Electra Platings in the US

[Ruby pen turning]

Does anyone know of any sellers in the Us that have the Electra in chrome only? It seems that everyplace I have looked has the chrome gold but if you look at CA,AU sites you can get all chrome or all gold. Why would this be so?

 

[ed4copies]

Because that's the way Berea introduced it to the American distributors. Now, the Canadians and Aussies may have asked for just chrome, or Berea may have seen that market differently.

If there is interest in a "completely chrome" version, I will be happy to order them and have them for the Fall.

Thanks for the suggestion@!!!

 

[bitshird]

Brian we've done 5 electras, and on three the threads are loose as a goose after a corn dinner. and that shouldn't be but we've pulled them from inventory Not sure if the platings would make any difference though.

 

[Ruby pen turning]

Ed, its not that I do not like the two tone, I actually like it better. I just dont know about the gold plating on any pen. At shows where people are taking caps on and off like the Zen for instance all of my gold ones now have rings on the nips from caps being removed and replaced. Do you know what karat the plating is on the Electra?

 

[ed4copies]

The Electra uses Berea's "Upgrade Gold". The following quote comes from Berea's site. I hope they have no objection to me posting it here, if they do, I will remove it:

All gold plating we use on our kits is 24K "upgrade gold". Upgrade means that the parts are plated using the rack method and that small amounts of cobalt or palladium are added to the plating chemicals. This enhances the durability of the gold plating. The tumbled method, which we do not use, produces an inferior gold plating and is less costly.

Berea does give us the flexibility to have kits "custom plated" in TiGold, if we wish. The cost would probably be at least 50% higher than the upgrade gold. How much interest would there be in the Electra in TiGold?

 

[76winger]

The Electra uses Berea's "Upgrade Gold".
...
Berea does give us the flexibility to have kits "custom plated" in TiGold, if we wish. The cost would probably be at least 50% higher than the upgrade gold. How much interest would there be in the Electra in TiGold?

I've not made any Electra's yet, but my two cents on on the plating:
I prefer the TiGold (or Gold TN as I've also seen it called) because it's my understanding it's a more durable finish than real gold (even upgraded or otherwise protected). So I tend to use it, when available, on mid-range and down pen offerings in order to provide a more durable final product. Plus, the slightly darker yellow color is appealing to me.

On higher-end pens, I think that real gold (22k or 24k) provides additional appeal because of the perceived value of gold. So long as the plating is heavy enough and placed strategically enough where it won't be worn off during normal use.