A couple of new pen kits

My wife gave me these Botanical & American Beauty pen kits & blanks for Christmas. I finally finished them up yesterday.

A few thoughts on these kits: the Botanical has a very heavy embossed metal cap. It's a nice design, but the overall pen length is the same as a Sierra, but the balance just doesn't feel right in the hand. It's a neat pen for our personal collection, but I doubt if I'll make any more of them.

I really like the look & feel of the American Beauty, and it allows the use of a fairly long blank. However, it too has a few quirks to be wary of. For one thing, the ink cartridge is exposed & retracted by holding the barrel and twisting the nib which is a little awkward with a fairly short nib. The other quirk is the way the cap is made with a recessed clip in the cap. As a result, it's difficult to press the cap into the tube squarely. The instructions recommend using a push block, but I was unable to make one per their directions. After four broken push blocks, I gave up and seated the cap in the normal fashion. I just carefully pressed it only a couple of mm at a time and re-straightened the cap before pressing a little more. It took a few minutes, but I was able to fully seat it without a push block. If I make another of these, I'll use a push block at least an inch long, only drill it to the depth of the cap (about 3/8"), and nibble out a slot for the clip with a Dremel tool. The clip is rather tight on this kit, so be sure to slip a small piece of plastic straw over the clip while pressing the cap to protect the blank. I do that as a routine measure for all kits, but it's especially important with this one.

Both pens look great! I understand what you mean about the botanical pen. A lot going on in a small space, and sometimes the weight balance is not ideal. Thanks also for the heads-up on the American Beauty.

There may have been some quirks involved but you did an outstanding job on both of them. They look great!

I agree nice work on both pens and thanks for the review of the kits. They are different but seems like new kits hitting the market all the time these days.

Thanks @Edgar !
It is always nice to get first-hand reports on new pen kits.

I read the instructions for the American Beauty because you sparked my interest by pointing out that extending & retracting the refill is awkward. You have to grip and twist the fairly short nib, while holding the barrel and end cap with your other hand.
This is unusual and is necessary because of the way that the pen is designed with the whole barrel and end cap being one piece after assembly.
The process of changing the refill is also awkward for the same reason.
I have never before seen a pen kit designed in that way and I am wondering what motivated the kit designer to come up with such an unusual design.

Maybe somebody else can analyze the design and explain a good reason for it.

Thanks for the thoughts on these. They do look great, but I have also noticed that the pens with the metal upper barrels or large metal finials are off balance. I tried the PSI Montague and they are extremely top heavy. The blanks are certainly well paired with the kits.

For what it's worth, I press the tips against a piece of wood instead of the plastic piece on the PSI press. I guess that would be a push block, even if it is a very simplified version. Whoever's idea it was to put a hole in that part... ugh. You wouldn't expect plastic to leave scratches in metal, but it certainly does.