Replacing Pen Click Mechanisms

[DrD]

I recently saw where at least one pen kit vendor was selling one of the Schmidt click mechanisms solo - just the mechanism. How hard would it be to replace an existing clicker with the Schmidt? I haven't taken any measurements, but it looks the the 3 plastic thingies are pretty much the same from the different clickers currently available. If this is possible, it might be worth the time and money to get a bunch of the Rizheng kits and have at it.

Anybody already tried this? Anyone know if it is even possible?

DrD

 

[magpens]

You should make some measurements to ascertain which kit to use .....

Which Rizheng kit did you have in mind ? . The Cigar ?

Plan your work and model it on this kit from PSI .....

https://www.pennstateind.com/library/PKEDCDXX_INS.pdf

Some work along this line has been reported.

Take a look at this:

Short DuraClick EDC

At first I made the pen too long and it was unpleasant to write with (it's amazing how much I want to see the right amount of refill tip as I write). Then I made it too short trying to fix it causing the refill to not retract all the way. I sanded down the plastic extension but that made the...

www.penturners.org

 

[DrD]

Hi mal!

I was just thinking that the "worst" part of the Rizheng Cigar Click is the mechanism. You throw away the refill, the center band and ring, use the clip-cap assy and the nib assy. Not bad for a kit that costs less than $3.00 + shipping - if it is available. If the mechanism can be replaced with a Schmitt, well then, you've got a pretty nifty pen.

As far as taking measurements, that's great but I have no kits using the Schmitt. What I was hoping for was that someone here might have those measurements, and I could then compare with the Rizheng. Or, maybe there are those here who have more fully investigated this. Or maybe there is no real interest in this project, and that is good input as well. Just curious . . .

Don

 

[magpens]

There certainly is interest in this proposed project of yours.

If you want the measurements, I think you can get some pretty close estimates from the material I have referenced.

If you want more exact measurements, I can provide them because I have some of the Duraclick EDC kits and I have some of the SKM-88 mechanisms. . The Schmidt mechanism, as used in the Duraclick EDC, has been modified from the mechanisms I bought from Richard Greenwald (the same, I think, as available from Exotic Blanks).

So tell me what you need to know and I can probably help out a little bit.

Of course, it would be better if you had the actual parts in hand, but you can get a very good idea of what questions to ask by looking at the pictures on the EB website or on the Richard Greenwald website.

One thing that will be important, with your knowledge of the Rizheng Cigar, is for you to design a "coupler" in order to connect the SKM-88 to the brass tube of the pen kit. . I would think that you would want to make this coupler from brass, but you could very well make it from plastic scrap. . The SKM-88 has a threaded bottom, but you don't actually need to have the correct matching tap; you could just glue the SKM-88 into the coupler, and glue the coupler into the brass tube.

So please make reference to the pictures of the SKM-88 available on the websites mentioned. . Ask what you want to know, and I will try to help.

I am not very good at photography so I prefer to avoid using my clunky DSLR.

EDIT: . And if you want to leave out the brass tube completely, I think you can do that. . Just figure out a way of "coupling" the SKM-88 directly to the top end of your barrel, get the overall length right, and attach the nib coupler and nib.

Here is the link to the SKM-88 mechanism on ExoticBlanks ....

..... https://www.exoticblanks.com/schmidt-skm-88-click-mechanism.html

Here is the link to the SKM-88 mechanism on Richard Greenwald ....

..... https://richardlgreenwald.com/shop/push-button-mechanisms/

The PSI instruction sheet that I referenced above is repeated here, and shows how things have to fit together:

https://www.pennstateind.com/library/PKEDCDXX_INS.pdf

The length of the SKM-88 "stub" is a little longer on the PSI kit, presumably because PSI has ordered them this way from Schmidt.

In the PSI Duraclick EDC, there is also a plastic extender piece, but you should plan to leave that out in your project design.
Just compensate for the length of the plastic extender (exactly 0.500", as I recall).