Pen Kits--Differences in Quality?

[Stan Mijal]

I am about to try turning pens and noticed some variation in the $$ of pen kits between companies. Slim Line pens for instance, are more $$ at Lee valley than Penn State. Often mechanisms can very in their quality. Is there a difference? Which companies have good quality and any I should avoid?

[Bill Boehme]

The kits from Penn State use the cheapest material and have plating that wears off very quickly. The Berea kits are the best quality and obviously cost more. I believe that the kits sold by Craft Supply, Woodcraft, and Rockler may be the same as the Berea kits. You can bet that the really cheap ones ar not going to be high quality and hope that the expensive ones are worth what you paid. You can order directly from Berea and be assured of getting the best quality. You get what you pay for, but not more than you paid.

Bill

[RL Johnson]

For a beginner, until you develop your skills the cheap slimline kits are fine but when you want to move up to better quality woods (burls, stabilized, exotics) then get the best quality plating you can afford. The Craft Supply catalog has a great description of the various plating they offer. Usually the titanium gold or rhodium platings are best. Best of luck in you turning and welcome to the VORTEX.

[Stan Mijal]

Thanks Bill and randy. I will look into the Bera kits. No sense putting in the time and effort to make something , and then have lesser quality of materials affect the usage.

Any particular mandrel better than the others?

[Corey Hallagan]

If your aiming for Berea kits, then go with the Berea mandrells. I buy mine at Bear Tooth Woods.
http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/

If you are making the Berea kits that require the A bushings ( they are noted on the kit as 11A or 15B etc.) then you will need the A mandrell. You can buy one complete precision mandrell system in A or B and then add the other rod to it so you can make both on one mandrell. Or you can buy both complete mandrell. A complete precision mandrell system is the mandrell, rod and brass nut. see here:
http://beartoothwoods.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=35_42

Hope this helps.
Corey

[Randy Meijer]

The kits from Penn State use the cheapest material and have plating that wears off very quickly. The Berea kits are the best quality and obviously cost more. I believe that the kits sold by Craft Supply, Woodcraft, and Rockler may be the same as the Berea kits. You can bet that the really cheap ones ar not going to be high quality and hope that the expensive ones are worth what you paid. You can order directly from Berea and be assured of getting the best quality. You get what you pay for, but not more than you paid. Bill


There is some information here that needs to be corrected. First off, there are only three major manufacturers of pen/pencil kits in the US. They are PSI, Craft Supply and Berea. HUT, Woodcraft, and Rockler are resellers of Berea kits. There are a number of smaller scale resellers of Berea and PSI kits. CSUSA used to have a few resellers of their kits; but cancelled that program. Now, you can get their kits only directly from them.

While it is generally accepted in the pen turning community that Berea and CSUSA sell a higher quality product than PSI, there are exceptions to every rule. PSI has some good kits and the other companies have some kits that aren't so good.

As to platings, the quality and longevity tend to be associated more with the type of plating than the manufacturer. And even there, there is a great deal of variation depending on how the pens are used and who uses them. 24k gold is generally considered to be useless by experienced pen crafters and 10k not significantly better. However, a lot of people have had the epoxy coated 24k PSI pens hold up wll for years and the 24k pplating from other companies wear off in as little as a few weeks.

If you want to do some practice and gimmee pens, go ahead and buy the cheapest things you can find; but when you want to do a pen that will last a while go for TnG, black Tn, rhodium/platinum, and chrome.

[Rob Littleton]

Stan,

I have, for a while now, been getting my pen kits and supplies from Arizona Silohette (sp?)......

I have just recently upgraded to the B mandrel and bushings and I feel a big difference between the A and B mandrel. I used to get my supplies from Penn State and after using Bill at Arizona Silohette, I see a vast difference in quality.

I speak as I find........

have a good time making pens and see what Bill has to offer on his website. Great guy to work with.

[Bill Boehme]

I have been told by pen turners that know a lot more than I do about the subject that you should get your mandrel and bushings from the same source that you get your pens because there are slight differences in sizes for the various kits from one manufacturer to the next. Specifically, I was told that the Penn State and Berea bushings (and maybe the mandrel) are different sizes for similar style pens. If this is incorrect, someone please correct me.

Bill

[Randy Meijer]

I have been told by pen turners that know a lot more than I do about the subject that you should get your mandrel and bushings from the same source that you get your pens because there are slight differences in sizes for the various kits from one manufacturer to the next. Specifically, I was told that the Penn State and Berea bushings (and maybe the mandrel) are different sizes for similar style pens. If this is incorrect, someone please correct me.

Bill

Bill: Using the bushings and mandrels from the same manufacturer is the best way to go. Using that system will minimize; but, not totally eliminate, any problems you might have in that area. That being said, many people use a mix and match philosophy and have few if any problems. Published specs call for the Berea mandrel to be 0.247" in diameter and the PSI mandrel to be 0.243". Several years ago, CSUSA speced their mandrels as being 0.246"; but recent catalogs don't mention this number any more; but would assume it has not changed.

Personally, I use Berea "A"(7mm) mandrels and have made kits from all three supplier without any problems. (Berea also makes a "B" (8mm) sized mandrel but is the only company to do so.) I did have one PSI bushing that was a hair tight; but I used some 600 grit sandpaper to lightly polish the inside of the bushing and that solved the problem. "NEVER" try to reduce the diameter of the mandrels !!

Given that PSI bushings seem to fit Berea mandrels OK and that PSI mandrels are smaller than PSI mandrels, one might conclude that Berea and CSUSA bushings could be loose on the PSI mandrels. Having never used a PSI mandrel, I can't say if they would be too loose to make good pens??

[Ken Salisbury]

* * * * * * * * BEREA * * * * * * ** *

I have made more than 2,000 pens/pencils. Ninety percent of my kits came from Berea. I have tried all of the other suppliers and always fallen back to Berea.

[Rob Littleton]

Given that PSI bushings seem to fit Berea mandrels OK and that PSI mandrels are smaller than PSI mandrels, one might conclude that Berea and CSUSA bushings could be loose on the PSI mandrels. Having never used a PSI mandrel, I can't say if they would be too loose to make good pens?? [/quote]

This is definatly true for me.........

I was using just PSI stuff and when I decided to change suppliers (before using the new size mandrel and bushings), my cigar pens certainly had a ridge on each isde of the pen (oval).

Once I decided to change to B mandrel and B bushingsfrom the same supplier.......VOILA!!!!!!

[Frank Fusco]

Randy has given a lot of good advice. The issue of quality is a non-ending subject on the penturing forums. Except for differences in plating, I don't believe there is a wit of difference in quality of the actual product from any of the suppliers. After you gain some experience, I suggest you use only the best platings available. Even the best turned pen with the nicest wood will look shoddy when the cheap plating wears off. That is not good for your reputation.

[Ed Scolforo]

I second what Frank has just posted. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with 24k or 10K plating, no matter who the manufacturer was.
Ed

[Oscar Garcia]

So can we say that Rockler and Woodcraft pen kits are made by the same company, some with slightly different names? ie. Wallstreet II(woodcraft) and Sierra(rockler). -Oscar

[Jack Norfleet]

I use Woodcraft kits because I can buy them locally. My biggest complaint is that often times the pens don't write very well, especially on shiny credit card slips. Because of this, I replace the cheap refill with a name brand (Cross or Parker) before giving the pens as gifts. Nothing is more embarrassing than giving a great looking, hand crafted pen that doesn't write.

[Frank Fusco]

I have been told by pen turners that know a lot more than I do about the subject that you should get your mandrel and bushings from the same source that you get your pens because there are slight differences in sizes for the various kits from one manufacturer to the next. Specifically, I was told that the Penn State and Berea bushings (and maybe the mandrel) are different sizes for similar style pens. If this is incorrect, someone please correct me.

Bill

There is no pat answer/response to that statement. Many resellers buy from other resellers. Many, maybe most, of the mandrels on the market are from Berea.
Don't sweat it, buy the 7mm for most kits. From Berea that is known as their 'A' mandrel. They also sell an 8 mm mandrel known as the 'B'. (but to be used only with certain kits that are 8mm)
I have never seen a difference in quality of kits from any source. But, as stated, the platings can make a huge difference in longevitiy of the finished pen.
Develop your skills then stick with titanium or rhodium platings only. You will make your customers, gift recipients and yourself much happier.