Sierra pens

[jttheclockman]

Ok question about the sierra button click pens and standard sierras. First are the sierra super click pens the same tube length as the sierra standard?? Is the sierra super click on the same style as the sierra or does it use the sierra vista bushings?? Is there a sierra click that resembles the vista?? What is the Compson click pen?? Is this a sierra clone and does it use the better clicker?? Does it resemble the standard or the vista?? Has anyone made these and what is your opinion??

Finally has anyone done a sierra kit and made the tube about 1/8" longer and still have it work well. Either click or twist style?? I need a sierra style kit that has a tad longer tube than a standard sierra kit.

OK educate me in the sierra line. Thanks.

 

[magpens]

The Sierras are all from .... www.BereaHardwoods.com .... and are well respected for their quality.

First off, the old standbys .... the original Sierra twist and the original Sierra click pen kits use different brass tube lengths and the same bushings.
For the twist version, the brass tube is 2.21" long; for the click version, the brass tube is 2.42" long. . I have made a lot of both and know the lengths.

The original Sierra (twist) uses bushings 20A. . So does the new Sierra Super Button Click. . The barrels are not the same length, as far as I know.
The new Sierra Super Button Click incorporates the Schmidt SKM-88 click mechanism, which is regarded as an improvement for click pen kits.
But bear in mind that the click mechanism in the original Sierra click pen is a very high quality mechanism, and is quite quiet in operation.
I have been making the original Sierra click pen kits for 10+ years and have never had a failure of any kind .... I like them very much.

The Sierra Vista uses bushings 50A. . The difference is in the diameter compared to the 20A .... larger diameter for matching the larger diameter of the hardware (nib piece and finial piece) on the Vista. . The Sierra Vista is a twist pen; it does not come in a click version.

"Finally has anyone done a sierra kit and made the tube about 1/8" longer and still have it work well."
If you want to do that, John, you will have to put an extension piece on the ballpoint refill or devise something else.
Without that, the refill tip will not extend far enough for the pen to look and write properly. . This statement applies to both twist and click versions.

The Compson is a PSI pen kit .... it is a different kettle of fish .... uses a 3/8" brass tube, whereas the Sierras use 27/64" brass tubes (drill hole sizes).
I made a couple of these a few years ago and was not totally pleased with them but cannot remember the details .... not the quality of a Sierra and quite different in appearance. . I don't plan to buy any more Compson kits.

 

[jttheclockman]

Very complete Mal Thank you.

 

[magpens]

@jttheclockman

Further info about the original Sierra click pen kit and about the new Sierra Super Button Click kit ....

Forgot to mention one "drawback" of the original Sierra Click ..... it is supplied with a 0.5" long refill extender (metal) which sometimes gets lost when you replace the refill ...... this is a PITA because you cannot buy this refill extender as a spare part. . However, each kit is supplied with TWO.
The refill extender could possibly be glued in .... not to the refill but to the pen's click mechanism as long as the glue does not wreck the operation.
Getting glue to stick to the plastic mechanism part could be a challenge ..... I have not tried.

John, if you really want to lengthen the barrel of an original Sierra, you could use one of these refill extenders and customize its length to your needs.
This idea would work on either a Sierra twist version or a Sierra click version.
It would be no problem to increase the length of the refill extension ..... just a bit of child's play. . Only problem is its potential for getting lost.

Now, one other bit of additional info. which I gleaned from a kit that I did not remember having.
The brass tube in the new Sierra Super Button Click has a length of 2.36" ..... different from any other brass tube in the Sierra family.
This tube is the same diameter as in all other Sierra kits, namely 27/64" ( hole drill size ). . Required bushings are 20A (same as original kits).

The new Sierra Super Button Click does not require a refill extension ..... a big "plus" in its favor.

 

[qquake]

I can't answer the questions about Sierra pens, but don't need to, Mal's responses are quite thorough. However, I have made a few Compsons, and really like them. I like the shape of the body, it reminds me of "old fashioned" click pens. They use the old three-piece click mechanism. I haven't had one fail, but haven't used one as much as I have some other click pens. None of the recipients of the Compsons I've made have reported any problems, but I don't know how much they've been used.

 

[wood4fun]

john you can modified the sierra super click when you get your metal lathe up and going, you'll have to change out the nib and turn down the nib coupler, the blank then goes to 3 1/8 " long, parts needed a carbara nib in the same color they don't have nickel but gun metal, gold and chrome are a perfect match

 

[jttheclockman]

Lots of good info here. Jim thanks for posting those photos. That is a different look to shape of any pen kit. Interesting. I may just place an order with Exotics for a few of these to play around with. Thanks everyone. Mal very intensive reply. Well done and thanks for taking the time.

 

[Marc]

Sorry, just purchased a few sierra button click pen kits to use with some thin blue line pen blanks. I do have the correct drill but not sure about the bushings. The size 20A does not correspond to any of my known bushing names.