Ahmet, thanks for giving us a follow up review of what you were finding. This is unfortunate to hear but at least we get one person's review that actually followed the course they took over some time. I have not gotten to make any of the kits I ordered yet. I had intentions but something always comes up and I get sidetracked. I did not buy too many so the $$ will not be huge loss. But as you say your reputation is always on the line when you make things yourself. we all would like those perfect kits but even highend kits can fail. What you do about it is what sets your business apart from others. I always wished that Dayacom would have a vendor here in the states that can sell their kits at reasonable prices. Spotty dealers is tough to deal with. They make some of the best kits available today.
To be honest, I'm still pretty new to all of this — I've only been making pens for about a year and a half. To simplify things at my workbench, I've been looking to settle on a few pen kits that I can rely on, which led me to try out a variety of different ones. I've mostly worked with kits from Rizheng, but I've also tried well-known brands like Beaufort Ink and Dayacom. Since I live in Germany, I gave two local brands a try as well: liebensteiner-shop and Drechselstube Neckarsteinach.
Many Rizheng kits have worked just fine for me. My favorite by far is the Sagiters kit — I've never had a single issue with it, and I think it looks fantastic. On the other hand, I've had some trouble with others. For example, the Jazz kit's clip sits so flush with the body that you can't even slip in a piece of paper, let alone fabric — so you can't really clip it to your pocket. The Kitten model starts to wear out its threads over time. And the Love (or maybe it was Hawaii — I'm not entirely sure) XL kit doesn't fit a standard ink converter inside. What I'm getting at is this: constantly trying out kits only to run into problems can be really frustrating.
Another downside is the high shipping costs. Once you add customs fees and other expenses on top, kits from brands like Dayacom or Beaufort Ink actually turn out to be reasonably priced. What complicates things even more is that many dealers now sell Rizheng kits under different names, and since most of these kits are heavily inspired by — if not direct copies of — respected brands, it's hard to tell what's what. For this reason, I now think it's wiser to stick with reputable brands.
In terms of quality and learning curve, both Beaufort Ink and Dayacom stand out as excellent. I've never had any problems with them. Beaufort Ink's Cyclone model, for instance, is outstanding in many ways. The Mistral has a thinner grip section, which may not be ideal for large hands, but the fact that you can turn your own accents like the center band makes it a great choice.
As for the local German brands, they're absolutely top-tier when it comes to quality — but their kits can be a bit more challenging to learn. That said, I can honestly say that if you're aiming to set yourself apart and create truly high-quality pens, Drechselstube Neckarsteinach is the way to go. Their Junior and Master kits are relatively expensive (between 15-35€, including Bock nibs) and can be tricky to make, especially for someone like me who's still learning. But with a bit of patience and effort, the results are outstanding. Most of their kits are unplated and made from stainless steel, which really gives them a premium feel. Please check their catalog
here, pens begin after page 380. And I am attaching photo of these pens.
I hope my experiences can help fellow makers who are just getting started — and that they can avoid unnecessary costs and wasted time on their journey.
BR, Ahmet
I looked at a kit I was interested in called their new Majestic kit and they advertise platings like gold and black titanium and chrome and black titanium only. Other kits they have platings like nickle, antique bronze, chrome, and gold, chrome and gun metal. gold and gun metal. Never say if it is 24 K gold or any other description. Never did I see Rhodium or any of the new platings being touted today. Just to give you a taste of what pricing looks like the firefighter kits we see start at $7.60 gold or chrome but looking at them they look exactly alike the Berra kits but who knows about wear and click mechanism wear. Another example is this majestic I am talking about, the new majestic is around $7. This has to send signals if you check PSI prices on their majestic. How can it be?
