Ron,
You'll be receiving a lot of opinions on this. Here's mine. The vast majority of click pens and fountain pens are not more difficult to turn than slimlines. In fact, a slimline, when turned straight without contours or bulges is one of the most difficult pens to turn because the barrels are so thin. If you can turn a slimline you can turn just about any other kit. There are some kits, I believe the European is one of them, that requires you to turn a tenon. You may want to stay away from those if your not comfortable with that. Otherwise, try a long clicker or any of the Jr. series kits.
Edit in: Gee, when I started typing this no one else had responded yet. :tongue:
Some excellent points here.
I would add to this:
Tenons: Not all are equal. Tenons that require cutting down to the brass tubes are not so bad at all, and if you chose you can cut the blank to size and glue it in place so you don't have to cut the tenon as it is already in place. A good example is the Streamline American Classic, and New Series from Berea.
While I do like the Jr. series, they are a bit more in $$. Right now you can get a Streamline series from Berea for $5 for the Rollerbal (non round top) platinum, and $8.70 for the fountain (Round Top) version. PSI also sells them (Classic Elite/Classic Elite 2), and Woodturningz has their own version, and it just came out in chrome. I have only turned the Berea version in Gold Ti so far, and will say that I like it enough to order more. It's based on the 1920's Parker Doufold, and has quad threading that only requires 1/4 twist to post and un-post. $5 is about the cheapest foray into rollerballs you can get. For the fountain pens there is the Atrax, New Series/ etc... Of all these, the Jr series seems to be more popular around these parts if your not going kitless. One of our members even started his penmaking kitless, and didn't even use a kit untill doing many kitless pens. Of the ones I've listed, the Berea kits are a bit more moderatly prices for a first try, yet are still not "throw-a-way practice" types. My last Streamline American sold for $60 (Gold Ti), and it was my favorite peice before selling it.
Click:
The Long Clickers are cool. That long barrel, combined with a 3/8" barrel that is nearly as thick as a Cigar once turned is enough to garner attention, but the assembled pen makes it even better with the classy looking hardware.
Another Click that is nice is the Vertex from PSI. While it doesn't come in "premium" platings, and is shorter than the Long Clicker, it is a well constructed piece, and the silent click is kinda neat.