Majestic vs. Emperor

[Rifleman1776]

I tried a search but couldn't come up with a previous discussion for this question. I would appreciate subjective and objective comparisons of the Emperor vs. Majestic pens. I have never seen an Emperor except in the catalogs and the forums. Recently, I saw a Majestic. The maker did a good job with some kind of black and green synthetic. My impression was "gaudy Gentlemen". I really didn't like. But, that's my subjective impression. There is a substantial price difference in the kits. Is the Emp really worth more? Is either really worth the money? What say the jury?

 

[ed4copies]

Frank,

Made my first Majestic this weekend and asked myself the same question, then asked Dawn. The Emperor adds the gold on the clip, which we both agree is a little "overkill". The majestic will allow us to advertise a "Swovorski" (sp?) crystal - will it help sell it???

Our conclusion: price aside we like the Majestic design slightly better, the gold also appears to be a "prettier" shade of gold color????? Add in price, I would say the Majestic wins (for us). No, neither is worth the money, they should be priced at about 12 bucks max. (Allowing a 3-4 time markup)

Remember everyone, this is an OPINION> You are WELCOME to disagree. If you do, the resulting conversation (argument) can be called "market research" and we get paid BIG BUCKS for THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Texatdurango]

Well, I've made several of both kits and have sold both types. The highest price I have gotten for a pen was a Majestic amboyna burl. The customer walked up to my booth, quickly scanned all the pens then focused on my tray of high end kits. He knew exactly what he wanted.

Had I not had the pen, he more than likely would have walked on by, obviously not interested in any of my other pens, which ranged from slimlines to Statesmen. He said he collected nice pens!

I don't particularly think I will be carrying an Emperor or Majestic around in my pocket or use one at my desk but I will continue to make a few of each because they are fun to make, look nice, and when they sell, you can make a few dollars!

At $56 for the emperor fountain and $50 for the majestic fountain, I don't see $6 as a substantial difference. The BIG difference comes with group buys. There are always group buys from Craft Supply where you can get %25 off which drops the $56 emperor to $42 but I have never seen a group buy from PSI or the majestic on sale with huge savings.

I think they are both equally nice looking or equally gawdy so you either like them or you don't.

Personally, I think the emperor is a bit much with all the gold trim.

 

[Texatdurango]

Frank,
It just dawned on me that there was a similar discussion a while back where the differences of these pens was the topic. Here are a few photos I took then and might serve a purpose here as well.

For those not familiar with the kits, the black pen is the majestic, gold burl is the emperor and the buckeye burl is the statesman.

<br />

<br />

<br />

 

[Rifleman1776]

Ed Brown said, in part, "Remember everyone, this is an OPINION&gt; You are WELCOME to disagree. If you do, the resulting conversation (argument) can be called "market research" and we get paid BIG BUCKS for THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thanks Ed, I love that. Humor is good. Sometimes we get WAY-WAY too serious here. Thanks for the personal comparison and opinions.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thus far interesting and valuable comments. Keep 'em coming folks.

 

[roddesigner]

ok being a novice in pen turning but having a great deal of experience building custom fishing rods I can state without a doubt that there is no accounting for another persons taste, if you are into sales by all means carry both, if for a personal pen choose by using your taste
John

 

[ed4copies]

Frank,

To the "objective" side of your question, all the "high-end" kits I have turned have been well-made. Everything fits. Bushings are correctly sized to make a nice finished pen (from acrylics). The threads are pretty smooth. I don't use a fountain pen, but the ones I have sold, the users claim they are "nice" nibs. All-in-all, I think we can proudly display these pens in hopes of finding them new homes and finding US a couple dollars profit.

 

[wdcav1952]

What on earth is that ugly setting in the Statesman clip?!?!?!?!?![}][]

 

[fiferb]

I have not made all three. But, using the pictures provided by George, I like the Statesman best. The Emperor and Majestic seem to gaudy to me. The Statesman has enough embellishment to look classy but without over doing it. FWIW.

 

[ed4copies]

Originally posted by wdcav1952
<br />What on earth is that ugly setting in the Statesman clip?!?!?!?!?![}][]

That's GEORGE and his camera!!!

Wouldn't it be nice to KNOW such things are going to show up, BEFORE you take the picture????

Next time, George, put the Emperor in the middle - the satin finish won't show YOU to the world. (Of course, I have NEVER taken a decent picture so all of this is "hear-say".[][]

 

[Milpaul]

Don't worry George, it could have been a lot worse!

<br />

http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/kettle.asp

 

[ed4copies]

FOFLMAO!!!!

 

[wdcav1952]

George sold a kettle, too?!?!?!?!?!?!!?[][][]

 

[ed4copies]

That's the teapot for your occasional tempests, Cav!

 

[IPD_Mrs]

You know George took the time and did the forum a great service showing these pens up close. Then you two knuckleheads give the man a ruff way to go. Shame on you!

Cav do you the difference between a gynocologist and a dentist?

TEETH!!!!!!!![]

 

[Woodlvr]

Good one Mike!!![]

Mike

 

[IPD_Mrs]

All kidding aside, George thanks for the DETAILED photos. It really gives a good idea of what the embelishments are. I think a black TI Emp. would look better for a compairison, but it serves the purpose. The Satesman nib looks the best to me. Now a sweet pen would be the Statesman nib and clip, with all the majestic top, end and centerband and the weight/feel of the Emp.

 

[R2]

very interesting comments genylemen, even down to the comic stuph.
IMHO it depends very much on tour personal tastes and the blank with which you dress the kit. A Brilliant example of this was Ligget's Emporer on the front page up until today - right blank, right kit. In the last few days there was a similar matching of a Majestic kit with suitable blank in SOYP, and we've all seen many Statesmens that we've admired.
Ive read comments several times In SOYP about gettig the kit and blank to match and I'm sure we've all seen blans that have bee slightly let down by inapprpriate kit choice - usually a kit that is too fussy for the blank.
I believe a good turner and penmaker can make beautiful pens from ANY kit.
And don't forget - the customer is always right in their choice.[][][8D]

 

[wdcav1952]

Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking
<br />You know George took the time and did the forum a great service showing these pens up close. Then you two knuckleheads give the man a ruff way to go. Shame on you!

Cav do you the difference between a gynocologist and a dentist?

TEETH!!!!!!!![]

Mike, let me get this straight. You are saying that the only difference between two important parts of your (I assume) beloved wife's body is that one part has teeth and the other part does not have teeth?

Linda, would you care to weigh in on the subject??????????????[}][}][][]


BTW, Mike, do you have a cot in the garage or shop???[][}][]

 

[redfishsc]

Um, I am going to refrain from the current direction this very unfortunate thread has taken and comment on the original question, lol.


I have not held a Majestic, yet, as it still has a bit too many PSI cooties for me to spend that much money on, I just can't bring myself to charge that much for a pen that comes from a company that specializes mostly in gimmick-grade garbage. I have made too many of their pens and (especially) pencils that fail or wear out to spend the money on a Majestic. Maybe time will give me a bit more trust, as I haven't seen any posts griping about it.

NOW, that being said, I have made Emperors and Imperials. They are similar enough, but the Imperial is a bit more laid-back, but the trim rings on the nib butt-end and the cap protrude a bit too much for a "b2b" pen, giving it a "knobby kneed" look, personal opinion.

I do, however, LOVE the Emperor (yes, even the really gaudy one I posted in the SOYP forum). Nice fit, nice form, nice nib. mmmmmmmm donuts.......

 

[Milpaul]

Sorry about my part to derail this thread! Getting back to the topic I think the clip on the Emperor is just too much, but it looks great with the stars and stripes pen. Again just a matter of taste.

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Originally posted by Milpaul
<br />Sorry about my part to derail this thread! Getting back to the topic I think the clip on the Emperor is just too much, but it looks great with the stars and stripes pen. Again just a matter of taste.

This is why the black Ti looks so good. It tones down the flashiness a bit. The weight makes it a bit heavy when on a dense wood like iron wood, but something like redwood burl will counter the weight problem a bit. Still it is not a pen for someone who does a lot of writing IMHO.

Mike

 

[Texatdurango]

Geeze, all this guff over a photo... and I even made sure I had my clean boxers on this time! AND even had the flap duct taped... just to make sure I didn't have a "wardrobe malfunction"! []

Back to the kits... As has been mentioned, selecting a good match between blank and kit is crucial when dealing with the emperor because the hardware can be overpowering. I soon learned that picking out the right blank for a kit was just as important as getting a good finish on it.

I can not imagine the blank below being put into a majestic because it just doesn't flow but in my opinion, is perfect for the emperor (Jr Emperor in this case) especially with the gold two tone nib. Frank, you ought to go out and buy a few and see what you think of them.

<br />

 

[wdcav1952]

LOL Tex!!!!

Beautiful result with the Jr emperor! You are exactly right, a blank that works with one kit may not work with another. But, you never know. At one show, my first sale was a pen that I, and others, considered a truly ugly pen. You can never tell about taste, which makes humans the best sit-com in the known universe.

 

[bitshird]

That is a gorgeous Jr. Emperor !!

 

[workinforwood]

Just judging off those great photographs and my personal taste, I have to vote by a narrow margin the statesman 1, the majestic 2 and the emporer a distant third. Even though the statesman wasn't the topic of the thread..but it's in the pic. I give the statesman a bonus point too as it can have a posted cap which I find personal customers prefer. Don't know if the majestic has that option, i know the emperor does not. The gold on the clip like that is too much for me. One star of gold might be ok, but all those repetitive ones are too much and I find the engravings rather square. I don't care for straight lines. And I'm not crazy for that particular piece of buckey burl either []

 

[Texatdurango]

Originally posted by workinforwood
<br />.... I give the statesman a bonus point too as it can have a posted cap which I find personal customers prefer.

Just a point to keep in mind, but I'm 99% sure that the Statesman is not available with a postable finale either, only the Junior version is, but the new Junior Majestic is also available with a postable finale so all things are still equal![]

 

[workinforwood]

Ah yes, good point Tex. I was thinking JR Statesman. I'll have to take a look at that, jr Majestic. If it doesn't have a postable cap, it's a much harder sell, even though the people like the pen better with the cap not posted! Maybe they like just to have the option...heck I don't get it. But I'm sure ya'll know what I'm saying.

 

[cdcarter]

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Cambridge has to offer. I did a Majestic, and it was so over-the-top I couldn't pull it out with a straight face. I did have someone request one recently (a woman, no less!) but I talked her out of it.

For a big pen, give me a Gent any day. I've never made an Emperor.

 

[Ligget]

Originally posted by Milpaul
<br />Don't worry George, it could have been a lot worse!

<br />

http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/kettle.asp

ROFLMHO!!!!![:0][]

 

[redfishsc]

Originally posted by cdcarter


For a big pen, give me a Gent any day. I've never made an Emperor.

I used to think that, until I made an Emperor. While I do tend to like the more flashy stuff, I think it has a nicer feel and overall tight build to it, at least to me.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Tex said, in part, "At $56 for the emperor fountain and $50 for the majestic fountain...."
Actually, PSI has dropped the Majestic prices to about $29.00. In that sense, it may be more 'attractive'.

 

[Texatdurango]

Originally posted by Rifleman1776
<br />Tex said, in part, "At $56 for the emperor fountain and $50 for the majestic fountain...."
Actually, PSI has dropped the Majestic prices to about $29.00. In that sense, it may be more 'attractive'.

Sorry, didn't mean to mislead anyone. I have been buying fountain pen kits lately and was comparing the gold trimmed emperor fountain at $56 to the gold trimmed majestic fountain which is still $50.

The black titanium rollerball models are indeed cheaper at $40 for the emperor and $30 for the majestic. Frank is right, at $30 the majestic is only $3.50 more than the black titanium rollerball Statesman for $26.50!

The more I looked at these web sites the past few days, the more I am convinced that I need to grab me a handful of those junior majestics and some of those $30 majestics![]