# New clicker from PSI



## Gregf

Just received PSI latest catalog. 
They have a new clicker that uses a Schmidt mechanism
It's call the DuraClick EDC  (Every Day Click)
I ordered a starter package for a look see.
This may become my go to pen for my Thin Blue Line pens that I give to LEOs.
An interesting detail that could be a concern is the refill extender.
A small nylon piece that snaps into the end of the refill.
If it gets lost I wonder if replacements are available.
Overall I like it. Looks to be bullet proof.
Personally I like clicker pens vs twist, and want a pen I give away to last forever.


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## Terredax

Those wouldn't be the first kits to use that piece.
On a couple that I made, I shortened the tube, to eliminate the little plastic piece.


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## Curly

Back in the olden days the Sierra Clicks had metal extension like that. The tubes were longer than the twist. A uni-ball 207 refill was a drop in replacement if you left out the spacer. It improved the click feel and wrote a lot better too. Maybe the same holds true with this pen.


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## magpens

As John said, this is not the first pen kit design that uses a "refill extender" piece.

Berea Hardwoods, in their early Sierra click pen kit offering, used a metal extender. . The point of this extender was never very clear to me, other than making the overall length of the pen a little greater. . But it was an inconvenience, especially at the time of refill replacement, because of its potential for getting lost. . As far as I know, there never were any replacement extenders readily available. . And, besides that, who wants to be in the position of owning an unusable pen in the case that the extender disappears. . Some people have claimed (see Curly's post above) that the longer pen barrel was meant to offer the possibility of replacing the standard refill with a gel refill (typically longer) by leaving out the extender piece. . But that possibility was never featured in any of the Berea data on that pen kit, as far as I know. . Similarly, the alternative of using a gel refill is not mentioned in the PSI blurb for this new pen kit offering.

Berea discontinued their Sierra click pen kit with the extender piece about 6 or so years ago when they did a complete redesign. . Some penturners were overjoyed at this change, but many were very confused by the introduction of yet another, different, length of brass tube.

In summary, I am not in favor of a pen which requires a "refill extender", and for that reason I am wary of this new pen kit offering from PSI. . I wish they had provided a longer click mechanism instead of the refill extender.

John, above, says you can eliminate the extender by shortening the brass tube. . I would offer a counter suggestion that the new click mechanism could have been made longer, effectively producing the same end result. . And I would have favored that approach, because I generally do like pens with longer barrels.

Now, having mentioned the new click mechanism in this new PSI pen kit, I am very interested in seeing how this change works out. . This new click mechanism is, as far as I know, a first time introduction in any pen kit that is on the market. . It looks very promising. and it is about time such a new mechanism is introduced. . Now, having said that, there has been a similar-looking click mechanism available for some time (from a couple of sources) for the use of kitless pen makers, so, this new mechanism is not totally new ... just new to the realm of packaged pen kits.


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## Curly

magpens said:


> ....... I wish they had provided a longer click mechanism instead of the refill extender.



Mal since Schmidt makes mechanisms for many companies and have likely standardized their sizes to facilitate production I doubt they would make longer ones for the relatively small numbers that PSI and its suppliers represent. Maybe if they made millions of them. :wink: If PSI wanted to bear the retooling costs they might but then those significant costs would be reflected in the prices we would have to pay.  As important as we think we are, we a little more than an afterthought in the overall pen market. :frown:

Greg can you see if the click mechanism if fit into the top parts or is the entire mechanism one assembly?


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## magpens

> Greg can you see if the click mechanism if fit into the top parts or is the entire mechanism one assembly?


From inspection of the PSI instructions for this new kit, it appears that the click mechanism screws into a top finial piece which PSI calls a "cap coupler" (misnomer, in my opinion).

Curly, another althernative would be for PSI to provide a small extender piece which fits onto the plunger of the click mechanism ... subject to available room inside the top end of the pen and "cap coupler".

I know that this does not overcome the potential for losing a crucial piece but what I am really getting at is this. . Perhaps the pen maker could, himself, supply such a piece and even glue it on, thereby making it a permanent fixture.


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## Gregf

Curly said:


> magpens said:
> 
> 
> 
> ....... I wish they had provided a longer click mechanism instead of the refill extender.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mal since Schmidt makes mechanisms for many companies and have likely standardized their sizes to facilitate production I doubt they would make longer ones for the relatively small numbers that PSI and its suppliers represent. Maybe if they made millions of them. :wink: If PSI wanted to bear the retooling costs they might but then those significant costs would be reflected in the prices we would have to pay.  As important as we think we are, we a little more than an afterthought in the overall pen market. :frown:
> 
> Greg can you see if the click mechanism if fit into the top parts or is the entire mechanism one assembly?
Click to expand...

 
According to the catalog this is a "Schmidt SKM-88" it screws into the top cap, coupler or whatever you want to call it.


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## Curly

So they could have made the top cap coupler longer at the expense of weight.


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## magpens

Curly said:


> So they could have made the top cap coupler longer at the expense ...



Curly .... perhaps you mean "shorter"


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## Gregf

As far as I can see they would have to shorten the tube.
I don't think I would like it.
Would look too stubby.


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## Gregf

> Curly, another althernative would be for PSI to provide a small extender piece which fits onto the plunger of the click mechanism ... subject to available room inside the top end of the pen and "cap coupler".


 
That looks to me to be the best alternative.
A 1/4 thick rod that would slid over the plunger should work.


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## BSea

I see that they have aluminum & a stainless option.  I have build custom clickers using this mechanism (with and without a spacer).  I would like to know if they seem top heavy based on using the spacer.  I found that the mechanism makes a longer custom pen a little top heavy.  But without a spacer, it's too short for my taste.

I think the stainless might have enough weight to offset the weight of the mechanism.  But I'd be hesitant to buy the aluminum versions.  At least till I new they felt balanced.


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## magpens

Bob,
Is the SKM-88 click mechanism really that heavy ? 
I have never had one in my hands but it is something I want to try.
So your input is valuable information for me.

 And I guess your point about the spacer (refill extender), even tho' it's plastic ... is that it affects the weight distribution in the pen, and therefore the overall balance of the pen.
That is an interesting point and one I had not considered.


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## stuckinohio

I typically make the spacer a tight fit so that it slides over the clicker rod and stays attached to it. Then when you remove the refill, the spacer stays in the pen attached to the clicker so it doesn't get lost.

I always tell my customers about the spacer too, so that if it does come out with the refill they know they need to keep track of it. Haven't had a problem with one yet.

As for weight, they are pretty heavy and do throw off the balance. Some people don't like the heavier pens either. I'd assume that the aluminum nose cone being so long it might counter balance the pen, even with aluminum being lighter.

I have to order some of these kits. I'm curious to see if they are smooth like the well functioning Schmidt clickers are. The problem with the Schmidt clickers is that you sometimes get one that isn't smooth and they are hard to get clicking smoothly. The yellow plated ones from Richard seem to be way better.


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## BSea

magpens said:


> Bob,
> Is the SKM-88 click mechanism really that heavy ?
> I have never had one in my hands but it is something I want to try.
> So your input is valuable information for me.


I don't know if the PSI mechanisms are the same, but the ones I have are pretty substantial.  I think they are chrome plated brass.  They look to be the same though.



magpens said:


> And I guess your point about the spacer (refill extender), even tho' it's plastic ... is that it affects the weight distribution in the pen, and therefore the overall balance of the pen.
> That is an interesting point and one I had not considered.


I think the spacer isn't an issue.  I've made spacers, for my custom clicker.  I made them out of alumilite. IIRC, the sierra clicker used an aluminum spacer.  It was light too.


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## stuckinohio

Mal, would you like me to weigh one for you? and if so, grams or ounces? I assume grams


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## magpens

Yes, please ... grams would be better but it does not matter ... I can convert.

Canada officially converted to metric measure way back in the 60's. . IMHO, that was a foolish move because we live next door to the world's largest economy, which is NOT metric, so we have to do conversions every day.

It's really weird ... we go to the supermarket ... bulk food prices are stated using both sets of units at the bins and shelves. . But when you read your cash register receipt it is in metric only ... so us old farts who still think in ... what do you call it ... "avoirdupois" units ? ... have to do conversions to figure out whether we got skewered or not !!

Of course, we also have French to contend with on all the packaging, so we all, including the younger generations, are used to doing "conversions" ... or else putting up with the frustrations.  The French descriptions always seem to be the ones that "face out". . And, while there was a time when I enjoyed the challenge of reading in a "foreign" language, that time is now long gone.

  So, to make matters simple ... grams please ... er ... did I say grams ? . Yes, that is how I weigh my pens .... wish I could sell them in bulk !!!!:biggrin:

But if you prefer, "avoirdupois" would be fine ... that's YOUR system whether you know it or not. :biggrin:


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## stuckinohio

Here are the weights:

Clicker - 6 grams
My stainless steel nose cone - 11 grams
total pen weight - 32 grams

In case your interested in total weight.

And I wouldn't dream of making someone convert because I hate doing it myself,so grams it is!


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## Gregf

The mechanism in the kit weighs 6.6 grams


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## WriteON

Looks like a nice kit. Waiting for your review.


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## magpens

Yes, it does look like a nice kit and I too look forward to a more fulsome report and review.


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## KenB259

I made a couple of these this past weekend. The pen feels nicely balanced, feels very good in my hand,extremely easy to turn and assemble. Nothing I don’t like about it. It is now my every day carry pen. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## BSea

KenB259 said:


> I made a couple of these this past weekend. The pen feels nicely balanced, feels very good in my hand,extremely easy to turn and assemble. Nothing I don’t like about it. It is now my every day carry pen.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


That's good to know.  Which kits did you make?  If you make the stainless & one of the aluminum models, did you notice a weight difference?

One thing I think I over looked when I said it might be top heavy, was that in a kitless pen, there is no tube to add weight.the additional weight of the added metal piece to the nib along with the weight of the tube should add enough weight to balance the pen.  

I may have to try one to see if I like it.  I'd still like to know if the stainless kit weighs more than the aluminum models.


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## KenB259

BSea said:


> KenB259 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I made a couple of these this past weekend. The pen feels nicely balanced, feels very good in my hand,extremely easy to turn and assemble. Nothing I don’t like about it. It is now my every day carry pen.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app
> 
> 
> 
> That's good to know.  Which kits did you make?  If you make the stainless & one of the aluminum models, did you notice a weight difference?
> 
> One thing I think I over looked when I said it might be top heavy, was that in a kitless pen, there is no tube to add weight.the additional weight of the added metal piece to the nib along with the weight of the tube should add enough weight to balance the pen.
> 
> I may have to try one to see if I like it.  I'd still like to know if the stainless kit weighs more than the aluminum models.
Click to expand...




I made two aluminum ones, but I also bought the multi pack. Here are the weights of just the components. 

Brass - 1.125 ounces

Aluminum - .75 ounce

Stainless steel - 1.625 ounces


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## BSea

Thanks for the info Ken.  :good:


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## ripjack13

Terredax said:


> Those wouldn't be the first kits to use that piece.
> On a couple that I made, I shortened the tube, to eliminate the little plastic piece.



hi,
by how much did you shorten the tube? 
I just ordered the starter kit as well...
thanks!

marc


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