Plating question...

[alparent]

I have a black titanium cigar pen that I've been using for the last month and a half. It is well taking care of and the plating as already started to rub of on the nib. I tought Titanium was the best thing around? I titanium starts rubbing of after 1 month, hoe the heck am I suppose to sell any pens to people? Enjoy your 50$ pen while it's last! Only 1 month? Is this normal or did I just get a bed nib?

Are we allowd e to say where we got the kits? Not to come down on the supplier but just to know if other add the same problem with their pens?

How to you guys (and girls) dell with this plating issues when you sell a pen?

 

[Dave_M]

Good question. I have four gold titanium kits that have done the same to me just carrying them around in my shirt pocket. Having the finish wear off the nib after a few weeks makes me nervous. I can't, in good conscience, sell this kind of stuff to people.

 

[Ligget]

If its from CSUSA there is a thread running just now about bad plating which is pitting.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29342

 

[alparent]

No they are not from CSUSA.

I don't get it only 2 replies?

This question bring me back to Redfishsc's post "the new cheap crapola grade pen lines bother me".

If we can't expect high end pens (titanium and platinum) to last more then a couple of months, maybe we should buy those cheap crapola kits instead? I could sell the a lot cheaper and clients wouldn't be suprise to see the plating rubbing of after just a couple of months!

Or maybe I should just by those cheap crapola kits and just turn pens for fun and give them away or sell them at cost?

Somebody please tell me how you deal with this?

I'm very depressed about this plating thing.[]

 

[Rifleman1776]

Low number of replies is probably because this is being cussed and discussed in another threat and has been for several days. I don't know who you bought from but you do say "not from CSUSA". Sometimes cheap ain't best value. Deal with a reputable vendor and you are (usually) certain to get satisfaction. Don't ask me why I went from Tn Barons to Jr. Gents.

 

[alparent]

So your basically saying buy from CSUSA and stay away from the others?

 

[DCBluesman]

The lack of response may also be due to the fact that some of us, including me, have not had any problems with platings on either Berea kits or CS USA kits. I'm not singling out PSI, but just don't make any of their pens.

 

[alparent]

So there is hope!

Could it be that Black Ti is not as good as Gold Ti?

I will contact the seller and try to solve this issue before disclosing is name.

But if worse comes to worse, I will tell you about it so you will be warned. I don't want to be a trouble maker but I just don't want any body else to go trough what I'm going trough.

Thanks again

 

[ed4copies]

Could be the percentages are, relatively, insignificant!

I have sold a couple thousand pens in the past 5 years - TWO have been returned because the plating "came off" - 10kt gold. BOTH by the same truck driver. HE told ME he was BRUTAL to his pens and he was NOT irritated, in fact, he found the situation amusing. I replaced his pens with TN (gold color) and that was a year ago. Haven't seen him since. (In fact, the show he goes to is no longer on our schedule).

IF one in a thousand pens is "bad", I can live with that. So, its a little difficult to get me to FLAME the manufacturers for THIS.

Now, start a thread about their profit margin and I will be HAPPY to get out my TORCH!!![:0][:0][:0]

 

[Dave_M]

The kits I had problems with are gold titanium from Berea. Maybe a bad production run or other oddity, so hopefully I won't continue to see this problem.

 

[alparent]

Thanks Ed!
It's not my style, nor my intention to flame anybody. Being farely new to this game, I just wanted the input of knowledgable people like yourself. And what better place to get that then on IAP?

 

[ed4copies]

Al,

In all seriousness, I sell primarily Cigar TN (gold color); however, I sell a LOT (hundreds) of Slimline TN from resellers of PSI too. NONE has ever come back to haunt me.

I sell a LOT FEWER Jr. Gents and other larger pens - not enough to make a good statistical sampling. But, none of them has ever returned, either.

 

[redfishsc]

Originally posted by alparent
<br />So there is hope!

Could it be that Black Ti is not as good as Gold Ti?

I will contact the seller and try to solve this issue before disclosing is name.

But if worse comes to worse, I will tell you about it so you will be warned. I don't want to be a trouble maker but I just don't want any body else to go trough what I'm going trough.

Thanks again

Personally I have found black Ti to be the MOST durable plating, hands down. I use several pens of every plating I sell, just as "test runs", and every black ti pen I have--- such as a cigar from Woodturningz a year ago and a Jr Gent II from CSA nearly a year ago, the plating looks fine, only the usual light scratch due to regular use. No "wearing" of the plating.


You mentioned the problem being on the nib. If you have --even once--- dropped this pen-- you or a family member or your CAT knocking it off the counter([!]don't get me started), Murphy's Law requires the pen to land on the nib. I assure you it will then wear faster if it landed on the nib, since the base metal, whatever they cast them out of, is softer than the titanium plating.


If you don't think the wear could possibly be your fault, contact the supplier, see if they will replace it, and if so, make another one and use it.

 

[leehljp]

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE on Ti PLATING and staining from the ink:

Early this past summer, I had a new Ti Gold pen, just assembled. The pen wouldn't write, so I squiggled it on some paper. Ink started flowing out normally. I drew a small pict about an inch square and filled it in. I got some ink on the Ti gold nib. The ink stained the nib and made it look like the plating wore off. I wiped and waxed the end but nothing happened; a thin layer of ink stayed on. It still looked like the plating was very thin and was wearing through. I took some acetone on a cloth and carefully wiped only the nib, and repeated this several times, rubbing harder each time. It took some of the ink off but left minute light spots where the ink was.


This had happened a year ago on another pen but I didn't know if it was a wear-through problem or an ink stain problem, but it it had the same effect. One was bought from AS the other was purchased from BTW. So I personally couldn't point this to a pen quality problem from a cheap vendor.

 

[arioux]

Originally posted by ed4copies
<br />
Now, start a thread about their profit margin and I will be HAPPY to get out my TORCH!!![:0][:0][:0]

I just change my photocopieur, can i start a tread about copier manufacturer margin ? [][][][][][}]