Canucks -- Beware Maxwood Fountain Pen Kits

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islandturner

islandturner

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Location
Victoria, BC
KMS Tools in Canada has its 'Maxwood' fountain pen kit on sale in the Dec. Flyer for just under $3 – this one:

http://www.kmstools.com/maxwood-fountain-pen-kit-gold-finish-5951

I made one recently and my advice would be to pass on this kit.

I bought three kits and I had to go through all three to find useable cap hardware. The cap threading is plated metal on metal. Two of the sets immediately wanted to cross thread – by mixing and matching, I found a set that worked. Even these don't feel perfect when the cap is screwed onto the post or over the nib. I've lubricated the threads lightly with a bit of paraffin and that helps a bit...

There are also parts not described in the instructions – a short brass tube with two O-rings. I figured out through guesswork, where they go. The finished pen feels so cheap that I won't even give it away – it's on a shelf in the shop reminding me that 'cheap' is usually not the way to go.

BTW, I really like KMS – I've bought many hundreds of dollars in tools and supplies from them, and will continue to in the future. I'm the first guy in town to read their monthly flyer. But they really should dump this dog of a kit...

Steve
 
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islandturner said:
KMS Tools in Canada has its 'Maxwood' fountain pen kit on sale in the Dec. Flyer for just under $3 – this one:

http://www.kmstools.com/maxwood-fountain-pen-kit-gold-finish-5951

I made one recently and my advice would be to pass on this kit.

I bought three kits and I had to go through all three to find useable cap hardware. The cap threading is plated metal on metal. Two of the sets immediately wanted to cross thread – by mixing and matching, I found a set that worked. Even these don't feel perfect when the cap is screwed onto the post or over the nib. I've lubricated the threads lightly with a bit of paraffin and that helps a bit...

There are also parts not described in the instructions – a short brass tube with two O-rings. I figured out through guesswork, where they go. The finished pen feels so cheap that I won't even give it away – it's on a shelf in the shop reminding me that 'cheap' is usually not the way to go.

BTW, I really like KMS – I've bought many hundreds of dollars in tools and supplies from them, and will continue to in the future. I'm the first guy in town to read their monthly flyer. But they really should dump this dog of a kit...

Steve
Click to expand...
Hi Steve; I think it would be remiss of you if you don't pass this info on to KMS. That would be the fair thing to do in my estimation!
 
islandturner said:
KMS Tools in Canada has its 'Maxwood' fountain pen kit on sale in the Dec. Flyer for just under $3 – this one:

http://www.kmstools.com/maxwood-fountain-pen-kit-gold-finish-5951

I made one recently and my advice would be to pass on this kit.

I bought three kits and I had to go through all three to find useable cap hardware. The cap threading is plated metal on metal. Two of the sets immediately wanted to cross thread – by mixing and matching, I found a set that worked. Even these don't feel perfect when the cap is screwed onto the post or over the nib. I've lubricated the threads lightly with a bit of paraffin and that helps a bit...

There are also parts not described in the instructions – a short brass tube with two O-rings. I figured out through guesswork, where they go. The finished pen feels so cheap that I won't even give it away – it's on a shelf in the shop reminding me that 'cheap' is usually not the way to go.

BTW, I really like KMS – I've bought many hundreds of dollars in tools and supplies from them, and will continue to in the future. I'm the first guy in town to read their monthly flyer. But they really should dump this dog of a kit...

Steve
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

Thanks for letting us know. I work at KMS and I've only put together a couple of pens in my life - I took the course last month - but both that I put together were the Maxwood pen kits. To be honest I kinda liked them - they write really nice - but I don't have anything to compare them to. However, I'm guessing you've used a schwack of different pen kits, so if they don't stack up, they don't stack up.

I've talked to some guys who use the Taiwanese pen kits and say they're quite good, so I imagine they're worth a closer look. At the end of the day, we have a pretty dedicated fan base of pen turners, so we do want to make sure we have the right kits.

I've spoken with the purchaser for woodworking about those kits; he hasn't let me know yet what he plans to do, but I'll let you know if he's making a change.

Anyway - thanks again for letting us know - I'll let you know if I hear anything from the purchaser about a change.

- Nathan @ KMS
 
Sorry to hear of your problems there. If anybody else has had problems with these, would appreciate hearing from you - you can email me directly at bobg@kmstools.com (this is the first complaint I have had to date on these that has come to my attention, and we have been selling these for about 3 years now). That being said, I have made a few of these myself, and haven't had a problem with the threads, but you may have some bad ones there. I also checked some in our warehouse this morning. It is a fairly fine thread, and would be better if it was a bit coarser, but the ones I have done seemed to function well. If you are unhappy, please feel free to return them for a refund or exchange - you can bring a copy of this posting with you if you are at one of our branch stores to verify that what I have said!

And yes, on the extra parts, I'll get our web guys to update that. They are actually used to form a spacer within the barrel for shorter refills so they don't slide back in the tube (which would make a real mess....).

Bob Gadd
KMS Tools & Equipment
 
I've never even heard of KMS, but with this kind of customer service, I may just have to see what all Canada had to offer! That is an exceptional customer service example, by not one, but two company members.
 
WOW! How about them apples! Now is we could just get another un-named vendor to be so customer reactive as KMS Tools, wouldn't thaqt be something.
Charles
 
For any of you following, this morning we updated the instructions for this pen on our website to "explain those leftover pieces." Our apologies that we didn't take care of that ages ago....:hypnotized:
 
Thanks Steve., I to am a K.M.S. client. I think they are fantastic, for what they do. Yes, I buy pen kits from them & supplies as well, mostly because they are local & are usually not much more than a few cents above the "big players," & once you add, the exchange, & all the rest of the added expenses you need to pay when it crosses the border, often they can be less money....Enough of the commercial...
I have also had a few kits that, whenever the notion to buy that particular kit again from K.M.S. I think long & hard about it. There has been two occasions that I have had to phone & talk to them about replacement parts for kits because of the poor finish. To their credit, they apologized & quickly replaced the offensive pieces.
Now these pen kits are very common & I am sure they sell quite a few of them.The first time it happened, I bought 50 kits of their version of the "Euro" pen,(MW-PKEG) & the second time it was 65 kits of their version of the Parker styled"Classic" (MW-PKCL-G). In all cases it was the finish on the centre band, it was very rough & not usable on any pen that I would sell. Some of the ones that were "salvageable" I did fix by using some C.A.glue on the edges so that it was a lot harder for the buyer to see & feel. Now don't get me wrong here, they were not all that way, out of all the Euro's there were perhaps a dozen & the same with the Classic's, & in each case there were apologies & replacements without any arguments at all.
Will I still continue to shop at K.M.S.? "you bet your bippie" I will ! They treat me with respect & all but bend over backwards to make sure that, when I shop, I am a happy customer. Unfortunately they only carry a very few different pen kits & blanks, but they also carry lathes, all the tools you need, abrasives,& polishing products. For you Americans, too bad they are only in the lower mainland of B.C. in western Canada.

***"IF LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS...MAKE MOJITO'S"***
 
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