Fountain Pen Kits

[Brad Hammond]

so i've searched craftsupply and berea so far for different fountain pen kits........oh hutsupply as well.
can any of you offer your favorite fountain pen kits?
i've got to make ONE pen for a friend..........lol i dont mind turning them for friends and family, but it cracks me up when i have to buy the bushings and bits for ONE pen..........lol
i'm leaning toward the platinum gentlemans pens................your thoughts.
thanx
brad

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Brad,

That Platinum Gentleman's pen is very nice! Does your friend have big hands, and do they like big, heavy pens? The Gentleman's Pen is large, and quite heavy. Which is not bad, but it is not for everyone.

Right now I have two different kits that are my favorite fountain pens. One is the Gentleman Junior from Craft Supplies. Platinum, of course! It is probably the best made, as far as function, fountain pen kit on the market right now. It is a good mid sized pen, with decent balance. The threads pre-align, on both the front and the back, which virtually eliminates the possibility of cross-threading (a big problem with many pen kits). One other plus with this kit is that the different size nibs that Craft Supplies sells evidently fit this pen. The thread pre-alignment and the different nibs is something the regular Gentlemans Pen doesn't have.

My other favorite fountain pen kit is the El Grande from Berea. It is another excellent kit by someone who knows how to make excellent kits! While being a large kit, it is surprisingly light weight, so has good balance. I have not had the chance to try one yet, but the Streamlined El Grande may be even better! I really like the shape of this kit, but I just can't endorse it yet until I make a couple of them. Berea has some kits available in platinum plating, rose gold, and even solid sterling silver!

If your friend uses a fountain pen, they may prefer a particular nib or a special ink. If they like a fine nib, that is one of the available options for the Gentleman Junior pen from Craft Supplies. If they use a bottled ink, you will want to get a good converter, which Berea sells the Schmidt converter, a good one.

I hope this helps!

Scott.

[Mark Hulette]

Right now I have two different kits that are my favorite fountain pens. One is the Gentleman Junior from Craft Supplies. Platinum, of course! It is probably the best made, as far as function, fountain pen kit on the market right now.
Scott.

Scott- Much like Brad I've been looking to make a single FP and I want it to be top-notch. I am kind of torn between the Gentleman Jr from Craft Supplies & the Black Titanium 2000 (or something like that) from Berea.

Any thoughts or recommendations on these two kits ( haven't turned any kits from either source (just Woodcraft so far). Is one easier or harder? I've got bushings for the European ballpoint and the American Rollerball from from WC. Would either of these work for the Berea kit?

Thanks for your help~

[Scott Greaves]

Much like Brad I've been looking to make a single FP and I want it to be top-notch. I am kind of torn between the Gentleman Jr from Craft Supplies & the Black Titanium 2000 from Berea.

Any thoughts or recommendations on these two kits ( haven't turned any kits from either source (just Woodcraft so far). Is one easier or harder? I've got bushings for the European ballpoint and the American Rollerball from from WC. Would either of these work for the Berea kit?~

Hi Mark,

I have made a number of the Berea 2000 fountain pens. They're a good, standard, no-nonsense pen. They're not too big or too little. I have only made them in the gold, not the titanium, but that shouldn't make any difference. This kit is slightly more difficult to make than the Gentleman Junior, just because this kit requires that a tenon be turned on the bottom of the upper barrel. It's really not hard, because you just turn down to the metal. I'm not that fond of these kits, and probably won't make any more of them, because I don't care for the metal-on-metal threads. It's just not as nice as the plastic threads on the El Grande and the Gentleman Junior kits. Here is a picture of a couple of pens I made from the Berea 2000 kit.

<IMG SRC="http://myweb.cableone.net/swedg1/pens/2000cell.jpg">

Bushings are cheap - just get the ones you need when you order some kits. I don't think either one of those sets of bushings will work on the 2000 kit. Although the Woodcraft Americana <I>might</I> work. Woodcraft gets almost all their kits from Berea anyway.

I do prefer the Gentleman Junior kit. It is a sweet kit! It is easy to make, and looks fantastic! The size and balance is just right. But the size is probably the only reason I would pick it over the El Grande. If you do go with the Gentleman Junior pen, you will have the choice of end caps with or without threads. Get the ones with threads so you can post the cap on the back of the pen. The other end cap looks cooler, but then the user has to figure out what to do with the cap all the time.

This is all just my opinion, but I'm not trying to lead you astray. I hope this helps!

Scott.

[Mark Hulette]

This kit is slightly more difficult to make than the Gentleman Junior, just because this kit requires that a tenon be turned on the bottom of the upper barrel. It's really not hard, because you just turn down to the metal.

I do prefer the Gentleman Junior kit. It is a sweet kit! It is easy to make, and looks fantastic!
Scott.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm not adverse to turning a tenon, I've done half a zillion of the WC Europeans! :)

With the Gentleman Jr Kit is there step drilling involved? I've not done any of that yet.

[Scott Greaves]

With the Gentleman Jr Kit is there step drilling involved?

Hi Mark,

No step drilling. The G Jr. is about as straight foreward as they come. You will get to buy two drill bits as the top tube is bigger than the bottom tube, but that's about the most complex thing about htis pen.

Good Luck! Have Fun!

Scott.

[Mark Hulette]

Thanks, Scott~ guess I'll have to give the Jrs a try