Being a lot newer to this than most who post here, I am commenting on this question not because I know but because I want to know. If high end means a mediocre kit with a bit of bling, then I am not interested. What does interest me greatly is finding out which kits are high quality. I asked this question in another thread, but nobody really answered it. At present I am am having to find out which kits are high quality and which are not by buying them, making them and, in most cases, being disappointed by the quality.
To me, high quality should mean a good quality mechanism and plating and a kit that fits together well. I have a Cross ballpoint and pencil and had until recently a Waterman fountain pen that I have had for years - long before I became interested in pen making. In the last year I have made somewhere between 80 and 100 pens from a range of different kits. Not one of them matches the standard of the mechanism of my Crosses or Waterman and only one - a Gentleman's fountain pen, matches the quality of the plating. I have just started my first TM pen and I am hoping that this will meet my desire for high quality.
It would save me and others from wasting money on poor quality products if some of the more experienced contributors here would name some kits that they regard as high quality and tell us why they think so. It is true that their opinions will be subjective, but their opinions would be a better starting point for us less experienced turners than guesswork based on just looking at a picture in a catalogue or on-line and saying "That looks high quality. I'll buy one of those"...and then being disappointed with it.
