Jr Gent II for under $20 a piece. There are a lot of options out there. But as said above, all the thread in the cap are plastic. Metal on metal tends to bind up sometimes.

 

[ghostrider]

There is also the Streamline Flattop from Berea. It has metal, quad-start threading, and a plastic nib. PSI's Classic American has a metal nib, but I don't know about the threading.

Seems like most of the nicer kits (Jr. Series, Roman Harvest, Churchill, Majestic (& Jr.)) have plastic threads.

I was given some of the Signature sets in Smitty's swap, and that set it starting to grow on me. That is the same as the Streamline Flat Top from Berea. I don't care for the plastic nib, but then I like the light weight, the look, and the fact that with the quad-start threads it only takes a quarter turn to mount the cap. I also like that they come in Gold Ti, rather than 24K. Smitty sent me fountain pens, but I ordered a Roller ball because I liked it so much. I also ordered a New Series from Exoticblanks.com, but haven't tried that one yet. It only comes in chrome, or upgrade gold, but switched the Streamlines plastic components for metal ones, and added a fancier center band.

ETA:
There are other kits like the Big Ben Roller ball that have snap caps rather than screw. The Big Ben Rollerball is a heavy pen.

 

[ren-lathe]

Arizona silhouette sells Baron's (like woodcraft's navigator) & sedona's at reasonable prices it depends on what plating you want. Craft USA has a Zen roller ball that uses a magnet instead of screwing the cap on.

 

[ghostrider]

Arizona silhouette sells Baron's (like woodcraft's navigator) & sedona's at reasonable prices it depends on what plating you want. Craft USA has a Zen roller ball that uses a magnet instead of screwing the cap on.

Oh yeah. I didn't even think about the nagnetic caps. There's the Zen, as well as the Vertex, and Graduate from PSI. Maybe more.

 

[Whaler]

My choice is the Atrax. Solid, no bling but elegant.
http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.p...tegory_id=174&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=60

 

[toddlajoie]

There is also the Streamline Flattop from Berea. It has metal, quad-start threading, and a plastic nib

These are also called the "New Series Style" rollerballs and fountain pens, and like the previous "Streamline Americans and Europeans, they completely turned me off of metal on metal threads, They feel like crap, don't have enough friction to keep themselves closed, and can scratch anything that extends beyond the threads.

Metal male threads on plastic female threads are my personal preference. On top of that, I prefer (based on looks mainly, not performance or feel) the plating matched male threads (i.e. the Jr Gent Gold Ti/Black Ti/Rhodium) rather than the black enamel threads (i.e. the 10K gold Jr Gent or any of the Barron/Navigator/Sedona/etc)

 

[Cwalker935]

I have the same issue with the orion. I much prefer woodcraft's navigator, its been on sale lately.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Jr gent 2 chrome from craft supplies. I'd buy from exoticblanks. Among others.

I don't care for the look of the Orion.

 

[sbell111]

This is an old thread.

 

[BSea]

I like the looks of the orion, but after too many of the plastic cap threads broke, I quit using them. However, Woodturningz always stood behind them and sent me replacement parts. The thing I like about them is the long lower barrel that shows off more of the blank. And because of this, the tube is longer which is ideal for a closed ended pen. In fact I bought a bunch of their tubes so I could use them for closed ended kits like the Jr Gent 1, or Barons.

It's ok to bring up old threads. I'll bet over half of the new threads that don't show off pens are subjects that have been rehashed several times.

 

[sbell111]

I like the looks of the orion, but after too many of the plastic cap threads broke, I quit using them. However, Woodturningz always stood behind them and sent me replacement parts. The thing I like about them is the long lower barrel that shows off more of the blank. And because of this, the tube is longer which is ideal for a closed ended pen. In fact I bought a bunch of their tubes so I could use them for closed ended kits like the Jr Gent 1, or Barons.

It's ok to bring up old threads. I'll bet over half of the new threads that don't show off pens are subjects that have been rehashed several times.

I think that whether it makes sense to dig up an ancient thread kind of depends on the thread. For instance, the topic of this thread was someone wanting to know what rollerball alternatives their were two years ago. I imagine that he has either found the kit that he liked, given up making pens, or stopped monitoring this thread for advice.

 

[walshjp17]

As I see it, the thought process is interesting for new members despite the age of the thread.

New folks would likely search threads for things that interest them, will likely not notice that it is an 'ancient' thread and then post a question. The fact that it is an older thread does not invalidate their need for assistance or their quest for knowledge.

 

[DMStewart]

I would agree because that is how I found this thread - it was active again.