Tycoon FP vs. Junior Gent as far as nib and ink

[gmreeves]

I have yet to turn a fountain pen but have someone that would like me to turn them a Tycoon fountain pen. I was wondering if this kit came with a decent nib and cartridge or would I be better going with a Jr. Gent FP in it's place? Thanks for your help.

Also, I was looking at the Jr. Gent's and I couldn't find a picture of the different platings. The customer is wanting a pen with chrome and black. No gold. Which Jr. Gent would this be?

 

[ldb2000]

They are both Dayacom kits which means they use the same nibs . The Jr gent in Black Ti has the chrome accents .

 

[dow]

Sorry, I can't speak to the Tycoon question, as I've never made one, but I have made the Jr. Gent. The nibs are okay, and they take an international style cartridge. They also come with a decent converter, so you can use bottled ink with them as well (that's what I do with my personal pen).

Hm... chrome and black... Maybe the black titanium would be okay. I really like the titanium platings, and you can see some examples on my website (link is in the signature line). You could do the Rhodium Jr. Gent, except that the accents are gold. Wait! IF you can find a Jr. Retro FP in rhodium, that would work. Unfortunately, CSUSA has discontinued the FP and they're showing to be out. Aaron at Lau Lau Woodworks carries them, so you might check there. Here's what the Jr retro looks like (although this picture shows a rollerball):

Hope this helps,
Dow

 

[jskeen]

The Tycoon does come in a platinum with black trim, as does the jr Retro from CSUSA (if somebody has one to spare) The jr Gent does not come in platinum with black. Another option is the vail kit from Ernie at beartoothwoods which comes in a true chrome finish with black trim for about 2/3 the price of the platinum kits. All 3 kits use the same chinese section/feed/nib assy. The nibs are ok, most of them write fair to quite well out of the box. The primary problem with them is that they are immediately identifiable to a knowledgeable customer as chinese, and that's not a good thing. There are several upgrade paths, depending on what the customer wants, and is willing to spend. The converters that are supplied with the kits are quite reliable, but the ink cartridge included with it is junk, and should immediately be discarded.

My personal suggestion would be to turn a chrome vail fp, and use the money saved to upgrade to a SF nib and include a couple of premium quality ink cartridges, or if the customer is going to pick it up directly, demonstrate how to use the converter to fill the pen with a good quality bottle ink.

I would definitely preassemble the upgraded nib into the section, fill with ink, and do some writing on the inside of a brown paper bag to put a little polish on the nib, and then write your pen description, sales pitch, ect. on the back of a business card to include with the finished item. Then disassemble, flush, dry thoroughly, and reassemble everything.

Good luck, if you can get a customer hooked on FP's, you usually have repeat sales from now on.

 

[ldb2000]

While it is true that the Jr Gent don't come in rhodium or platinum with black accents , it does come in a black ti with rhodium (or chrome , they are silver colored) accents , I have made a several of them because of that combo . Black Ti are some my best selling pens .