Problems with CSUSA new style tips?

[lwalden]

Anyone else having problems with these? Specifically, the new design of tips/nibs for the rollerball Jr Statesman vII? Most of the ones I've purchased that have come with the newly designed tip are having an issue with the schmidt cartidges being a tight fit were the catridge should protrude through the tip, so that:
a- the tip doesn't want to extend as far as it should,
b- the pen takes extra effort to screw together, since the cartidge tip is sticking and not fully extending, and
c- when you go to take it back apart, the tip and thin part (reed?) that extend into the refill stick, and are pulled apart from the body of the refill.

I can take a small drill bit and correct the problem, but was hoping for feedback on if anyone else was experiencing this issue before contacting Eric at Craft Supplies.......

 

[Dario]

Lyle,

I will be assembling seven (7) Jr Gent II's tonight...I will post here how it goes for me.

 

[lwalden]

Do you know if the Jr Gent vII's get the same modified style tip as the new Jr Statesman vII's?

Originally posted by Dario
<br />Lyle,

I will be assembling seven (7) Jr Gent II's tonight...I will post here how it goes for me.

 

[Pikebite]

Yes!!!!! I have had this problem a lot and have had several kits replaced by CSUSA. All seem to be the Rhodium plated ones. CSUSA say they are well aware of the problem and have contacted their supplier.

The tips are the same on the Jr Gent II and the Jr Statesman II.

They have replaced the tips on 3 kits recently and 2 of the new ones are still tight but I have given up on them now. I don't like the new style rollerball tips, my customers hate them and with them being too tight I am turning more Barons now.

 

[Dario]

Lyle,

You are right...all seven that I assembled have small holes. I had to manually rim each one since I have to deliver the pens today. [B)]

I wonder why they don't mention and fix this problem since they knew about it. I will email CSUSA about this as well.

 

[txcwboy]

I put together 6 or 7 in the last week and all worked great ! Weird.

Dave

 

[lwalden]

Where they the rhodium plating, and were the nibs the new bullet shaped tips?

Originally posted by txcwboy
<br />I put together 6 or 7 in the last week and all worked great ! Weird.

Dave

 

[txcwboy]

Yes and Yes.

Dave

 

[Dario]

I didn't notice it at first but the refill's were actually not protruding enough and when I tried to take it off, I pulled the steel end off the plastic ink cartridge! The steel end was stuck and I had to push it out the nib...exactly as Lyle enumerated! [:0][V].

Good thing Lyle posted this, else I would have sold all of them that way and probably have some dissatisfied customers a few months from now. [B)]

 

[arioux]

Don't know why they change that nib. I hate the new one. They look like a di**. As far as i'm concern, no more of this model. I hope they will wake up, because since 2 or 3 mounts, i read more and more problems about their kits.

Alfred

 

[PenWorks]

Glad I am still working from old stock, I have not seen the new accept for the picture that was posted, pretty ugly from the pic.

 

[Jim in Oakville]

Anyone from CSUSA looking at this thread? Sure miss Nils at times like this.......

 

[lwalden]

Just did a couple of Jr Emperors in the rhodium/22K finish, and had the same problem with it's tip... which looks like it's the same new bullet style. I'm having to drill these out with a 7/64" bit in order to have the correct clearance, and I've had the plating on two of the tips "pop" while doing this. I'm assuming CSUSA will provide replacements- they've always provided excellent service in the past.

 

[chigdon]

I agree with Jim, CSUSA needs to be checking in more. Am I missing something, was there anything broken -- if it ain't broke . . .

 

[Dario]

Another issue I noticed...

I used to be able to swap rollerball tips with FP tips. With the new tip you cannot do it anymore [V]. The FP has a different sleeve to protect the nib and the new more bulbous tip won't fit that anymore.

 

[arioux]

Does anyone know if they notify somewhere of this change. Their web site still show the old model. Pretty deceiveing when you receive the new one.

Alfred

 

[gerryr]

I had the same problem in front of a customer with a Jr. Statesman. I wasn't real happy about it. I don't know what's going on at CSUSA, but there is no excuse for poor quality at these prices. Combine that with changing designs without warning and I'm not sure how much I'll be ordering from them in the future. I love the Jr. Statesman, but may only buy it as a fountain pen.

 

[ericatcraft]

Thanks to everyone who has let us know of these problems with the Jr. Statesman pen kits, we really appreciate (and welcome) the feedback as we sometimes do not realize there are problems with a pen until our customers let us know. I wanted to let you all know that we are currently working on these issues with our Jr. Statesman and Jr. Gentlemen pens- the issue with the refill not always fitting the pens just came to our attention the end of last week. I know that our techs are currently going through every single one of these pen kits to make sure that they are all manufactured correctly, which is no small task as there are a lot of pen kits to go through! I have also let our general manager and vice president, who are directly responsible for quality control, know of these issues.
We of course stand behind all of our products and I do not want anyone to be stuck with a pen they do not like, even if the pen functions properly and you are not happy with the way it looks please call us and we'll either send you a new pen you can turn or refund your money- no questions asked. I hope you believe me and call us, we really want you to be happy with every single one of your purchases.
I will also see about getting a new photo on our website to properly portray the new design of the nibs, I don't think it will happen today but I will speak with our webmaster.
Thank you again for your feedback about these pens, please continue to let me know what you think of them and how we can improve our products.

 

[txbob]

Eric,

Don't change the old picture to match the new nib.

Change the new nib to match the old picture.

Happy Holidays,
txbob

 

[Jim in Oakville]

Originally posted by ericatcraft
<br />Thanks to everyone who has let us know of these problems with the Jr. Statesman pen kits, we really appreciate (and welcome) the feedback as we sometimes do not realize there are problems with a pen until our customers let us know. I wanted to let you all know that we are currently working on these issues with our Jr. Statesman and Jr. Gentlemen pens- the issue with the refill not always fitting the pens just came to our attention the end of last week. I know that our techs are currently going through every single one of these pen kits to make sure that they are all manufactured correctly, which is no small task as there are a lot of pen kits to go through! I have also let our general manager and vice president, who are directly responsible for quality control, know of these issues.
We of course stand behind all of our products and I do not want anyone to be stuck with a pen they do not like, even if the pen functions properly and you are not happy with the way it looks please call us and we'll either send you a new pen you can turn or refund your money- no questions asked. I hope you believe me and call us, we really want you to be happy with every single one of your purchases.
I will also see about getting a new photo on our website to properly portray the new design of the nibs, I don't think it will happen today but I will speak with our webmaster.
Thank you again for your feedback about these pens, please continue to let me know what you think of them and how we can improve our products.

Thanks Eric,

We are a friendly bunch, so we will let you know what we find if something needs correction. Don't be stranger, we appreciate your participation as well.
[]

 

[ed4copies]

The guy is posting at 7:30 in the morning, his time. We should cut him a LITTLE slack!

However, I do agree that at the new pricing schedule, CSUSA should consider sending the kits back to China and let THEM quality check each one. The next shipment will be better if THEY experience the problems. If CSUSA solves it, quality control need not improve (from the Chinese perspective)!

 

[Dario]

Ed,

While I agree with you, I believe this can be done some other way. You should know that for them to listen, all you have to do is pull the pocketbook string. There is no better motivation than the $$$$$ sign. []

For now CSUSA is making sure they have something to supply their customers...that is the proper focus.

 

[ed4copies]

Dario,

While it may not have pertained directly to CSUSA, if they follow this forum, they knew we were having this same problem with the Cigar pens for quite some time. So assuming there is a learning curve seems to apply only if it pertains directly to them. (You would think their manufacturer would have had sample refills to TRY the production pens every hundred or so and make sure everything FIT!!!)

As I have said before, we used to handle manufacturing problems as "par for the course" when kits were first introduced. By now, since they want to escalate their profits with higher end kits, we have a reasonable expectation that the kits will perform FLAWLESSLY!!! So far, between threading problems and now hole size problems, things have been far from flawless.

 

[Dario]

I am with you Ed...especially the expectation for flawless high end kits.

 

[Pikebite]

Umm? Interesting comment. I e-mailed Eric on Tuesday the 3rd October to tell him of problems with the tips on these kits. After a series of e-mails I received replacement kits back on the 17th November. Great customer service as usual but they knew before last week.

Originally posted by ericatcraft
<br />- the issue with the refill not always fitting the pens just came to our attention the end of last week. I know that our techs are currently going through every single one of these pen kits to make sure that they are all manufactured correctly.

 

[sandking]

Well I just called tech support and the rep had no idea this was a problem. Not sure how techs could be pulling each kit and checking them is this tech had no idea there was an issue.

 

[airrat]

I put one together and it already sold. I have 2 more now and dont know what to do. Going to go through all my kits and see if I have the old version.

Eric I suggest you get your GM or VP to read this. With the price of these kits, they might want to know how unhappy their clients are. Getting it from you vs reading the comments will have a different impact. Also the conflicting statements on when you all found out about it and that you actually know it is a problem.

i'm off to try the fits on all the new ones. I will not be happy if I cannot fill the two that were just ordered from me.

 

[Ron Mc]

txbob...I agree. Bring back the old nib! ...Please...I recently lost a long time customer do to the new look.[]

 

[bradbn4]

Oh, drat - and I just did a buy on 24 of these pen kits based on the old photo...my first for this type of pen. And maybe last try on this style of pen.

Just does that updated pen tip look like?

bradbn4

 

[gerryr]

For anyone who hasn't voted on the issue of the nib design, go to the polls forum and vote.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20004

 

[LanceD]

Eric at CSUSA hasn't commented on this thread yet. I'm wondering if he's seen or even knows about the it. I'd like to know the reason behind such a silly looking change like this one.

 

[bradbn4]

Maybe they need to change the name to reflect the style change. You know change the "II" to "III" - and make sure that the photo of the pen matches the plating style too.

The old photo's are still up on the website - for the people who voted for the new tip design - do you have any old kits you would like to swap for the new?

I just hope that new style will grow on me.

Now to find a "xxx' pen mill that will work with the PANACHE - - I think the OD on the large bushing is bigger than my 3/4" cutter.

Bradbn4

Bradbn4

 

[Draken]

Originally posted by LanceD
<br />Eric at CSUSA hasn't commented on this thread yet. I'm wondering if he's seen or even knows about the it. I'd like to know the reason behind such a silly looking change like this one.

Lance,

Look 13 posts up from yours, you'll see a post by Eric at CSUSA.

Cheers,
Draken

 

[ericatcraft]

I just made a post regarding this and other concerns with the Jr. Gent and Jr. Statesman pen kits that you all might find helpful. Here is the link:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20257

Thanks for all the feedback.