Which Kit to Buy??

garypeck · Feb 25, 2009

Dear All........ would appreciate your input on these kits....

Am looking for some rollerball kit to build that is similar to the Jr. Statesman... but there seem to be so many models around that its gotten quite confusing.... So far, i have come up with a few models.....

Jr. Gent
Jr. Retro
Jr. Statesman
Baron
Navigator

Would appreciate any comments on these kits and also whom sells them the cheapest.....

Thank you so much........

TellicoTurning · Feb 25, 2009

I have only made the Baron, Jr. Gent and Jr. Statesman, so have no info on the Navigator and Retro... of the three I've made, I like the looks of the Baron best,
but the Jr. models are nice too.

jackrichington · Feb 25, 2009

There is very little difference between them..just cosmetic really..Navigator is like Baron..Retro is a Jr G with different style..just get some & turn them & you'll decide which you like best

Mather323 · Feb 25, 2009

I liked the look of the Baron for a distance but when I put it together I thought is was cheap feeling and I never got that feeling for the Jr. Gent. That is my 2 cents and that is not counting inflation!

rjwolfe3 · Feb 25, 2009

Keep in mind your location might make it difficult to get a Baron although I have to agree with what everyone says about them.

garypeck · Feb 25, 2009

thank you so much for the advice..... would anyone by any chance know who stock the Jr. Retro at the lowest price of course......

garypeck · Feb 25, 2009

rjwolfe3 said:
Keep in mind your location might make it difficult to get a Baron although I have to agree with what everyone says about them.

Hi Rob...... from my location..... its difficult to get almost anything..... everything has to be imported..... hahahah

bitshird · Feb 25, 2009

Gary;
CSUSA carried the complete Jr line, all use the same tubes and bushings except the Jr.Emperor. There is a problem with the Baron/Navigators cap coming unscrewed, no such problem with any of the Jr. series, I like the Jr. Retro, it and the Jr Gentleman are the least expensive, both are available in good plating's, the Jr.Statesman is a beautiful pen, but it is about 12.00 more than the Gent. some people aren't too crazy about the cap finial on the retro, but IT"S SUPPOSED TO LOOK Art Deco, The Gent and the Statesman come either postable or smooth end, Your best shot is to hope someone does a group buy soon from CSUSA. and get enough to warrant USPS International Express.

george · Feb 25, 2009

garypeck said:
thank you so much for the advice..... would anyone by any chance know who stock the Jr. Retro at the lowest price of course......

I did not want to gave any opinion, since I only worked JR. Gentlemen and JR Retro. But since you mentione JR Retro ..... I have bought first few of JR Retro kits from CSUSA few weeks ago and must say that it looks better on their catalogue (the cap top is not shown very well and it is slightly different than you would imagine). So I guess I will stay with JR Gentlemen and order JR Statesman next time instead of Retro. Luckly they all use same drills and bushings.

the_benz · Feb 25, 2009

Cambridge

My favorite is the Cambridge from Berea. It has the engraved bands and clips like to Statesman, and a much better kit. IMHO

davinci27 · Feb 25, 2009

bitshird said:
There is a problem with the Baron/Navigators cap coming unscrewed, no such problem with any of the Jr. series

I've got a couple of pants with ink stained pockets that would disagree with you. I have problems with the caps coming off all the Jr Series.

Also nobody has mentioned it, but the navigators/barons are smaller pens than the JR series. The are roughtly the same length, but a good bit thinner. I actually like the navigators/barons better because of their smaller size.

In addition, the navigator/barrons come with the center band and the post disassembled. This makes it easier to put on custom bands and to make custom posts that match the barrels. On the downside the navigator/barron doesn't have a recess for the finial, in my opinion this makes the finial a little more difficult to get a nice consisitant look.

I've got both in the shop, but if I have to pick one to write with, I usually use the navigator/barron.

bitshird · Feb 25, 2009

Ben the two pens I carry the most are one worth close to $30,000.00 which is a beautiful closed end Spalted Southern Magnolia Baron roller ball that has not unscrewed it's self in my pocket, [size=-2](the reason for the cost of the pen was two fingers cut off, one of which was sewn back on and 3 months of Physical therapy)[/size]
the other is just a run of the mill Ipe Baron Fountain pen which is inked with Private reserve Arabian Rose, which matches the wood color perfectly.
Unfortunately it doesn't go well with my dress shirts two of which have a pretty spot or two on the pocket, the rest of the time I carry a pair of JR Retros that have not decided to stain me.
I know that smart people use an O ring on the Barons that stop the caps from unscrewing but I apparently aren't that smart, [size=-2](really how smart could I be trying to stop a 10 in. 80 tooth blade with my fingers)[/size]
here's a picture of my 30 grand pen.

wdcav1952 · Feb 25, 2009

Damn, Ken, you gave me the shivers all over again just thinking about your accident!! That is a beautiful pen, though!

My thought on the Baron rollerball is that the faceted tip does not feel good in my hand. I like the kit and how it looks, just don't like to write with it at all.

garypeck · Feb 26, 2009

Damn Ken..... that is one terrible accident..... Sorry to hear that....

davinci27 · Feb 26, 2009

Wow that sucks. Sorry you had to go throught that. Thanks for reminding me why I'm afraid of the saw. My brother in law was braggin how he's not afraid of machinery and I told him he was crazy. You've got to have healthy level of respect/fear for things like that. This is just a good example why.

garypeck · Feb 26, 2009

give me the shivers just trying to imagine how it happed.....

Russianwolf · Feb 26, 2009

I'll chime in with a couple observations

1) couplers on the Baron/Sedona are 4 start, 3/4 turn, black enamel coated.
2) couplers on low end Jr.s are 3 start, 1.5 turn, black enamel coated.
3) couplers on high end Jr.s are 3 start, 1.5 turn, plated with matching metal.

I like the 4 start threads on the Baron/Sedona since they line up on two sides, and they 3/4 turn to open/close is much more comfortable.

I like the matching plating on the couplers of the High end (Gold Ti, Black ti, and Rhodium) Jr.s, since the black enamel will wear off in due time.

As a result of this, I prefer the Chrome Baron/Sedona as my less expensive kit, and the high end (gold ti, Black ti, rhodium) Jr.s as my more expensive kits.

garypeck · Feb 26, 2009

there seem to be an even amount of votes for the Baron and the Jr. Kits..... dang..... shoudl have started a poll......

garypeck · Mar 4, 2009

Any Idea who sells the cheapest Jr. Retros? and Barons??

Thanks .......

arioux · Mar 4, 2009

The barons is only available in the Us from Arizona Silhouete ans he don't ship international. You can get the navigator (it's the same pen as the baron) from Woodcraft.
But i strongly recomand you to get your Baron from William Woodright

http://www.penblanks.ca/home.php

Good price and he is great guy to deal with.

The Jr Retro are available from Craft Suppies

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/index.html

and Aaron a good member of this site.

http://laulauwood.com/Default.asp

jkeithrussell · Mar 4, 2009

Is there a thread here somewhere with a description of your accident?

bitshird said:
Ben the two pens I carry the most are one worth close to $30,000.00 which is a beautiful closed end Spalted Southern Magnolia Baron roller ball that has not unscrewed it's self in my pocket, [SIZE=-2](the reason for the cost of the pen was two fingers cut off, one of which was sewn back on and 3 months of Physical therapy)[/SIZE]
the other is just a run of the mill Ipe Baron Fountain pen which is inked with Private reserve Arabian Rose, which matches the wood color perfectly.
Unfortunately it doesn't go well with my dress shirts two of which have a pretty spot or two on the pocket, the rest of the time I carry a pair of JR Retros that have not decided to stain me.
I know that smart people use an O ring on the Barons that stop the caps from unscrewing but I apparently aren't that smart, [SIZE=-2](really how smart could I be trying to stop a 10 in. 80 tooth blade with my fingers)[/SIZE]
here's a picture of my 30 grand pen.

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