Anyone tried the Empress Pens?

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Chatham PenWorks

Chatham PenWorks

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Joined
Jan 25, 2011
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Location
Philla., Pa.
I just came across these, and was wondering if anyone has made any yet. They are from Axminster. They may be like PSI, and have them for sale before they ever got the first shipment.

Empress.jpg
 
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We all new it was just a matter of time before someone knocked off the Emperors. I'm just surprised it's taken this long. At $10 a piece, I'll try a few out. That is, if they ever get back to me with a shipping quote. A large, ornate component set, with the Swarovski name attached to it, for only $10..... Makes me wonder about the quality, but still worth a shot.
 
tim self said:
Why can't they leave the pimp crystals out? The pen looks great though.
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I've never had a problem with the pimp crystals, but I don't think it fits here. Of course, that could just be because I'm used to the originals. The crystal was probably added, in part, for legal reasons.
 
I heard back from Axminster, and they are chrome with 14k trim, as expected. Shipping for three 3-packs would be about $16, so 9 sets would work out to less than $12 a piece. They would not say if they were made in China, or Taiwan, just that they have exclusivity. I don't know if they don't want to admit they're made in China, or if they're worried about someone copying their copy. I really can't wait to see how they compare to the originals.
 
Chatham PenWorks said:
I heard back from Axminster, and they are chrome with 14k trim, as expected. Shipping for three 3-packs would be about $16, so 9 sets would work out to less than $12 a piece. They would not say if they were made in China, or Taiwan, just that they have exclusivity. I don't know if they don't want to admit they're made in China, or if they're worried about someone copying their copy. I really can't wait to see how they compare to the originals.
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Let us know if you get some!
 
Looks nice, and I kinda like the pimp crystals myself. It would be cool to see some of those replaced by real jewels, although it'd add significantly to the cost.
 
Well, they came yesterday, and I gotta give them a thumbs down. It all comes down to quality control, or lack thereof. Three of 9 clips came bent. The plating on the bottom edge of the nib section, just above the threads, was rough on all. This ranged from barely noticeable, to obvious. Two of three fountain nibs were incompletely plated.

The design of the pen is actually quite nice. The detailing is shallower than on the emperor, but is nice and clean. I have the junior Emperor, and the Empress is full sized. It's just a bit larger than the Roman Harvest / Cambridge.

The bottom tube is very small, and will leave a lot of meat on the pen. I would normally love this, but the cap will have very little material left when finished. This may cause issues with matching the color of the cap and body when reverse painting acrylics.

One other thing that caught my eye was the bottom section of the cap being made of plastic. I'm not talking about the threaded insert, but the visible piece it's pressed into.

Considering that the Emperor cost about $60 now, this could have been an inexpensive alternative if not for the quality control problems.
 
I've done a few of the Empress pens, and although the quality is not the best, for the money I don't think you can complain. I've only been making pens for a few months so don't yet trust myself to make an Emperor.....but the time is approaching! The blue pen is the Empress fountain (just posted this today to somebody in California).
I've also done a few of the Spring Blossom's (from Timberbits) and the quality of these is definately better, and again a good price but only available in roller ball.
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