Mistral Review

[silver]

Well I thought I would put a bit of meat on the bones for the new Mistral pen kit.

I'm sure this will help other UK and international pen makers, it will give an idea of size and quality.

I have matched it along with a Statesman kit by Dayacom, they are around the same cost when landed in the UK after paying import taxes.

Picture of the Mistral parts positioned together how they are to be built.


The Mistral kit comes in 14 parts, including the tubes but not the refills.

The main tube is 65mm long and 9.6 dia.
Cap tube is 46mm long 11.4 Dia

Picture of the Statesman parts positioned together how they are to be built


The Statesman comes in 9 parts, including the tubes but not the refills

The main tube is 53mm long 10.15 Dia
The cap tube is 43mm long 12.2 Dia.

Picture of both the statesman and the Mistral together,.



I have done them in the same jackets, Poplar Burr, finished in CA.

You can see the Mistral being slightly longer main body. but when together the Mistral is only around 10mm longer.

The mistral does have smaller Dia tubes so looks slimmer, having said that I have profiled the tubes on the Mistral as I likes that look with it being a longer pen.

In total the Statesman weighs around 4g heavier than the Mistral.

My view of the Mistral.
The feel and quality of the plantings looks on a par with the Statesman
The nib quality that comes with it is currently the Bock, which is in its self a much better standard of nib.
When built the feel and balance of the kit is nice.
The tubes size is a similar size to the new Gents, so makes it a slimmer pen.

The quality of this kit is equal the Stateman and in the same ball park of the Aaron,Morgan and the higher end Daycom JR gent kits.

The Acme cap to main body thread is a big move in the right direction for a UK available kit.

however my only niggle on this is that to remove the cap it needs to be turned just over 2 1/2 full turns to take it off.

The statesman takes just 1 1/2 turns.

You might not think its much, but with my customers that is the main niggle with any pen, they want screw caps for security but want minimal effort to remove them.

In my opinion its a really nice kit, good quality well thought out and reasonably priced.

I would have though with the right jacket and finish should retail completed pen between £50 to £60

Hope this helps and you find it useful.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for that Eamonn, it is good to see that the kit can hold it's own ..

 

[Scots Bill]

Very helpful Eamonn.

 

[wm460]

Interesting review Eamonn, both kits look great, two well made pens.

 

[Macaronytony]

Nothing better than word's from a pro. Cracking review Eamonn and two high class pens as well..

Sent from my Galaxy 6

 

[Penpal]

I have carefully assessed your resume of the two kits thankyou, two resulting pens similar timber makes it so much easier for me to make my decision. Wonderful comparison.

Peter.

 

[stevenw1963]

Nice review Eamonn.

I'm waiting to see if the Mistral comes out in a chrome finish rather than gold as I can't really abide gold plating, don't know why.

 

[Bammer]

Interesting, I'm just making some up, I would like to see it compared to the Alpha, I would be impressed if it's of better quality

£50 - £60 seems about right, but I guess it's whatever you decide it is

 

[chas_41_uk]

Interesting and helpful review as always Eamonn

 

[silver]

I would like to see it compared to the Alpha,

That reminds me, I did an original sample of Dan's but I may have to have a look at them again.

 

[silver]

I have carefully assessed your resume of the two kits thankyou, two resulting pens similar timber makes it so much easier for me to make my decision. Wonderful comparison.

Peter.

Thank you Peter, I tried to put a kit besides it that I thought the Mistral was worthy of being in the same sentence.

Quite a few know of the Statesman kits, especially the US guys. So matching it against an established kit then then we can all see what it means.

But it's nice to see the new kits being designed in the UK and a completely different than what is on the market already.

 

[Phil Dart]

Thanks Eamonn, for going to the trouble of reviewing the Mistral - I'm sure a lot of people will find it useful. I'm delighted you like it and that it compares well to the Daycom kits - it was designed, at least in part to take on the might of Daycom and make kits of equally high quality available in this country, so obviously I'm thrilled that you agree it fills the brief.

Just to pass comment on one or two points that have cropped up in this thread so far...

The design of the 2.5 turn ACME thread was a conscious act, it is no accident that it happens to be that number of turns. Why? because another reason for designing the Mistral was to get back to something that can be made and assembled to be reminiscent of the classic marques of yesteryear and the premium marques that are made today- the very pens that collectors pay a fortune for. Part of the appeal of those collectable pens to pen aficionados is the method of cap closure being more than the modern trend for very few turns. The reason I know this is because I supply Bock nibs to fountain pen owners and collectors all over the world. Each to their own of course - there will always be people who prefer less turns and those who prefer more, but that is some of the background behind it.

The nibs that have been supplied with the Mistrals so far have been Bock. Now that the launch offers have ended, they will be supplied with the nib they are supposed to have, which is Beaufort Inks own. I'll try and put some information up about it during the week, but in the meantime, it is very definitely NOT made in the far east, it is our own design, manufactured exclusively for us in Germany. The proof of the pudding is in the eating of course, but I have every confidence that the Mistrals going forward will be just as good to write with as those that are already out there with a Bock on the business end.

Lastly, Steven mentioned he is waiting for chrome versions to come along. It's going to be a very, very long wait I'm afraid Steven, it's just not that sort of pen I'm afraid. However, it IS going to be available in rhodium in the coming weeks, and I have plenty of people badgering me to get it done, so I may have to get my finger out sooner rather than later.

 

[billyb_imp]

An excellent review Eamonn, well balanced and fair (the review that is) I have already made my mind up, I see it as been a winner for all concerned.

Got to admit I am a bit surprised by the retail value you put on it, i see your £50 to £60 as been very low but then costs of pens we sell, that's a whole other thread

 

[silver]

Thanks Eamonn, for going to the trouble of reviewing the Mistral.

It's not a problem Phil, I have done it on other kits on here as I have no alegiance with any specific suppliers.

I understand that very reason for cap thread, but my customers use their pens daily so it will put them off very quickly. Handed it over as a freebie to one today and she picked up on that straight away. Liked the feel of the pen though.

I agree that Chrome would nock it back so stick to higher end platings.

What members would need to understand that where the Mistral kit is positioned in pen kit world, there are so many cheap Gent kits and the like that once dressed up in the same blank would look as good in a picture.

That's what can put them off buying a higher priced kit such as you are selling, that said the entry level kits sub £10 have a place in the market much the same as yours does,

 

[silver]

Got to admit I am a bit surprised by the retail value you put on it, i see your £50 to £60 as been very low but then costs of pens we sell, that's a whole other thread

I dont think its very low Billy, I think in a plain jacket with a standaed nib then that's about right, put a special jacket o it with a higher quality nib then you will be able to push that price boundary further.

Its only my opinion and as always is subjective, it's based on what I have sold in the past to what I believe you can get in the market for a half decent fountain pen.

But don't let it put you off, when you sell one for a few hundred then pm me so I can jump on the bandwagon and become millionaire along with you.:wink:

 

[stevenw1963]

I agree that Chrome would nock it back so stick to higher end platings.

Hmm, see there's where personal opinion differs, I think gold plating is tacky. It isn't gold so why try & make it look gold??
Rhodium? fair enough, it aint gold. Chrome? it aint gold & it isn't trying to be something it isn't.

But hey ho, what do I know - I'm only one of those mugs that buy pen kits.

Just my opinion - I'll carry on buying my inferior kits then.

 

[Jim]

I agree with what you are saying Steven regarding personal preference, it goes with the buying of kits whatever platings they are. There are some kits i wouldn't have given, but we have quite a few in here who like them .. And it is as you say, either you do, or you don't ..

 

[silver]

Hmm, see there's where personal opinion differs, I think gold plating is tacky. It isn't gold so why try & make it look gold??
Rhodium? fair enough, it aint gold. Chrome? it aint gold & it isn't trying to be something it isn't.

But hey ho, what do I know - I'm only one of those mugs that buy pen kits.

Just my opinion - I'll carry on buying my inferior kits then.

About the same as me by all accounts..
If we all had the same personal opinions then this forum would be a boring world. :wink: But if you really want to know, I too buy those inferior kits. .

 

[RodN]

This is probably a point that Phil (of Beaufort) would need to answer....

With a higher end pen such as this, what matters a lot to me is the thickness and quality of the plating. I have come to trust Dayacom for high quality plating, and therefore I can honestly list such pens as "lifetime pens", and price them accordingly. Kits from different sources can vary a lot! For example there are several sources of the Gentleman's Jnr/Baron pen (at varying prices) and some of them have plating that wears off within a year. When I first saw the Mistral the first thing that came to mind was "how good is the plating?".

Rod

 

[Phil Dart]

You are quite right to question the integrity of the plating Rod, especially on a more expensive kit. With my own pen makers hat on, I can see little point in paying the extra for a nicely made kit if at the end of the day the end user is going to get a turned pen that is no better than a cheaper kit.

However, I am quite happy to stake my reputation on the fact that the Mistral plating is at least the equal of Daycom's. It's for you to judge whether its better. It is titanium gold, which you may already understand about, but for the benefit of others reading this thread who may not know about that type of plating, I will explain.

The Mistral undergoes a two part process - Firstly the components have a colour matched titanium nitride molecularly bonded to them by a process known as Particle Vapor Deposition or PVD. The TiNi then has gold bonded to it, again by PVD. The gold fills in the troughs and peaks left behind by the TiNi, those troughs and peaks serving to prevent the gold from wearing.

The second part of the process is to plate the components with gold, over the top of what already exists. The result is a finish that is incredibly hard and as equally resilient to wear as rhodium, and which should show virtually no wear throughout its lifetime - in other words it's more or less bomb proof.

The whole raison d'etre of Beaufort Ink is to increase the choices available to pen makers in the UK, and to do so in a way that introduces products that are either unique or hard to find, but in any case, always the highest quality. I would not dream of trying to knowingly sell anything at all that is of poor quality and have gone out of my way to make sure that the Mistral is as fine as possible, and that includes that plating.

I hope that answers your query.