Colarr Pen Kits?

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WayneW

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North Pole, AK
I was looking to place an Amazon order and saw that there are a lot of bulk pen kits sold by Colarr. Does anyone have any experience with these? The pricing seems too good to be true at 48 for $70 and so I am weary of it. I usually buy my kits from PennState, but the pricing is tempting.
 
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I'm not familiar with them, but if the price is "too good to be true" it's probably an inexpensively made set. There are several manufacturers out there, but they don't all make the same quality parts. Some have very thin plating that doesn't hold up, others use their own sized tubes and metal thicknesses that don't match up to your usual bushings, or the transmissions don't work smoothly. The problem is you may not notice the issues when you make them but the customer will later as he uses it. I like to save a buck but not if it's going to hurt the reputation of my product. Even if I give them away. I buy most of my stuff from Exoticblanks so if I have a doubt on something I ask them. Most places that sell these parts know where they line up in the "quality range" based on who made them, and not always on what region they come from.
 
jttheclockman said:
According to info on Amazon they are a China based company. I am guessing something similar to this https://www.strongink.com.cn/ Take that info for what its worth. Then you have to ask where does Penn State get their kits from?
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Read the label. Most are made in Taiwan--its a small island, how many manufacturers do you think are located there? We know Dayacom is.
There are others, so point of manufacture MAY NOT give you a definitive quality assurance, but it MAY be a place to start.
 
Here's my take on these cheap pens and this hobby. I want to continue making pens and blanks, as I truly enjoy it. I also want to sell some, both blanks and pens. When I sell a pen, I'm not going to sell cheap, inferior pens. I buy from reliable sources, like Ed at Exotic Blanks or Tim McKenzie at McKenzie Pen Works and others that offer quality. I want them to be successful too. I am not going to be the guy that's known for selling cheap pens. I want to be the guy selling quality pens at a reasonable price. The old adage that you get what you pay for is usually true. In addition the pens that are the price you posted are just slimline pens, usually considered cheap and low quality to begin with. That being said, there are nice slimline kits and really nice completed pens shown here on this site, from time to time. The cheap slimline pens are known to retract as you write with them. $48.00 bucks for pens that aren't usable is pretty pricey.
 
ed4copies said:
Read the label. Most are made in Taiwan--its a small island, how many manufacturers do you think are located there? We know Dayacom is.
There are others, so point of manufacture MAY NOT give you a definitive quality assurance, but it MAY be a place to start.
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I do not buy alot of pen kits from Penn State so I do not know where ALL pen kits are made. I have no idea where this company gets them made but from Amazon point of origin is China. Now if you are telling us China makes quality kits then say so. I never heard of the company the OP referenced nor the other one I linked to. He is asking if anyone has dealt with them and what were the results. Does price mean better quality? I think we all were brought up with that notion. I have plenty of Berra kits that the plating wore off too.
 
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jttheclockman said:
I do not buy alot of pen kits from Penn State so I do not know where ALL pen kits are made. I have no idea where this company gets them made but from Amazon point of origin is China. Now if you are telling us China makes quality kits then say so. I never heard of the company the OP referenced nor the other one I linked to. He is asking if anyone has dealt with them and what were the results. Does price mean better quality? I think we all were brought up with that notion. I have plenty of Berra kits that the plating wore off too.
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I'm guilty of associating price with quality but I'm also aware that's not always the case. The OP asked a legitimate question, if anyone had bought these. I stand guilty of not answering the question. So to correct that I will say I have never bought them and I have never heard of the company.
 
KenB259 said:
I'm guilty of associating price with quality but I'm also aware that's not always the case. The OP asked a legitimate question, if anyone had bought these. I stand guilty of not answering the question. So to correct that I will say I have never bought them and I have never heard of the company.
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Ken my answer was directed at Ed. he probably knows more about origin of kits than most of us and if knows China brand kits that are good quality then tell us. Maybe he does not sell them but that is OK. Penn State to me is a gizmo and gadget supplier. look at their kits they sell they are more themed and this started about 8 to 10 years ago if I recall. We had a member here that claimed he was on the design team for them. Lot of them were designed the bolt action style. You read here many times clips breaking because of the stuff they weld to them and other things. Now they are not cheap so does this make them better quality. I never heard of either of the 2 companys mentioned and I am sure there are others. Then you probably have other vendors that have pens made for their selling and they come from some of the same factories. My point is we DO NOT know for sure where the kits come from. Ed's answer is read the labels. Well that is all we basically can go by but to our advantage as pen turners we have a forum such as this that we share info and thoughts. Hopefully this continues.
 
I just received the Colarr pen kits from Amazon. My guess is that probably PSI and others get the "their" kits from such a place and mark them up. Good ole' American ingenuity.
 
ScooterSteven said:
I just received the Colarr pen kits from Amazon. My guess is that probably PSI and others get the "their" kits from such a place and mark them up. Good ole' American ingenuity.
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Turn the blanks and assemble them. Then report back after examining each component, compared to others.
 
WayneW said:
I was looking to place an Amazon order and saw that there are a lot of bulk pen kits sold by Colarr. Does anyone have any experience with these? The pricing seems too good to be true at 48 for $70 and so I am weary of it. I usually buy my kits from PennState, but the pricing is tempting.
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I've purchased an order of the "Slimline" style pens from Colarr. They are almost exactly the same as from PSI. The only difference I can imagine is that PSI offers a warranty on their finishes and Colarr does not, so you'd have to wonder how good the plating is.
 
I appreciate all the thoughts posted above! I am just starting out so my focus has been on improving my technique with the slimline pens. I am also looking to sell them as souvenirs made from local wood here in the near future. However, I would like to improve my quality and you have provided some great information for me. Thanks again!
 
I have purchased some of these Colarr "Sierra style", via Amazon and Temu.

I had been away from penturning for 12-15 yrs and getting back into it I didn't want to use my "Sierra's" or "Wall Street II's"....so I got the Colarr's for "practice". I am using standard Berea Sierra bushings.

Biggest issue, the brass tube in slightly thinner wall thickness, which means you cannot mix Colarr tubes with others and vice-versa. So that cool pretubed Sierra style blank you have, cannot use it as the Colarr mechanics "need a bigger hole", but I haven't tried to see what happens if I do.

I am happy to use a Colarr based pen myself, continue to use as practice, maybe even give a Colarr based pen as a "second". I don't have enough time on any I've made so far to notice any platting issues.

hth...Jeff

Thanx everyone who has commented on this thread, great info!!!
 
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