Full Review Jr Aaron from dayacom/signature pen supply

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edstreet

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Since this is a product review that will be of serious help to pen makers both current and future I do ask that everyone please read the full text before commenting.

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The Jr Aaron is manufactured by Dayacom and is sold in the US by Jon David Jones Signature Pen Supply. I have several kits that came in this week and put one with another dealer for presentation.

The Aaron in all practical sense is built on the Gent Jr foundation, right down the to tube size and the bushing sizes. Even uses the exact same 18 TPI double lead cap thread size. ( x1.5 for those in the metric world). The screw threads form a 1 1/2 rotation to fully cap the pen and 1/2 rotation to post. The clip alignment points is when you start threading the cap align the clip down from the nib and it will be proper when it's tight. As some may not be aware there are 10 alignment points for a fountain pen and a few less (5 total) for a rollerball. Since this pen takes both nibs I would strongly urge everyone to adhere to the fountain pen alignment points.

1) nib to blank pattern
2) nib to clip when posted
3) nib to clip when capped
4) upper barrel pattern to lower barrel pattern when posted
5) upper barrel pattern to lower barrel pattern when capped
6) clip to upper and lower barrel pattern
7) finial pattern to nib
8) finial pattern to blank pattern
9) end cap pattern to nib
10) end cap pattern to blank pattern


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Using this sound business logistic there is no need for new bushings or tubes for any pen turner who wants to give these kits a try, they fit right on the existing setup that is used. For the blank maker this makes things very simple and easier to work with.
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What we see here is a new style of embellishment in the end cap and the finial. This is similar to the statesmen that many of us are familiar with already.
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What we have here is a pen kit *NOT* made in china as we see with the new Gent Jr's coming out of Another dealer. They are made by Dayacom to a very high standard and done the proper way.

By 'proper' I am referring to many times pen makers want to have a rollerball and / or fountain pen with just swapping a part out. This kit features both nibs in one package (assuming you choose fountain pen at checkout). You also have the option of choosing just rollerball as well.
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Some reference points:
#5 nibs: length: 2.5cm /shoulder width: 7mm /base width: 5mm /fits a 5mm feed


#5.5 nibs: length: 2.6cm /shoulder width: 7mm /base width: 5mm /fits a 5mm feed


#35 nibs (also known as #6): length: 3.5cm /shoulder width: 9mm /base width: 6.3mm /fits a 6.3mm feed

The nib itself is a #35 size (#6 by many in the pen kit community) made by Jowo and stamped with the Dayacom logo.

The next question that I wanted to answer because many are going to be asking is "How can the Gent Jr be used with a #6 nib?". For those of us that are deep into fountain pen usage and construction the answer is very simple. The black plastic coupler holds the key to the answer. The new revised coupler that Dayacom engineered is thinner on the non-threaded section and this allows clearance, note the above chart the #5.5 shows a shoulder width of 7mm, the #6 is 9mm. The thickness of the black plastic tube that is inserted into the cap is THINNER by approx 2mm to allow this room.

The second revision we see on this kit over the Gent Jr's is this. When you swap out the front end section from rollerball to fountain pen the SPRING in the end cap under classic conditions MUST BE REMOVED, however this kit does *NOT*. The end cap is recesses to allow clearance for the international standard converter cartridges to safely be use with out causing an ink dump. This also does not impair rollerball function (contrary to many beliefs the spring is not needed for proper rollerball operations)

The other 'revision' is backwards compatibility (not really a revision) you can use the #5.5 front end sections from the Gent Jr on this kit as well. Versatility we have #5.5 nib, #35 nib (#6) and rollerball. This is broader than anything else out there and the only thing missing is pencil and ballpoint, possibly these will be future revisions.

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Here we see various poses to show possibility matching and general flow of the trim. As for durability this is black Titanium. Black Titanium is a PVD process which stands for Physical Vapour Deposition. This is the same coating we see on TiN drill bits and it holds up very well to abuse, torture and stress in many things. Inside the chamber the air is removed creating a vacuum then a flow of ionized gasses such as Nitrogen and Argon is introduced to the chamber and sprayed on the surface which causes the the contact areas to heat up then deposition layers of titanium and color forming substances (for blue, black or rainbow effect) is flash evaporated and ionized by an electric arc. Then voltage is applied to accelerate the plasma cloud and a dense hard coating results. Since it is black titanium the process last for several hours and plating thicknesses of up to 12 microns can be obtained. Hardness range of 2,500 - 3,000 kg/mm2 Knoop is normal. this is equal to over 85RC, 3 times harder than chrome and harder than carbide material.

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edstreet

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This is what it should look like.
 

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edstreet

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egads, this is garbage. I see them.

Why is it garbage?

The attachment manager was probably open from another post and the attachments aren't mapped to this post.

Why can you see them?


There was only one post made, one attachment manager open and one link created to that one window.

Since I do not have access to any of the interworkings on the forum I am unable to answer admin type questions as to why I can see them but no one else can. I can only speculate as to what the problem is but likely that would be incorrect.

Even doing an edit after the initial submit yields inability for me to fix it.
 

jeff

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Here's what I think happened... Ed, one of the attachment filenames you used had parentheses and an apostrophe. Because of that, the firewall (ModSec actually) blocked the insertion of all the attachment into the attachment table.
 

edstreet

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Here's what I think happened... Ed, one of the attachment filenames you used had parentheses and an apostrophe. Because of that, the firewall (ModSec actually) blocked the insertion of all the attachment into the attachment table.

Every attachment that was used was in this format.

IMG_5325.jpg


This is the format used from my camera, it is the same format that I have been using, in photo's and in posting, for a long time now.
 

jeff

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Hopefully everyone is seeing the images now.

Thanks to Ed for his patience in getting this fixed.
 

KenV

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Ed - Thanks for doing such a detailed job of reviewing the pen. Your photos and narriative brought out several details that can often be overlooked.

The excellent photo you provide bring detail to great clarity.

Having the PDF already done, I hope the documentation will make it into the Library or the Wiki for convenient access.
 

edstreet

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Photos are showing up now. Is that nib any different than the one that currently ships with the full sized Statesman?

yes.

The full size statesman, full size gent, full size emperor and full size majestic all use the same nib, #35 or #6.

The front end section is not the same threading however.
 
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magpens

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So, do I have this correct ... the nib is the same as is supplied with the full size statesman and other full size pen kits .


Photos are showing up now. Is that nib any different than the one that currently ships with the full sized Statesman?

yes.

The full size statesman, full size gent, full size emperor and full size majestic all use the same nib, #35 or #6.

The front end section is not the same threading however.
 
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robertkulp

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Great review. Many reviews are more opinion pieces. It's refreshing to see objective details and specifications about the kit, especially since this is a new kit to the US.
 

ChrisN

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Nice write-up. Nice looking kit, too. I like that it offers a #6 nib in a smaller package. Hopefully they'll make it available in the jr. Gent series also.
 

ChrisN

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Nice write-up. Nice looking kit, too. I like that it offers a #6 nib in a smaller package. Hopefully they'll make it available in the jr. Gent series also.

It IS in the jr gent series.

Maybe I should have said in the Jr. Gent style. The large center band doesn't appeal to me very much. IMHO, it would look better if it was about half the size.

Anyway, I re-read your review, and I noticed that you said the section is backwards compatible. So theoretically, I should be able to use the Aaron section in a Jr. Gent since Signature Pen sells the section separately...
 

robertkulp

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As I understand, Jr. Gent II's from CSUSA are no longer made by Dayacom and have different threads for the nibs than these. I think that it's the case that you can't even swap FP & RB nibs with the kits from CSUSA. Certainly don't expect to be able to swap nib parts from a CSUSA kit with one from Dayacom.

Luckily, the tube sizes (diameter and length) as well as the bushing sizes are the same so creating and turning the blanks are identical to what we've been doing for years.

One advantage of the Dayacom kits is the ability to easily swap nibs. I believe that you can swap parts among all models within the Dayacom Jr. Gent II family. With the different finishes and hardware designs, it might not look good, but you can do it. But, the ability to purchase a RB kit and then add a FP section for around $10 gives tremendous flexibility, both for us and our customers.
 

Carl Fisher

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Hi Ed.

Not that I am doubting it, but can you show somewhere that documents the nib being manufactured by JoWo? That's a huge step up over the China based nibs in most kits and seems lost by stamping Daycom all over it. It's a hard sell to a customer when you are telling them "this Daycom stamped nib is JoWo while this one stamped Daycom is from China and would benefit from an upgrade"
 

edstreet

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Hi Ed. Not that I am doubting it, but can you show somewhere that documents the nib being manufactured by JoWo? That's a huge step up over the China based nibs in most kits and seems lost by stamping Daycom all over it. It's a hard sell to a customer when you are telling them "this Daycom stamped nib is JoWo while this one stamped Daycom is from China and would benefit from an upgrade"

All dayacom nibs are jowo manufactured.


This comes from dayacom directly and the president of jowo,
 

Dan Masshardt

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Most jowo nibs are atamped with something or nothing, but rarely seem to say jowo on them.

I personally prefer the dayacom logo to the blank space on the standard jowo nibs sold by meisternibs
 

SteveG

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I did not know the source for Dayacom nibs until reading the recent posts in this thread. I believe that may be the same for most here at IAP. Over the years the stock Dayacom nib has been demeaned by pen turners, either rightly or wrongly, and hence the push to upgrade. Also, those selling high-end kit pens (Dayacom source) to "knowledgeable" FP collectors, report that these collectors disdain a "kit" nib. This is even more of a push to upgrade. End result: pen turner conventional wisdom views "Dayacom" nibs as "average or below" in quality. I am by no means a FP expert, but with this new (to me) info, my opinion has ticked up a few notches on the relative value of the stock Dayacom nib. Ultimately, perception becomes reality in many cases.
 

OKLAHOMAN

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Steve, your absolutely right, perception becomes reality and the reality is with the Day a com imprint on the nib it is perceived as a kit pen and nib. It might take some doing but if we can convince them to leave off their logo and just have some scroll on the nib then the perception would or could be that the nib is an upgraded nib. No matter if the nibs are Bock,JoWo or Schmidt as long as the Day-a-com logo is on them they will be perceived as inferior to the fountain pen aficionados.
 

Carl Fisher

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Exactly as stated above. The addition of the Dayacom logo turns an otherwise possibly well received nib into something that many in the FP community will turn their nose up at. I for one never new that Dayacom nibs were manufactured by JoWo however I am more than familiar with JoWo as my go to brand for custom work.

That however is a discussion for a different thread as I don't want to derail Ed's review post any further than I already have.
 

brownsfn2

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I think somewhere I saw it discussed that there are different grades of JOWO nibs and that the grade you get from Dayacom might be a lower quality than say meister nibs? I have no idea though. Just thought I saw it somewhere. I "upgrade" all of my nibs to Heritance nibs before shipping because they look nicer, seem to be smoother, and do not have the Dayacom logo. If you add on to the pen at checkout at Exotics it is only like $1.95 extra. Really good deal IMHO.
 

edstreet

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I think somewhere I saw it discussed that there are different grades of JOWO nibs and that the grade you get from Dayacom might be a lower quality than say meister nibs? I have no idea though. Just thought I saw it somewhere. I "upgrade" all of my nibs to Heritance nibs before shipping because they look nicer, seem to be smoother, and do not have the Dayacom logo. If you add on to the pen at checkout at Exotics it is only like $1.95 extra. Really good deal IMHO.

Heritance nibs are made on the exact same machines in the exact same manner that Dayacom nibs are made. That is at the Jowo plant with a custom order run using a die that is stamped into the nib. However, on that special order you can made changes or additions as you see fit, i.e. thickness.

The other option that is offered is laser engraving which is done post production. These 2 services are offered from Jowo *AND* Bock.
 

Dalepenkala

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Well I have intentionally been trying to stay away from commenting on this thread because I don't consider myself an expert, but this is my take on Dayacom nibs.

1st, I think there is a group of people that use fountain pens that just enjoy using them and don't really care what brand nib is on the pen as long as it writes smooth and the way they want it to. IMHO This comes down to the tuning of the nib.
2nd then you have the more experienced user that just want an upgraded nib like Bock, Heritance, etc.... They tend to want the "name if you will" along with the last statment above about the tune.
3rd then you have the collectors (and users) that buy high end pens. I do sell high end pens and get in some cases well over $2800. When a person buys a pen in this price point it better have an 18kt gold/rhodium nib in it! A $100 - $150 credit means nothing to a person spending this kind of money on a pen.

Whether customer wants the upgraded nib or not making him or her a happy customer is always the priority and having the options to make them happy is key! Oh and by the way if a customer prefers a std nib rather than an 18kt nib they always get a discount. In some cases that can make or break a sale.

I always have the option to replace the 18kt nib to a standard nib,( dayacom, Bock, etc...)
and you wouldn't believe how many people prefer a steel nib what ever brand it is as long as it writes the way THEY want it to.

Perception is defiantly important to the people that want their pen to look high end to the people that sees them use it not to mention the way they feel when they write with it.

I know not everyone will agree with me on my opinion but this is how I see things when I work with my customers at shows, and here with my local regulars.
 
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skiprat

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The second revision we see on this kit over the Gent Jr's is this. When you swap out the front end section from rollerball to fountain pen the SPRING in the end cap under classic conditions MUST BE REMOVED, however this kit does *NOT*. The end cap is recesses to allow clearance for the international standard converter cartridges to safely be use with out causing an ink dump. This also does not impair rollerball function (contrary to many beliefs the spring is not needed for proper rollerball operations)

Why is the spring not needed? One of the main differences between a RB and a regular ballpoint is the cushioning of the refill which makes the RB much more comfortable to use.

I wonder if Skoda got Rolls Royce to make their cars if they would still badge them as Skoda's.......

It is common knowledge that the IPG wording is a joke, does this now mean that on these kits there is actually some truth to it?

Will the resellers of these kits now use the fact that a reknown nib manufacturer such as JoWo actually made the nibs and therefore they are now better quality, or will they simply keep quiet because they are still made to the same spec and JoWo will make nibs for anyone and stamp any old crap on them?

Sorry but if it says Poo on the label, why would anyone believe otherwise?
 
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