Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Platinum vs. Platinum: In Which Everyone Wins

Platinum makes a wide range of pens, from the inexpensive Preppys (which Dr. Inkenstein loves and owns a stable thereof) to the still-inexpensive Plaisir (ditto)....but then, I stepped over the edge.


So...Platinum Century 3776.  I had wanted the Bourgogne the minute I saw it, thinking, 'I don't really go for red pens, but this one...!


Like a ruby, glittering on velvet.  


Yes.  Must get. 


 Finally I sprang for one with a Medium nib, and it is soooo beautiful!  Like gazing into a full glass of top-flight burgundy: translucent yet deep, mysterious, elusive.


I had a moment of panic when I couldn't get a partly-empty Platinum cart from a Preppy (filled with Aurora Black) seated. But then I used a new cart and it seated and started writing in moments.


The M is not quite as broad as the Plaisir or Preppy M, or so it seems to me. And the nib is VERY springy. And just a bit scratchy, or it has an even smaller sweet spot than a Sailor nib.


(At that point, I hadn't written but a couple of sentences yet, so hoped maybe the slight catch in the nib would disappear soon.)


I think I have a medium touch, and the nib feels ULTRA-springy!   But then I am comparing it directly to the Plaisir/Preppy line, and those are, happily, nails. 


In the 3776, I have a Platinum Black cart. The Preppy has been refilled with Aurora Black. The difference, so far, has been very difficult to discern. 


Unfortunately, there is still one snaggy spot, and I can't see anything obvious under magnification.


I see a difference in the line width with my nose a foot from the paper...but after all there are two different inks in use. Maybe the line/nib output would have seemed closer with the same ink, but the Preppy does write broader and maybe wetter.


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Final thoughts on this gorgeous writing instrument?


To be perfectly blunt, well...I got it at a good price.  It's PURDY.  And I'm getting used to it.  But other than its looks, I did not experience that 'swoon, this is PERFECT!' feeling I get from Sailor ™ pens, or that robust friendliness Platinum offers in its lower-end models.  And if I'm being honest with myself, I'll reach for a Plaisir or a Preppy before the 3776.

2 comments:

  1. Good to know. I'm on a very small budget for pens...

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  2. Perhaps, you need a different bib or to adjust the feed?

    ReplyDelete