Plating

[Fatstrat]

Good Day,
Im just wondering about the durability of some of the different types of plating on the metal parts in kits. I know that the titanium finishes are very good as wll as the rhodium ones, but what about chrome, black chrome, satin nickel, satin pearl, and tactile(csusa) platings. I do know that gold plating is too soft to have any decent wear resistance, so i will only be using it for things that wont be handled much. Id like to know what other ones to stay away from. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[bitshird]

I bekieve this has been discussed to death many time over, try the keyword plating in the search bar, here is one from a few months backhttp://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29210&SearchTerms=platings

 

[rjwolfe3]

If you happen to have CSUSA's recent catalog, they have an excellent page in it on the different plating and how it holds up. I tried to find it on their website real quick but no luck. If you don't have the catalog they will mail it to you for free.
This is their website: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com
I don't have enough experience to help you any further since I've only used the cheap plating so far. (But hope to change that soon!)
Good luck!

 

[rlharding]

CSUSa's plating info is in the front section. Go to their site, you can view it online.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Didn't find it in their front section but a little more digging led to this: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/util/pensandplating?Args=
However their catalog page actually shows the different plating with a side by side comparison.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You seem to have a grasp of the situation. The advice to read what is in the CS catalog is very good. Bottom line is, you decide what level of quality you want in your pens. When you make that decision you are also deciding what others will see in your work over a long period of time. For me, unless a customer insists otherwise, my only platings are titanium/gold and rhodium/platinum.