Platinum #3776 Or Mak-E

[sandy101]

OK, folks.

 

Cult pens has 20% off all Platinum pens. I was thinking of buying a maki-e, simply because they look so beautiful, but at the same time the Century #3776 is also in the sale and gets more enthusiastic reviews on this site, and is cheaper.

 

Does anyone have an opinion on these pens. Would the #3776 be more practical or is the maki-e just as good?

 

(I have preppies & plasirs and no complaints about either).

 

Any thoughts gratefully received.

[KBeezie]

I'd say the Century 3776 would be more practical, especially with the slip-n-seal cap that keeps the nib/feed from drying out for up to 24 months (essentially insuring immediate flow after every uncapping for most inks).

 

Normally I'd say you can get a Century 3776 direct from Japan like I did for around 80-90$ USD shipped, however since you're in the UK, I'm not sure what kind of import taxes they'd impose on you just to get them in. (both of mine were from the Bunkidou shop on Rakuten a black with a 14K soft fine around $90 shipped, and a red clearish one with a 14K Medium for around $72 shipped due to some bonus points).

 

It'd also be a little thicker than the Maki-e pens, which are beautiful, but I'd be afraid of scratching them, but also the nib size on them looks about the same as my Platinum PTL-5000 which have been scratchy in my experience (and I've read somewhat the same thing when people reviewed them over at GouletPens)

 

You can always get one of these for $45 shipped from Japan from Engeika Ebay if you really wanted to, but the aftermarket paint job on a PTL-5000 doesn't look nearly as nice as what Platinum puts out directly:

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wancher_makie/tsutsuji.jpg

Edited September 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[sandy101]

Thank you for the reply.

 

The only nib size available for the Maki-e is medium (I have preppy mediums and have no complaints, but the fine plasir I have is scratchy).

 

Reading the reviews here - the main problem with Maki-e is that it seems to be that it is a very dry pen.

 

There are not many bad reviews of the #3776 on this site (and it is £20 cheaper than the maki-e).

[KBeezie]

Thank you for the reply.

 

The only nib size available for the Maki-e is medium (I have preppy mediums and have no complaints, but the fine plasir I have is scratchy).

 

Reading the reviews here - the main problem with Maki-e is that it seems to be that it is a very dry pen.

 

There are not many bad reviews of the #3776 on this site (and it is £20 cheaper than the maki-e).

 

The Maki-e pens are just snap caps much like the PTL-5000 or PTL-10000 (they're likely painted PTL-10,000 as it's about the same size and also has an 18K nib). The snap caps don't really seal that well for certain kinds of inks. Noodler's bullet proof inks especially will dry up pretty quickly causing hard starts.

 

The Century 3776 doesn't have that problem because it has the slip and seal cap (the older 3776 doesn't, and while a lot of their other pens have 3776 nibs, they don't have the cap of the Century 3776). I can use Noodler's Liberty's Elysium in it without a problem.

 

Iroshizuku inks has been fine in either, and I imagine something like waterman or j.herbin would be fine too.

 

If CultPens doesn't have the same specs, the modern maki-e appears to be 136mm tall, by 13mm thick, with a weight of about 17.2g, where as the Century 3776 is 139.5mm tall, 15.4mm thick, and 20.5grams (about 10 grams for the cap and about 10 for the body). IF that has any bearings on your decision of practical usage.

 

Platinum certainly seems to push the Century 3776 more as their own website has a bunch of promotional material on the Century 3776's page, where as any other model they show is the basic pictures and specs. http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/efountain_top.html

Edited September 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[Sheshka]

I have 3776's in Medium and Soft Fine, as well as a PTL-5000 Fine (As KBeezie says, I'm a bit suspicious about the similarity of the nibs).

The PTL-5000 does offer too much feedback for my tastes (but then, it is -very- fine). The Medium on the 3776 is still fine by my standards, though might write wider on absorbent paper, and the SF is very fine, but able to put out quite a wide line as you'd expect. I also fine the nib on the 5000 a bit stiff as gold nibs go. If springiness is what you're after, I would say the 3776 is the way to go there.

The 3776 Medium is pretty close to what the fine Preppy puts down (I would say the 3776 is actually ever so slightly finer), both of the fine nibs are finer, as you might expect.

Typically if it goes through customs via royal mail, the charge is £8 handling + 20% VAT (Engeika and similar are still competitive, but you can get the pen this week if you go for Cult Pens ).

 

If it turns out that the Maki-e uses a different nib to to the PTL-5000, then apologies, as this is quite a bit less relevant as comparisons go! Hope it helps in some way, anyway.

 

Edit: Didn't realise the nibs are different materials between the Maki-e and PTL-5000 - so not sure how much effect that has on the writing experience.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sheshka

[KBeezie]

Edit: Didn't realise the nibs are different materials between the Maki-e and PTL-5000 - so not sure how much effect that has on the writing experience.

 

I'll probably know in about a week as I won a PTL-10000 which is a little taller, thicker and heavier than a PTL-5000, and has an 18K nib instead of a 14K.

 

I didn't find the 14K on the PTL-5000 to be all that stiff, since it has a little bit of flex to it as you can see from the writing sample above.

 

Far as the 14K Medium on the Century 3776:

 

With some Diamine Syrah :

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/super-freak.jpg

 

And with some Noodler's Liberty's Elysium along side some other pens.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/inked/sept_13_2014.jpg

[Sheshka]

 

I'll probably know in about a week as I won a PTL-10000 which is a little taller, thicker and heavier than a PTL-5000, and has an 18K nib instead of a 14K.

 

I didn't find the 14K on the PTL-5000 to be all that stiff, since it has a little bit of flex to it as you can see from the writing sample above.

 

Far as the 14K Medium on the Century 3776:

 

With some Diamine Syrah :

 

 

And with some Noodler's Liberty's Elysium along side some other pens.

 

 

 

Good range of samples you've got there! I agree that there definitely is a bit of flex, I pushed mine a bit too far (I guess) - and after I was finding it scratchier, I inspected it to find that the tips of the tines were sitting a bit too far apart.

 

My (accidental) mistreatment of the pen definitely shouldn't count against it, but it's worth being aware of before you go at it. I think that sample you posted in the first comment is about as far as I'd comfortably go with mine. Given that it's more than nothing, it certainly is able to add character to writing. Depends on what's wanted of the pen I suppose!

 

If you've used a 5000, I'd be interested to hear what you make of the 10000 - but I think that's a matter for another time - I've probably played enough of a part in derailing the conversation as it is

[Water Ouzel]

I've got three 3776 Centuries (F, F, and SF) and a PTL-15000 Kanazawa Maki-e (Rabbit and the Moon, F), and all of them are good writing pens.

 

The 3776's F nibs are nicely smooth, the SF is even finer if your hand is light, but it also gives a bit more feedback, especially on rough paper. Very nice on Rhodia or similar smooth paper.

 

The Kanazawa's 18K nib looks similar to the Plaisir or Balance, but it's definitely springier. It's also the only pen I've got that can keep up with the 3776 Century is starting up immediately after being unused for a month or more (you try keeping up with normal writing in the middle of a move half way across the country). That one I got through Engeika, so a bit more than half U.S. price.

[KBeezie]

I've got three 3776 Centuries (F, F, and SF) and a PTL-15000 Kanazawa Maki-e (Rabbit and the Moon, F), and all of them are good writing pens.

 

The 3776's F nibs are nicely smooth, the SF is even finer if your hand is light, but it also gives a bit more feedback, especially on rough paper. Very nice on Rhodia or similar smooth paper.

 

The Kanazawa's 18K nib looks similar to the Plaisir or Balance, but it's definitely springier. It's also the only pen I've got that can keep up with the 3776 Century is starting up immediately after being unused for a month or more (you try keeping up with normal writing in the middle of a move half way across the country). That one I got through Engeika, so a bit more than half U.S. price.

 

How do you like the silkscreened finish of the Maki-e one?

[Icywolfe]

I have Kuretake brush pen. It's printed on Makie and the moon is missing some part of of. Oh well. But Kuretake seems to make the brush tip but the body seems like Platinum.

[laserlight]

 

The Maki-e pens are just snap caps much like the PTL-5000 or PTL-10000 (they're likely painted PTL-10,000 as it's about the same size and also has an 18K nib). The snap caps don't really seal that well for certain kinds of inks.

 

If it turns out that the Maki-e uses a different nib to to the PTL-5000, then apologies, as this is quite a bit less relevant as comparisons go! Hope it helps in some way, anyway.

 

Edit: Didn't realise the nibs are different materials between the Maki-e and PTL-5000 - so not sure how much effect that has on the writing experience.

 

I note that on the Platinum website, the maki-e pens are listed in a single section, but some of them are the PTL-1000 (i.e., "Standard", 18K gold nib version) with maki-e, but others are the older (as in not Century) #3776 model with maki-e, and yet others have models like the President as the base. Hence, some of the maki-e pens will have snap caps with the nibs of the PTL-10000, whereas others will have screw caps (but no slip & seal mechanism) with the nibs of the older #3776 model or whatever other model was the base.

 

Personally, I was deliberating between a #3776 Century and a #3776 with maki-e, so I asked a question about the slip & seal mechanism earlier this month: Platinum #3776 PTB-30000B And The Slip & Seal. In the end I went with the Century because of the slip & seal.

[Water Ouzel]

 

How do you like the silkscreened finish of the Maki-e one?

Not bad at all. I was concerned at first about wear on the body by posting, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

[sandy101]

I bough the maki-e Cranes over Mount Fuji, because I liked the artwork.. It arrived today and it is a very beautiful pen. I'll get to play with it a bit more this evening once the chores have been done. However, the pen is working fine with the black ink cartridge it came with. Now, to write some beautiful poems with it.

 

The pen came with a converter, which I will almost certainly use at a later date, once I have found a suitable colour.

 

Thanks to everyone for their comments here.