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New bee from Warwickshire UK

Tiny James

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Posts
194
Location
Rugby
First Name
James
Hello all fellow penturners

I newish to turning and have my own lathe bought some time ago from Axminister. So when I first turned my first and only pen it was a pen from Axminister I believe it was a Majestic Fountain pen and I turned it it white and gold acrylic, (had to paint the brass tube ) yes this was my only project on my lathe as I spent a lot of time making the pen it looked really good and to my surprise so did some one else .
The pen in question was made for my son as the school he went to only allowed students to write in and fountain pen, Anyway so yes someone else liked the pen so much to was taken.

As a result of this I lost interest in turning pens. Well that was about 8 years ago. I myself have recently started Calligraphy again so the interest in pen making has come back ( strange but true) , So today I ordered two new pens to turn from Taylors Mirfield. Two Kappa Dual kits. I'm also looking into kits from Beaufort kit pens.

Any way I was just wondering what is a good match for the Kappa Fountain Pen as I want to make a set (ball point) or even buy items needed to make a rollerball pen from the parts remaining from the dual kit ????

The two suppliers supply quite high end kits is there any where else I should be looking for kit pens as I would like to make at least two more sets( Fountain and ballpoint/rollerball )

James
 

flexi

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
6,159
Location
Maidstone
First Name
mark
Hi James, welcome back.....
We are in such a great position these days with so many suppliers to choose between, personally I thin my choices down..... Beaufort and Taylors are my go to suppliers, along with Axminster (rebranded PSI kits) Penkitz and Bitz, Stiles and Bates, Turners retreat, Turners workshop. All do good quality kits, but try to avoid kits and suppliers with kits built to a price, not quality.
 

Tiny James

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Posts
194
Location
Rugby
First Name
James
Flexi Thank you for the warm greeting also the list of suppliers. What is rebranded PSI??

James
 

Tiny James

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Posts
194
Location
Rugby
First Name
James
Thank you Peter for the welcome. can you please expand on your comment I think I understand what you mean

James
 

Pierre

Graduate Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Posts
996
Location
Southern Central France
First Name
Pierre
Hi James and welcome from S of France. Pens and the price of the kits depend on what you want to achieve with them. If you want to sell to a mass market then slim lines etc of good quality (try turners workshop) are the ones to make. If you want to make good quality pens of a perceived high value then the ones you have already mentioned are the way to go . If you want new up to the minute new items then mainly you have to buy in the USA because their market is so big they can afford to come out first. If you only want to make for the family and friends then its as much as your income thinks that they are worth. Finally you can go down the ultimate road of the kitless where you make everything bar the nib (and even that can be a moot point if you have gold to spare).

Personally I would start with some 7mm twist pens to see what you feel you are capable of and if you want to make some nice family Christmas presents then go down the route of the high quality pens. If however calligraphy is your thing then try a few dip pen holders . There is a young lassie on the site called Fingwe (Melanie) who makes exquisite dip pens by hand (without a lathe I believe) and you may wish to make contact with her, although she hasn't been on recently, I hope she is safe and well.

IMG_0027.jpg

Whatever, enjoy what you make and make what you enjoy :thumbs:
 

flexi

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
6,159
Location
Maidstone
First Name
mark
Hi James,
Rebranding is just where the kit may be a Dayacom made kit or PSI kit or another maker and they label it as one of their own models..... They tend to use 'Craft pro' as an umbrella for their kits. It helps to know where the kits from for quality, not all kits are plated the same or have reliable mechanisms, you can get cheap Chinese copies..... I think pretty much all of Axminster kits are the better quality as reflected in their prices.
 

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,340
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Using these words were to convey using the best most repeatable methods and gear you can. The dominion where you work is restricted so far I really impressed by your approach and workmanship.

Kind regards Peter.
 
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