Sierra pen kits - which one?

[BCnabe]

So, I've purchased various Sierra pen kits direct from Rizheng and while I like the variety and styles their quality is mediocre - transmissions not always smooth, burrs around the centerband, loose fitting parts, etc.

I am in discussions with a client that could potentially turn into orders of 100+ pens a year.

The client likes the Sierra style but is flexible on the centerband style, cap style, etc.

I would like to get kits that are better quality than the Rizheng kits but when you start looking there are so many variations of Sierra / Ultra Sierra / Gatsby / Mesa that it's crazy.

What kits and suppliers do you recommend? I'd like to order a few different ones to check out but it looks as if some suppliers are selling Rizhheng kits so I don't want to buy more of what I already have.

Thanks!

 

[RKB]

My choice is Berea brand for sierra style pens. I especially like the Elegant Beauty. It's easy and people love the look of the pens.

There is a stainless steel option with Lazerlinez too.

Just my 2 cents. :biggrin:

Rod

 

[magpens]

Have a look at ExoticBlanks .... I particularly like their Zodiac, and they have other styles which are nice.

These are considerably cheaper than the Elegant Beauty, which I find beautiful but a bit expensive .... depends on what your customer wants, of course, and what they are prepared to pay.

One thing I like about the ExoticBlanks offerings is that they are finial twist, rather than body twist ... not a big deal, but my preference.

 

[Imaginethat]

I would second using Exotic Blanks for the Sierra pen style. The prices are reasonable, very fast shipping (almost before the order is in pens are delivered), selection of all the different brands and the most important of all you get MM's, peanut MM's.

Then there is the service which is right here in the US.

 

[gtriever]

My favorites are the Elegant Sierra and Sierra Elegant Beauty pens, because they look very classy for the price. For a lower price, the regular priced Sierra, Exotic Blanks' Ellipse (Diamond Knurl), and the ProX lines are also good choices. I've found the PSI Gatsby line to be a bit hit or miss, quality wise.

 

[Edgar]

My favorites are the Sierra Elegant and Sierra Elegant Beauty. I just like the style of the cap & clip on those versions best.

 

[duncsuss]

I go for finial-twist types, because I do not like the fact that the body-twist types exposed the end of the turned barrel and the brass tube when they are changing the refill.

The finial-twist types have a coupler pressed into both ends of the barrel, thus no exposed ends. I much prefer this for aesthetic reasons.

I like the Smitty's Penworks LeRoi v2, now from Exotic Blanks. It uses a 3/8" tube instead of the 27/64" tube used by most of the other versions. It's not a huge difference, but that extra 3/64" material thickness at the ends of the barrels (where the material is thinnest) makes for a lot fewer chip-outs.

 

[magpens]

I like the Smitty's Penworks LeRoi v2, now from Exotic Blanks. It uses a 3/8" tube instead of the 27/64" tube used by most of the other versions. It's not a huge difference, but that extra 3/64" material thickness at the ends of the barrels (where the material is thinnest) makes for a lot fewer chip-outs.

I agree that the increased material thickness is a significant advantage of the 3/8" tube design in the LeRoi. . However, the increase is 3/128" = 0.023" because you have to halve the difference in tube size.

 

[Talltim]

I have made lots of the berea based kits with good success.

Flee from the Manhattan kits ( rockler). My encounter with them was not positive as I have expressed before. Pennies saved were dollars wasted.

 

[curlyjoe]

Only Berea makes Sierras. All others are wannabe copies. You get what you pay for.

 

[duncsuss]

the increase is 3/128" = 0.023" because you have to halve the difference in tube size.

Quite right -- can I claim brain-fog in the aftermath of dental work? I'd just had a tooth pulled, and the painkillers were beginning to kick in.