Best Rollerball Kit

Hey everyone,
I hope you are all having a fantastic week and doing extremely well. Getting back into this amazing hobby or addiction has brought me a tremendous amount of joy. The drive belts had gone bad on my Band Saw and Lathe from sitting idle in my garage/shop for the past 7 years. I was able to replace them and get my tools working again and have done a few pens.

Last night, my wife and I spent a fortune ordering supplies, pen boxes, cases, blanks, kits, bushing, and everything to restock. I also sold my first pen since coming back to the hobby yesterday too and it turns out to be someone who had bought a pen from me before so he is a repeat customer.

I am not sure whether I am going to reopen my web store that I had online like before or not. I am thinking about maybe a Facebook page, Amazon store, etc. Or, putting up something on a domain that I have that is sitting idle. Have to explore costs involved and go from there.

Now, my biggest dilemma is deciding what Rollerball kit I like the best and where to get them? I would love some feedback about your choices and why and the supplier that you get them from. I have gone back to the favorites from 7 years ago but would love to hear about any that are new and great.

I found a great deal on my BOW (Bethlehem Olive Wood) blanks on Amazon. Does anyone have a better supplier that I should check for BOW?

So, I will definitely be spending a great deal more time here and relying on the collective expertise and experience of you guys, the best in the world. I am actually proud just to be a member.

Thanks,
Mike

I am partial to the Zen rollerball. They're easy to turn and assemble, look really understated and elegant, the magnetic caps are fantastic, and they come with a Schmidt 888 F refill (which I will often replace with a 5888 M). A little on the pricey side compared to other rollerball kits, and with a surprisingly large change in price for different plating options (I buy from CSUSA). But they're really fantastic pens, and I suspect they'd sell great if you're selling. Once people hold them and feel them and play with the magnetic cap, I think they'd want it.

Word of caution - I'd personally avoid the Zen Jr. I've made a couple now hoping that it would be a good lower-cost alternative to the full size Zen. I find them awkwardly small. The section where you're supposed to grip is extremely thin and has a big step down in diameter. I find it too long to just hold the pen barrel (which is how I hold the full size Zen).

Welcome back, "Big".
As to your Q, you'll probably get a LOT of responses but a lot depends on where you are going price-wise, etc. But my absolute favorite rollerball is the Eagle/Raven/Desire from McKenzie Penworks (used to be Lazerlines before it was sold). It's an all-American made kit and the metal parts (not including tubes, of course) are polished stainless steel. I've done quite a few of these both in the rollerball AND the fountain pen versions. It has a comfy weight and perfect balance. The fountain pen is my daily user and I'd be grief stricken if I lost it.
If the names don't sound familiar, Woodcraft used to sell them under the "Hancock" name.
Hope this helps.

Rollerball is very questionable. It is a matter of taste and how much bling you want. To me any of the Dayacom kits are the best on the market. Also like the Majestic line from PSI and others.

Personally, I prefer the Artemis and Apollo sets from Bullseye Turning Supply. You can use Pilot G2 refills with these kits.

BHuij said:

I am partial to the Zen rollerball. They're easy to turn and assemble, look really understated and elegant, the magnetic caps are fantastic, and they come with a Schmidt 888 F refill (which I will often replace with a 5888 M). A little on the pricey side compared to other rollerball kits, and with a surprisingly large change in price for different plating options (I buy from CSUSA). But they're really fantastic pens, and I suspect they'd sell great if you're selling. Once people hold them and feel them and play with the magnetic cap, I think they'd want it.

Word of caution - I'd personally avoid the Zen Jr. I've made a couple now hoping that it would be a good lower-cost alternative to the full size Zen. I find them awkwardly small. The section where you're supposed to grip is extremely thin and has a big step down in diameter. I find it too long to just hold the pen barrel (which is how I hold the full size Zen).

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I am not familiar with CSUSA and would love to check them out, do you know the url off hand?

Yeah - here's the kit I was referring to from Craft Supplies USA.

It appears Turner's Warehouse has a very similar, though not completely identical kit at a somewhat better price point (interestingly theirs is apparently also available as a fountain pen). Link

CSUSA is local to me so I can buy stuff there without paying/waiting for shipping. I dunno how the Turner's Warehouse kit compares to the ones at CSUSA, but I think the Artisan Zen kits from CSUSA are my favorite rollerball kits I've turned to date.

I don't know teh best. I like double barrel Dayacom line kits for RBs. Just my preference.

Welcome Back.

It's all a matter of personal taste. I am partial to the Zen, the Apollo from Bullseye Turning Supply, the Caballero (originally from Smitty's Pen Works, now carried by Exotic Blanks, the Diamond Knurl Rollerball from Exotic Blanks, and the Magnetic Graduate from PSI.

What I have been carrying for the past year or so is a personal favorite, it is a "Franken Kit" made up by using a PSI Magnetic Graduate, but replacing the top Cap and Clip from an Exotic Blanks Diamond Knurl Rollerball kit so that I could put a custom top finial/cabochon on it. (A picture of it follows). - Dave

That looks awesome @egnald - does the Diamond Knurl cap attach magnetically and fit nicely with the Graduate body? That cabachon is so nice looking; do you have a tutorial or similar up somewhere on how to make them?

egnald said:

It's all a matter of personal taste. I am partial to the Zen, the Apollo from Bullseye Turning Supply, the Caballero (originally from Smitty's Pen Works, now carried by Exotic Blanks, the Diamond Knurl Rollerball from Exotic Blanks, and the Magnetic Graduate from PSI.

What I have been carrying for the past year or so is a personal favorite, it is a "Franken Kit" made up by using a PSI Magnetic Graduate, but replacing the top Cap and Clip from an Exotic Blanks Diamond Knurl Rollerball kit so that I could put a custom top finial/cabochon on it. (A picture of it follows). - Dave

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Dave, I love that an it is absolutely stunning. I like the kit and will have to do some of them. I don't have the skill or knowledge to replace the top cap but that is fantastic. My goodness. that is gorgeous. It is a hybrid blank, right? I would like to get some of those too. Will you share your source with me? I love Exotic and use them as one of my top "Go To" suppliers. Having been gone as long as I was, 7 years, I have a great deal of catching up to do on suppliers and everything else. Again, that pen is just beautiful!

egnald said:

It's all a matter of personal taste. I am partial to the Zen, the Apollo from Bullseye Turning Supply, the Caballero (originally from Smitty's Pen Works, now carried by Exotic Blanks, the Diamond Knurl Rollerball from Exotic Blanks, and the Magnetic Graduate from PSI.

What I have been carrying for the past year or so is a personal favorite, it is a "Franken Kit" made up by using a PSI Magnetic Graduate, but replacing the top Cap and Clip from an Exotic Blanks Diamond Knurl Rollerball kit so that I could put a custom top finial/cabochon on it. (A picture of it follows). - Dave

View attachment 386435

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Has Smitty's gone away? I bought slimline from him and I think he had a membership program that I was a member of too.

Big said:

Has Smitty's gone away? I bought slimline from him and I think he had a membership program that I was a member of too.

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Yes unfortunately, Smitty left us on March 29, 2018. In 2016-2017 Smitty (LeRoy Smith) sold his Smitty's Pen Works business to Ed and Dawn at Exotic Blanks. They continue to carry some of Smitty's adaptations, such as the LeRoi and Caballero (one of my favorite rollerball kits). Here is a link to an Exotic Blanks post tribute to Smitty. - Dave

Big said:

Dave, I love that an it is absolutely stunning. I like the kit and will have to do some of them. I don't have the skill or knowledge to replace the top cap but that is fantastic. My goodness. that is gorgeous. It is a hybrid blank, right? I would like to get some of those too. Will you share your source with me? I love Exotic and use them as one of my top "Go To" suppliers. Having been gone as long as I was, 7 years, I have a great deal of catching up to do on suppliers and everything else. Again, that pen is just beautiful!

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That particular hybrid blank is one that Ed and Dawn from Exotic Blanks made and sold. They produce a batch every so often and post them on their Exotic Blanks store -- the wood is typically one of the Australian burls and they usually sell out pretty fast! - Maybe Ed or Dawn can give us an idea of when we might expect to see more available. - Dave

BHuij said:

That looks awesome @egnald - does the Diamond Knurl cap attach magnetically and fit nicely with the Graduate body? That cabachon is so nice looking; do you have a tutorial or similar up somewhere on how to make them?

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Since both the Magnetic Graduate and the Diamond Knurl Rollerball use a 12.5mm tube for the upper tube, I simply swapped the Cap and Clip assembly between the two kits and turned it using the Cap/Clip bushing for the Diamond Knurl in place of the Magnetic Graduate. The magnetic coupling parts all stay in/on the other end of the upper tube.

I have a tutorial on the Custom Cabochon Cap in the Resources section here on IAP.

Dave

egnald said:

Since both the Magnetic Graduate and the Diamond Knurl Rollerball use a 12.5mm tube for the upper tube, I simply swapped the Cap and Clip assembly between the two kits and turned it using the Cap/Clip bushing for the Diamond Knurl in place of the Magnetic Graduate. The magnetic coupling parts all stay in/on the other end of the upper tube.

I have a tutorial on the Custom Cabochon Cap in the Resources section here on IAP.

Dave

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Oh my goodness, that is fantastic, thank you my friend.

egnald said:

Yes unfortunately, Smitty left us on March 29, 2018. In 2016-2017 Smitty (LeRoy Smith) sold his Smitty's Pen Works business to Ed and Dawn at Exotic Blanks. They continue to carry some of Smitty's adaptations, such as the LeRoi and Caballero (one of my favorite rollerball kits). Here is a link to an Exotic Blanks post tribute to Smitty. - Dave

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Oh goodness, that is sad news. Thank you for the update. I will be praying for the family.