Pen Supplier Preference

[Fleabit]

Since I have been reading these forums, I have been keeping tabs on the companies mentioned. Here is the question, since I am new to this craft and really have only dealt with PSI:

Who prefers what supplier and why?

Just some info gathering.

Thanks

 

[Gregory Huey]

BB would be first then CSU, Berea Hardwood, Woodcraft, Hut, and PSI last. Bill handles kits from CSU & Berea as well as some great woods. His prices a very good as well. IMHO CSU has the best kit on the market at this time. I forgot to mention Woodwrite they have a couple of kits I really like.

 

[Fleabit]

Sorry....BB stands for?

 

[Fred in NC]

BB = Bill Baumbeck, owner of AZ
AZ = Arizona Silhouette - www.arizonasilhouette.com

Also check www.woodturningz.com

 

[Gregory Huey]

Sorry BB stands for
Bill Baumbeck - Owner of Arizona Silhoutte. There is a link to them on our home page (left hand side) under favorites. Bills woods are the top of the line. He calls em eye candy. He will give you quanity prices weather you buy 1 or 100 and his shipping rates are great.

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

I like the PSI Designers, Comfort Grips, and Classic Rollerball and Fountain pens. So a great supplier for PSI kits is Ryan at Woodturningz. He beats PSI's prices and is excellent to work with. Sheila at Pens Of Color is also excellent.

Heck, any of the suppliers that also read and participate here at IAP are great people to work with. Each of them will give you a more personal experience than the mainline companies. They are willing and eager to share THEIR turning experience and preferences with you to help you get the most out of it.

Here is Sheila's link to add to the list ... http://pocwoodworking.com/catalog/

 

[Rudy Vey]

My first choice for nearly all the kits I use is Berea Hardwoods. They have, in my opinion, the best kits, price and a very good service. I also buy some special kits from BB, like the new Baron kits (btw made by Berea) and before that I bought the Gents Jr and Gents kits. BB also has an incredible quality in stabilized and dyed pen blanks, like some say its "eye candy" and he has a super service.
In the past, when I started I bought kits from Woodcraft, but these are mainly supplied by Berea (they also supply most of the kits Rockler sells). My experience with Craft Supplies is limited to the kits I buy via BB.
Woodturningz has great service, too and they mainly sell PSI kits.
I do not know the kit quality of PSI, I do not use them.

Rudy

 

[goldentouch]

I buy most of my stuff from BB now but have done buisness with most of the others. I would say stick with BB or Woodturningz for that extra personal touch.

 

[Guest]

Woodturningz and AS though not in the order of importance.
I have dealt with Berea directly (including the owner) and will NEVER deal with them again.
Bill doesn't carry all Berea styles but his selection is great!
I do dislike giving Berea any buisness even if it's through Bill but It's worth dealing with someone who belives in customer service like BIll and the guys at Wood turningz as opposed to Berea.

 

[Old Griz]

I deal almost exclusively with www.arizonasilhouette.com (Bill B) and www.woodturningz.com (Ryan), who I call depends on what they have on sale and specifically what it is I need... they are each in their own right fantastic dealers and have great customer service...
If you were to only order through these two dealers you would not be sorry..

 

[Rifleman1776]

As a relative newcomer to this avocation, I was quickly discouraged by the lack of standarization among the various suppliers. Most require their own mandrel, drill, bushing, etc. sizes. Many of the pen styles have different names for the same pen kit. I was determined not to waste time and money buying everything possible from everybody. So I settled in Craft Supplies USA as my source. However, as things go, I learned a little, mainly from this discussion group. And now I buy some kits from Bear Tooth Woods. Ernie has good prices. His sale prices are sometimes 50% of the major suppliers. I will also probably buy from the famous BB later too. My supply of blanks came from a friend getting out of turning because of health. A sad thing for him but a bonanza for me. Also, I am becoming very adept at 'scrounging' for wood. I go to the drop-off site in our town where tree trimmers leave their waste and the town mulches it for park paths. We are allowed to take what we want. Then the other day a friend gave me a dogwood log that turned out to be spalted. About 30 great looking blanks from that and it only cost me an hour at the bandsaw. As to the pen kits, I sure wish an experienced pen maker here would give a complete chart for the interchangable names of kits among the different sources. i.e. the famous Slimline is called the Traditional by another company. There are many such variations. Knowing what is what could give us, as consumers, better choices and options when shopping price. You asked a question and I gave a sermon. Don't ask what time it is, I'm liable to tell you how to build a clock. []

 

[Fred in NC]

Frank, we cannot control the companies that sell supplies. All we can do is learn about it, and do the best we can.

 

[woodscavenger]

I would echo the request from Rifleman about a comprehensive list that shows names/name equivalents, bushings, tubes, and drill bits sizes for the pen kits.

 

[DCBluesman]

That's quite a tall order! Last time I checked, there were at least 100 different kits available. I'll post a poll and if we get enough commitment to provide the required details, I'll get a simple spreadsheet made up with the information the members supply. Don't send the info yet, just respond to the poll.

Originally posted by woodscavenger
<br />I would echo the request from Rifleman about a comprehensive list that shows names/name equivalents, bushings, tubes, and drill bits sizes for the pen kits.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Fred, I believe that consumer trends control companies. If vendors see market slipping away because of sophisticated knowledge on the part of their customers, they will find a way to compete. Usually by lower prices, or, hopefully in this case, standarizing sizes and names.

Originally posted by Fred in NC
<br />Frank, we cannot control the companies that sell supplies. All we can do is learn about it, and do the best we can.

 

[its_virgil]

Over on yahoo penturners there is a list started but I'm not sure how often it has been updated, but that would be a place to start. Look in the files area under cross reference.
do a good turn daily!
don

Originally posted by woodscavenger
<br />I would echo the request from Rifleman about a comprehensive list that shows names/name equivalents, bushings, tubes, and drill bits sizes for the pen kits.

 

[esheffield]

This sort of all goes along with an idea that I started getting as an offshoot of the discussion of pen kit reviews. I'm imagining a kit database searchable by mfg, part #, name (Ligero, El Grande, etc.), or type (slimline, cigar, fountain). The entry for a particular kit could include pics (parts & assembled), a review, extra comments ("I found this kit easier to assemble if I..."), instructions, links to suppliers, and mandrel/bit/bushing information. Basically a central repository of anything and everything you might want to know about a kit but were afraid to ask.

And since I'm a web developer by day, I'm willing to volunteer to help implement such a thing if there's interest in it.

Eddie

 

[tipusnr]

Take a look at the home page and the pen assembly instructions listed. That is how we have tried to approach this already. The layout is easy and the pictures really help. As a non-contributor myself, I can say we (the non-contributors) are the main stumbling block to making this work.

That is not to dissuade your idea or approach - just a little background about the wheels already attached to this wagon.

 

[Tom Stephens]

I usually buy from BB and CSUSA. Sometimes I buy from PSI.
I will not deal with Berea. I don't usually buy their pens
from anyone else either.
Tom

 

[PenWorks]

CSUSA & BB get the bulk of my money. Both are close to me, so when I order, I have it the same week. Both have great sevice, selection, & customer service.

Anthony

 

[esheffield]

Originally posted by tipusnr
<br />
That is not to dissuade your idea or approach - just a little background about the wheels already attached to this wagon.

Oh, no problem. I don't see what I'm rolling around in my head as a *replacement* for the current instructions. Rather an extension. Some way to tie together all the info that folks are asking for in a single searchable location. That way you don't have to go to one place for instructions, another for reviews, a third for tooling cross-reference, and then search the forums for other comments. The instructions would just be linked to from this central kit info page.

Eddie

 

[RPM]

Not trying to highjack this post, but there has been alot of discussions of suppliers in the context of the outfit that puts the item in the box and their customer service. For example, there have been praises for BB but disdain for Berea. Are you guys saying you like the Berea kits, but would only buy them from BB, or you like the CSA and BB exclusives from BB and would not buy the Berea regardless of source? I would be interested in specific pen kits to avoid due to quality/performance issues.
Richard

 

[Fred in NC]

I use Berea as well as other kits. My preference is to buy from service oriented suppliers with a good attitude. I can buy what I need from them regardless of source, which saves placing separate orders.

 

[woodpens]

I have had several discussions with Jim Heusinger at Berea, and I have the utmost respect for him. However, I find it more difficult than most to place an order with them. I do a lot of my ordering after midnight, and prefer to place my orders online. Berea has the ultimate url for selling pens kits (www.penkits.com), but they do not use it as a sales tool. They would multiply their sales volume immensely IMHO if they would hire somebody to do that for them and get a shopping cart system running. I guess their sales are primarily to the big guys like Woodcraft.

So, I order all of my Berea supplies through Bill Baumbeck. Since he also carries CSU supplies, he gets all of my pen kit business. Although I buy wood from a variety of sources, I have never been disappointed with any I have bought from him. If I had to pick one place to buy everything, Arizona Silhouette would be the winner hands down.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by RPM
<br />Not trying to highjack this post, but there has been alot of discussions of suppliers in the context of the outfit that puts the item in the box and their customer service. For example, there have been praises for BB but disdain for Berea. Are you guys saying you like the Berea kits, but would only buy them from BB, or you like the CSA and BB exclusives from BB and would not buy the Berea regardless of source? I would be interested in specific pen kits to avoid due to quality/performance issues.
Richard

I do not understand why here is so much bad experience with Berea. I can only again say that I have very positive experience with them. My orders are shipped right away, are always complete, and if there is a problem with some parts I call and they are sent out the same day. When I am on business in the Cleveland area I always try to stop by at least once or twice a year. It is always good to see them and talk to Jim - one always can learn some things, and you can select some nice woods. The only problem I see is the same as Jim Lambert mentioned - their web site is not up to date and one can not order through it. But I like to call anyways to order my supplies.
The two latest additions to the pen kit world, the Olympia and the Baron - exclusively sold by Bill Baumbeck - are both made by Berea.

Rudy

 

[wdcav1952]

I have been lucky in that I have had few bad experiences ordering kits. I was fortunate to stumble across Ernie at Beartoothwoods.com with a Google search about a year ago. Ernie has shown enormous patience with my questions as I slowly learned which end of the gouge to hold. No disrespect to BB, CUSA, Woodturninz, and Penn State, I just became friends with Ernie, and tend to send him most of my limited business.

 

[Gary]

It's hard to beat a good business relationship.