Suggestions welcome

[ToddMR]

So part of this weekend I was working on a guest book pen for my SIL's wedding. I had a piece of wild African olive wood I was using on it. I also decided to get the Classic American Fountain Pen kit from Woodturningz. I had done the rollerball in the past and was happy with it. Anyhow, I got it all turned and finished. I put the whole pen together and as I am putting the cap on, I noticed something catching. Something in the threads was putting a fine scratch all the way around the nib holder. So I took the cb off and then using a file, filed both the cb edges and some of the brass tube. I put it back on and same catching. The tenon was dead on or just a smidgen under 1/8" so I knew it wasn't an issue of it being too long. Also I noticed the coupler threads didn't seem to be cut very well as the parts screwed in really rough. Now I know this isn't a high end kit, but I was expecting better performance from my previous experience. I have requested a replacement but figured I would look into a different kit in the mean time.

Sorry for the long story, but wanted to give you the back ground on this. So I wondered what people's thoughts were on the following kits from WC. Do you think they are nice and have you had many issues with them? Since this is a pen for their wedding I am expecting it to stay packed away with the guest book and won't get a lot of use. Thanks for any suggestions. I would like to keep the total cost lower for me right now I am looking at about $20-$25 total for the kits w/ bushings.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pr...28270&ss=ddee66fe-816b-443d-bb06-15d837abd3ad

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pr...=2699&ss=ddee66fe-816b-443d-bb06-15d837abd3ad

 

[DurocShark]

I'm a HUGE fan of the SS Navigator. I have one right here in front of me, my daily writer.

I don't like the faceted grip on the rollerballs, but the round grip on the fountain pens is nice. Sterling looks great and is reasonably durable.

 

[Jon-wx5nco]

I've not had any problems with either.

 

[juteck]

The round top style has metal to metal threads and doesn't feel tight when capped or posted. You probably won't notice much difference from the flat top you already tried. I vote for the navigator over the other.

Just my added opinion - for a guest pen at a wedding, a fountain pen spells "classy", but too many people don't know how to write with one and may get frustrated and ruin the nib, or leave the cap off and have it dry out and not write at all, leaving someone scrambing to dig an old hardware store advertising Bic from the bottom of a purse.

I'd suggest a rollerball or even a decent ballpoint. I made a Majestic Jr. rollerball for my cousin's wedding (picked out by the bride), and feedback from the guests was it was nice to write with but heavy, and the screw cap was a bit of a hassle. If I were to make another wedding guest pen, I think I'll look more seriously at the hybrid cigar with an upgraded refill. Still heavy, but you can show off just as much nice wood without having to worry about what happens to the cap.