Well, yea, the 14k gold nib is a far cry better than the gold wash steel nib anyday as anyone here will admit to, that fact I am sure of. But lets just to take this one pen and what makes me say that there is a diffrence. (As an honest viewpoint)
The cap threads are in fact metal, which makes it a metal to metal threads! It is a bit strange, but on a daily basis it the cap does stay on better than my Jr. Statesman's pens do for some reason. I lend this to where the cap band locks to the step cut into the body. The centerband appears to be pressed into the cap much like our kits, with a good inch or so depth much like the Jr Statesman or Churchill. Both those two pen kits have a prefect cap design. (Newer Jr. Statesmans have a better thread insert, I dislike the shorter cap thread version) The Sheaffer clip is secure and the holes it goes into can not be seen. I do feel that the clip would be far eaiser to break out of the cap though. The Churchill has a stronger clip mounting, but take the metal ring. This ring has a slot cut into it .209 wide while the clip tang that fits in that slot is just .152 which leaves "slop" of .057" why? Heck, the clip part itself is only .201"! This leaves a visable gap and allows the clip to slip side to side. That can allow the finish to be scratched and feels cheap.
The section on the Sheaffer is very nice to hold, although I was originaly put off by the lines turned into it. One big design that makes tah Sheaffer strong is at the end of the barrel. The barrel has a ring before the metal threads, but in fact fits over the body like a cap. This one little part matches, in looks, what our trim ring does on the Churchill between the body threads and the section. However, because its a cap over the body over a washer it makes the threads on the body very strong. In order for the body threads to crack & split from the section it needs to get past that trim ring / cap.
That said, yes.. cracked threads are a real problem in the "store bought" pens and you do find many pens with this problem. Although many of those are from trying to remove the section without heat. For those pens it is not a simple fix like making the thread coupler on the Churchill like the Ligero style or even a metal thread insert like the Gentleman/Statesman kit. They compromise strength by making the body all plastic or celloid, but we have our parts built around a brass tube with many hardware options and have fixes for this issue.
Lastly, that pen is what, close to 60 years old and the center band and clip are still gold. How many of us have had the top of the line gold ti wear in places? I hate to even bring it up again, but if you all remember the Jr. Statesman I had CSUSA replace? Well they have the same plating issues and are even worse from Rhoidum. I feel that a good chrome plating might hold up better!
I did not post this to bash any one kit, but to answer if any "snobs" have broken "expensive" pens and if they blame it on the maker. I say yes to some of that. I have seen many of the pens like my Sheaffer with broken caps where the clip mount and if they used a better design it would not break like that.
Why do they look down on the kits pens? Here is a Jr. Statesman that is less than 6 months old in Rhoidum / Black Ti. I personaly would say this is an expensive pen that we would be selling, Right?
Here is what the section looks like, and it had been well cared for by me and I use Ren wax on the pen and hardware too. Maybe this is one reason they feel that way. I have another Jr. Statesman and a full sized Gent that looks just like it.
