Elements Pen Kit

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Saw an ad from Turners Warehouse. they are making the elements pen kit. What they are is kits that are pure metal and no finish on the parts. They come in brass copper silver and aluminum. I can say this with certainty I will never be buying these. They are trying too hard to stay away from platings because I am guessing the prices. They show how you can distress the look of the kits as well as they way they will look when user uses them with time how they get dingy and grubby looking. To me not a good look but who knows maybe they will sell. just not to me. Check them out at Turners and watch the video.
 
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I am not sure I like the mixed metals, and did not really like the distressed look. Maybe the different options will appeal to someone else.
 
tgsponge1 said:
Is there a reason for brass clip on stainless and aluminum versions?
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Here is a link to Chads site and if you click on the video he explains half way through, the reason for the clips is to be able to distress them to make them look like they are 100 years old. If you like that look. I do not. Maybe they fit into the Steampunk blank look.

https://www.turnerswarehouse.com/
 
I showed these pens to a friend if my wife that is into steampunk. Her reaction was a "I want" some of those. I gave her ideas for making and casting tubes. She has never made a pen, more in to turning bowls platters etc.. Hopefully she will join IAP and drive y'all crazy instead of me. LOL
 
I am open to the idea on this one. I have tested different manufacturers platings, most are pretty good, but the protective finishes vary a lot. It is the clear overcoats that take the damage on pens I carry for normal use (since EDC is style now).

This "clear coat" breaks down if used. The the copper or brass platings begin to see the same wear and patina change you mention.

I am a huge fan of base metal colors, though, especially copper and brass. If nobody gives it a shot, we will never know the outcome!
 
jttheclockman said:
Saw an ad from Turners Warehouse. they are making the elements pen kit. What they are is kits that are pure metal and no finish on the parts. They come in brass copper silver and aluminum. I can say this with certainty I will never be buying these. They are trying too hard to stay away from platings because I am guessing the prices. They show how you can distress the look of the kits as well as they way they will look when user uses them with time how they get dingy and grubby looking. To me not a good look but who knows maybe they will sell. just not to me. Check them out at Turners and watch the video.
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I think they are going to end up eating those.
 
PreacherJon said:
I think they are going to end up eating those.
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I think so too. Just can not see that being a big field of pen making. When I seen the ad and opened it I right away cringed. Who knows though. I just bought 2 new pen kits that I moved up my want to get done list so I need to work on them. Probably after first of the year I will show them.
 
I mean... I know a guy making stainless kits here in the US with matching solid metal clips... :) Honestly one of the reasons we haven't done brass, etc is because I don't have it in me to have a non-matching clip. Brass is a TERRIBLE clip material so we may look to our friends at Ionbond to do some coatings for us.
 
I just saw these a few days ago and was intrigued. It is not necessary to age them as shown, but to allow them to pick up a natural patina over time sounds nice to me. I like the antique/heirloom look. I do very much agree that the mismatched clips are a deterrent, though.
 
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So when John started this thread, I had already ordered several of the element kits (one of each Brass, Aluminum, Stainless). I didn't weigh in at the time, because I had nothing to add to the conversation. Well, I have now made one of the kits (the Brass Ballpoint, which is basically a Sierra). The brass parts arrived very shiny, but I opted to speed up the aging process with some brass ager.
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The ager solution (I got it on Amazon) worked very quickly (less than 1 minute). I tinkered around with it, dunked the pieces a little longer, and you can see what I ended up with.

I will say, the parts have a nice weight to them, being solid metal. The pen assembly was uneventful. Here is the finished product:

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I don't know if the brass ager changed the surface chemistry of the brass parts to reduce additional aging, but we'll see,

I do have to say, the video Turner's Warehouse had on their website to promote this new line of pens was terrible. It showed a finished pen that looked like it had been pulled out of a dumpster, encrusted with blue-green oxidation, like a pipe that seeped/leaked for several years (DAMHIKT). But I think applying an aging solution like I used to give the pen a decent, consistent "Patina" looks pretty nice, in my opinion.

I also need to add that customer service at Turner's Warehouse told me to just use regular Sierra bushings, which I did. I turned the Walnut down to the bushings (to 0.472"), but as you can see in the photos, I overturned the barrel. I should have stopped at about 0.490".
 

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Step back in time.:) I and many people use to use that brass ager stuff many years ago to blacken pen tubes when needed. I can remember dunking in that solution. I probably still have some of that somewhere. Those kits may have a certain following who knows.
 
jttheclockman said:
Saw an ad from Turners Warehouse. they are making the elements pen kit. What they are is kits that are pure metal and no finish on the parts. They come in brass copper silver and aluminum. I can say this with certainty I will never be buying these. They are trying too hard to stay away from platings because I am guessing the prices. They show how you can distress the look of the kits as well as they way they will look when user uses them with time how they get dingy and grubby looking. To me not a good look but who knows maybe they will sell. just not to me. Check them out at Turners and watch the video.
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This, staying away from platings, seems to be a growing trend. I find it very sad and disturbing...

Earlier last year, it was the "Hardite" which Berea was going to replace ALL their gold kits with. I was very confused by that move, as, I still to this day have no idea what "Hardite" is, it has a bit of a sickly green hue to it and thus does NOT look like gold, in fact it looks like Fools Gold! I would take 24k gold coated in epoxy for durability over Hardite any day, as at least then, I can tell my customers what it is! I discovered I have several Berea hardite kits still to make...didn't realize at the time that I was guying something other than gold. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them...


I am hoping the trend away from precious metal platings doesn't persist. The spike in prices seems to be petering off as well. Rhodium is now less than half what it was at its peak, and barely 2x more than it was before its parabolic rise. Trend is still down. Platinum has a nearly flatline trend compared to its price 5 years ago. Gold is certainly up, however its not nearly as up as it was at its recent peak...it is about $450 more per ounce than it was before the metals rose though.

Overall, the price of precious metals has come down significantly, which is good for us PRECIOUS plating lovers. Hopefully we won't see a total expungement of all precious metals. I honestly wouldn't know what to make if that happened... Definitely wouldn't touch Hardite, whatever it is... I don't mind stainless steel, but, I feel...that has its place, its not really ideal for every pen. I like black titanium, gunmetal, etc. too, and while not precious, they definitely have their place too, and look amazing as a primary metal or an accent metal. I'm a real fan of precious metals, as, well, they are actually precious, and have real intrinsic value as well as genuine appeal to most people! ;) Not to mention, real gold has this look that you just can't replicate, and it sparkles so amazingly.
 
Well we all know this metal thing has to do with both the pandemic and the war. We got precious metals from both Russia and Ukraine. This will have and is having a huge impact on many other things we make from these metals. Thus the uptick in stealing of catalytic converters. It is a sad world we are living in. I am not a huge fan of Stainless steel. Yes a kit or two but if you look close at those kits it looks the refinement is not there and probably why they are very basic in design. These kits are not my style either. No plating and let them age with wear and oils from hands. The jury is still out on them and the vendors will find out what kind of sales. If you see huge discounts then you have your answer. I too like chrome and black chrome and Titanium and pure gold.
 
One thing I could see these non-plated kits being used for, is custom engraving. Some people have truly amazing skill there, as demonstrated by some of the best pen makers on this site. I could see these kits being used by engravers to do some unique things for sure.
 
jrista said:
One thing I could see these non-plated kits being used for, is custom engraving. Some people have truly amazing skill there, as demonstrated by some of the best pen makers on this site. I could see these kits being used by engravers to do some unique things for sure.
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Also steampunk type pens.
 
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