toolcrazy
Member
I've been looking for a good euro type pen. Until I saw the posted segmented pen, I never considered this pen. Any opinions?
Opinions on the perfect fit.
- Thread starter toolcrazy
- Start date
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GaryMGg
Member
Eagle does a lot of his experiments using this kit; that's good enough for me. 
pipeyeti
Member
You should ask Ed[8D]
alamocdc
Member
It's one of my favorites, but that's just me.
Dan_F
Member
There seem to be strong opinions on either side of the aisle on this kit, as you will probably find out soon enough. I have some, but haven't put one together yet.
Dan
Dan
broitblat
Member
I think the perfect fit is a good choice in terms of kit details, hand feel, etc. I like it, but it's not exactly a Euro style?!
-Barry
-Barry
karlkuehn
Banned
I heard a lot of good things about that kit from people who I respect a lot, so I thought I'd finally give it a try.
The finished pen is okay, but I hated the whole process of building it. Two different sort of oddball-sized tubes, have to cut a tenon, plastic transmission that connects at the very back of the pen, giving that Sierra-like bell and clapper feel at the twist joint, just a lot of cons for something that I wouldn't feel comfortable selling for more than what I sell my 7mm Euros for.
I really liked the way the transmission 'felt' smooth and solid in operation, but I gotta agree with Ed about the mechanics of the design. I can't see that plastic transmission holding up as well as a metal one, and it fits pretty loose, so it feels like the cap is going to fall off all the time. I also had trouble finding that 'sweet' spot where you screw the refill holder in loose enough to where the cap will actually unscrew it instead of having to pull off the cap AND the refill thingy to get the cartridge out.
The center band is nice, but overall for the price, I'd rather buy and build two 7mm Euros. If I could just find a good refill for the standard Euros to replace the krufty 'Cross' ones, I'd be in fat city with those. I love the 'customizability' of the 7mm designers. They're cheap enough kits that you can really flub one up and just toss it without taking too much of a loss. Leaving the center band off really cuts down on lathe/assembly time as you don't have to cut and glue a tenon; they also show off the blanks well, with a lot of room for messing with the diameter of the tubes. I also like that you can alter the length of the tubes with a lot of forgiveness, and in the end, I think you can come up with some really cool custom stuff that looks as nice as the Perfect Fit for the same amount of work (or less!).
That's my take on the PF kit after building two of them and getting rid of the rest of the 2 dozen kits I bought. For less money, you can buy titanium gold and black titanium Euros that are much easier to work with.
Wanna buy some slightly used bushings? heh []
The finished pen is okay, but I hated the whole process of building it. Two different sort of oddball-sized tubes, have to cut a tenon, plastic transmission that connects at the very back of the pen, giving that Sierra-like bell and clapper feel at the twist joint, just a lot of cons for something that I wouldn't feel comfortable selling for more than what I sell my 7mm Euros for.
I really liked the way the transmission 'felt' smooth and solid in operation, but I gotta agree with Ed about the mechanics of the design. I can't see that plastic transmission holding up as well as a metal one, and it fits pretty loose, so it feels like the cap is going to fall off all the time. I also had trouble finding that 'sweet' spot where you screw the refill holder in loose enough to where the cap will actually unscrew it instead of having to pull off the cap AND the refill thingy to get the cartridge out.
The center band is nice, but overall for the price, I'd rather buy and build two 7mm Euros. If I could just find a good refill for the standard Euros to replace the krufty 'Cross' ones, I'd be in fat city with those. I love the 'customizability' of the 7mm designers. They're cheap enough kits that you can really flub one up and just toss it without taking too much of a loss. Leaving the center band off really cuts down on lathe/assembly time as you don't have to cut and glue a tenon; they also show off the blanks well, with a lot of room for messing with the diameter of the tubes. I also like that you can alter the length of the tubes with a lot of forgiveness, and in the end, I think you can come up with some really cool custom stuff that looks as nice as the Perfect Fit for the same amount of work (or less!).
That's my take on the PF kit after building two of them and getting rid of the rest of the 2 dozen kits I bought. For less money, you can buy titanium gold and black titanium Euros that are much easier to work with.
Wanna buy some slightly used bushings? heh [
]
toolcrazy
Member
Thanks all!!!
Karl,
Which euro is your fav. I've looked at some, and just don't like the look.
Karl,
Which euro is your fav. I've looked at some, and just don't like the look.
karlkuehn
Banned
I use the 7mm Euros from Ernie at Bear Tooth Woods, he's got great pricing, and out of the bazillion I've gotten from him, I've never had a bad fit or plating on a Berea kit. Also, the 3 piece center bands look much better in my opinion than the one piece stuff.
The 8mm Euros have the Parker style refill, but I don't like the clip/finial configuration. I do like the nib cone on this kit better than the 7mm one, though.
I think to make the perfect Euro, I'd have to pick and choose stuff from 4 different kits, but the parts won't all fit together without some serious reworking. I think if I had my druthers, I'd take the screw type finial from the 7mm kit, the clip from the Olympia, the center band options from the Perfect Fit, and the transmission/Parker refill/and nib cone from the 8mm round top.
For the time being, I'm partial to the 7mm since I have to pick one kit until I get a metal lathe and start making my own stuff.
rherrell
Member
I don't find the Perfect Fit hard to make at all. It's my favorite ballpoint kit. I'm the exact opposite of Karl on this in that I think the tenon on the 7mm Euro is harder to get right than removing everything down to the brass like you do with the Perfect Fit...
BigShed
Member
I don't have extensive experience with the Perfect Fit, having only turned 4 so far. I do like them, I particularly like the fact they take the 0.5 or 0.7mm Schmidt pencil, so it is very easy to make a pen/pencil set that looks identical.
These were the first pens where I had to turn a tenon and didn't find that very hard at all.
Can't compare them to a Euro, haven't done any yet!
These were the first pens where I had to turn a tenon and didn't find that very hard at all.
Can't compare them to a Euro, haven't done any yet!
toolcrazy
Member
Well, I think it's gonna boil down to trying them both and see which I like the best. thanks all.
redfishsc
Member
Nobody has mentioned what customers prefer!
Every person that has fiddled with a Perfect Fit or the ElGrande Ballpoint has made some sort of very positive comment the first time they twist it. Usually a delightful "oh!" or "Huh!" That is the sound of quality.
Every person that has fiddled with a Perfect Fit or the ElGrande Ballpoint has made some sort of very positive comment the first time they twist it. Usually a delightful "oh!" or "Huh!"
That is the sound of quality.
Vince_Hoffmann
Member
The Woodcraft European round top appears identical to the Berea European, and is less expensive to boot.
karlkuehn
Banned
The Woodcraft Euros are more expensive than the Berea Euros that I get at Bear Tooth Woods by $.75 or so.
Ernie almost always has better prices than Woodcraft on kits (even with WC's 20% off sale that runs through the end of April), and the Berea stuff is much better, IMO.
Vince_Hoffmann
Member
I'll have to check out Bear Tooth Woods, thanks!
Dan_F
Member
Berea is the supplier for Woodcraft kits, so kits should be the same, just different names and less choices in platings.
Dan
karlkuehn
Banned
Ahhh! I stand corrected! I didn't realize that WC got their stuff from Berea, I thought there was a (mainland) Chinese company that was also making those kit styles. From what I understand, the Berea stuff is all made in Taiwan.
gwilki
Member
I've had excellent feedback on the Perfect Fit, other than the gold - TI or otherwise. I've had even TI gold wear off in a few weeks, so I just won't to them any more.
As for the tenon thing that my friend, Karl, doesn't like,, I cut the blank short rather than cutting the tenon.
With my testers, I have had a couple where, like the problem with the Sierra, the transmission can unscrew if the user keeps turning after the nib is retracted. I'm personally testing one now where I've permanently glued the transmission into the cap. Now,to replace the refill, one just keeps unscrewing, rather than pulling the pen apart, then unscrewing the transmission. So far, so good.
As for the tenon thing that my friend, Karl, doesn't like,
, I cut the blank short rather than cutting the tenon. With my testers, I have had a couple where, like the problem with the Sierra, the transmission can unscrew if the user keeps turning after the nib is retracted. I'm personally testing one now where I've permanently glued the transmission into the cap. Now,to replace the refill, one just keeps unscrewing, rather than pulling the pen apart, then unscrewing the transmission. So far, so good.