Recomendations for quality kits and manufacturers

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ramaroodle

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Feb 15, 2018
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I am looking for 4 or 5 good quality (not PSI) durable pen kits to sell at craft shows. By durable I mean click pens that you know from your 100 years of pen making, last and twist mechanisms that don't get stiff and also have some weight to them. I've been charging $75 for an engraved pen but I'm sure I could sell them for $125 or more depending on the kit. I still have an inventory of the usual stuff but when I put them out next to each other I want there to be a noticeable difference in quality between a PSI Sierra and a pen from somebody else that looks like it but is obviously better quality. I have a couple of Dayacom kits that I got from Ed. Pen and pencil set maybe?? I want to be able to batch produce them. I can take them home and engrave them.
 
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its_virgil

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The Sierra is NOT a PSI kit but a Berea Hardwood's kit. The sierra clone sold by PSI is the Gatsby
The only click pens I will consider selling are those with the Schmidt SKM-88 all metal click mechanism. One such kit is the Sierra Super Button Click and the others are the various EDC clicks by PSI. Pencils are hit and miss for the quality of the pencil mechanism. The Perfect Fit Convertible by Berea can be be made into a pencil by replacing the Parker style ink refill with a Schmidt pencil mechanism which is a nice pencil mechanism. I don't think any other pencil uses that mechanism. The only fountain pen I will consider using is the Jrs made by Dayacom that use the #6 JoWo nib and feed and the companion rollerballs.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

egnald

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I second the Schmidt SKM-188. Although I haven't made any yet, I would assume that the Schmidt SKM-192 click mechanism is also preferable. I just recently gave away all (well almost all) of my clickers that have the old plastic style of click mechanisms. - Dave
 

EricRN

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May 16, 2019
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Check into Beaufort ink's line. (No affiliation)
their kits are as good as they get.
+1 on Beaufort Ink. Also check out the stainless steel line at McKenzie Penworks. There's another seller selling stainless kits that's manufactured by the same folks who make the kits at McKenzie. I haven't turned them, and can't remember the name, but they look nice.
 

Dieseldoc

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+1 on Beaufort Ink. Also check out the stainless steel line at McKenzie Penworks. There's another seller selling stainless kits that's manufactured by the same folks who make the kits at McKenzie. I haven't turned them, and can't remember the name, but they look nice.
Bullseye turning has McKinsey pen kits.
 

JohnU

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Jan 31, 2008
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Ottawa, Illinois
I'm a huge fan of the Diamond Knurl Sierra at Exoticblanks with the Easyflow9000 refills.


You don't have to disassemble the pen to replace the ink…. Only unscrew the nib. They are always very well received with my recipients.

I also like the Jr II series for rollerballs. It's a good size and handles well.
 

ramaroodle

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Thanks for all of the input!
The Sierra is NOT a PSI kit but a Berea Hardwood's kit. The sierra clone sold by PSI is the Gatsby

Don
Yeah, I just kind of bunched them all together along with the Manhattan.

I made 24 pens for a company with logos and names out of the Vertex EDC click pen which folks seem to like and it has some weight and is a nice size. However, the one I made for myself had the plastic clicker fail after only about a month. That scared me.
 

Joebobber

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Sep 24, 2018
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The only pencils that seem to be worth a dang are the ones with the bigger lead, like the vertex pencil. However with the dependability and lead sharpener you lose the eraser. Slimline pencil kits are a waste of money, and even cigar pencils are terrible. Both the twist and twist click, but the twist click are better if you know how to use it, which most people don't.
 

Painfullyslow

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The only pencils that seem to be worth a dang are the ones with the bigger lead, like the vertex pencil. However with the dependability and lead sharpener you lose the eraser. Slimline pencil kits are a waste of money, and even cigar pencils are terrible. Both the twist and twist click, but the twist click are better if you know how to use it, which most people don't.
I have had very good luck with the Duraclick EDC pencils that I have made, just FYI.
 

ramaroodle

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I have had very good luck with the Duraclick EDC pencils that I have made, just FYI.
The Duraclick looks like a PSI/Rockler Vertex which makes me skeptical of the components. I see Rockler sells them which makes me think they are a PSI pen. Vertex is only 9.99 and the Duraclick is $16. Are they a totally different/upgraded pen?
 

ramaroodle

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Check into Beaufort ink's line. (No affiliation)
their kits are as good as they get.
Do they make their own line? I see they mostly list Dayacom kits. (Which are good kits).

That was my reasoning for inquiring about manufacturers vs distributors.
 

RGVPens

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Mission TX
The Duraclick looks like a PSI/Rockler Vertex which makes me skeptical of the components. I see Rockler sells them which makes me think they are a PSI pen. Vertex is only 9.99 and the Duraclick is $16. Are they a totally different/upgraded pen?
DuraClick EDCs have Schmidt clickers, I don't think Vertex do. The only click kits I'll buy these days are ones with the German Schmidt mechanism.
 

ramaroodle

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DuraClick EDCs have Schmidt clickers, I don't think Vertex do. The only click kits I'll buy these days are ones with the German Schmidt mechanism.
Excellent. I like the Vertex look especially for engraving and labels because of the long barrels. It was the failure of a few of the plastic clickers that caused me to ask the question.
 

PatrickR

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Do they make their own line? I see they mostly list Dayacom kits. (Which are good kits).

That was my reasoning for inquiring about manufacturers vs distributors.
Turners warehouse is the sole USA distributor for Beaufort Ink kits. You can order directly from the Beaufort website also, ships from GB.
Their clicker uses plastic parts but dont hold that against it.
 

ramaroodle

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I'm a huge fan of the Diamond Knurl Sierra at Exoticblanks with the Easyflow9000 refills.


You don't have to disassemble the pen to replace the ink…. Only unscrew the nib. They are always very well received with my recipients.

I also like the Jr II series for rollerballs. It's a good size and handles well.

OK. All of this discussion has brought me to a conclusion. Tell me if this makes sense. I think I'm going to look at what Dayacom or whatever Ed and Dawn at Exotic distribute as they have the best customer service on the planet. I just need to ask him about the whole cartridge thing. People seem to like rollerballs and I'm not really familiar with the Schmidt SKM-192 click mechanism thing. Last year Ed sent me a sample pack of his Smitty's click pens to test out. Gotta put one of them together yet.

I'm trying to find 4 or 5 nice pens that I can make in batches to sell at shows etc. in addition to specialty, themed, and engraved custom pens. If I can stick to a core group then I can make sure I always have spare tubes and parts and bushings.
 

Painfullyslow

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OK. All of this discussion has brought me to a conclusion. Tell me if this makes sense. I think I'm going to look at what Dayacom or whatever Ed and Dawn at Exotic distribute as they have the best customer service on the planet. I just need to ask him about the whole cartridge thing. People seem to like rollerballs and I'm not really familiar with the Schmidt SKM-192 click mechanism thing. Last year Ed sent me a sample pack of his Smitty's click pens to test out. Gotta put one of them together yet.

I'm trying to find 4 or 5 nice pens that I can make in batches to sell at shows etc. in addition to specialty, themed, and engraved custom pens. If I can stick to a core group then I can make sure I always have spare tubes and parts and bushings.
In my admittedly limited experience, I have found Dayacom to be the best around but I have not yet tried any Beaufort ink. In any case, Dayacom are worlds above the other stuff that I have seen. I will be ordering some of the Beaufort kits to give them a try.
 

Humongous

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One of my favorite button clickers is the Berea Blade. It utilizes the Schmidt SKM-88 mechanism and gives you a long barrel. Lots of room for engraving or just showing off a nice blank.

 

ramaroodle

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One of my favorite button clickers is the Berea Blade. It utilizes the Schmidt SKM-88 mechanism and gives you a long barrel. Lots of room for engraving or just showing off a nice blank.

Great! Ed carries them too. Thanks. Do you know if there is pencil for that kit? I think someone mentioned that there was Schmidt SKM for that.
 
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