Platinum Cool Crystal Blue

[Liquidmetal490]

I recently bought a Platinum Cool Crystal Blue fountain pen, medium nib, and am so far very pleased!

 

The box isn't flashy or large, but rather simple and straightforward. There is an outside sheath of thin cardboard surrounding a plastic box. Inside the box is the pen wrapped in plastic, a cartridge, the warranty/information booklet, and the converter in its own box. My thoughts are posted below on the writing sample

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/OutsideBox_zps85541444.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/InsideBox_zps5739e978.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/Boxopened_zps0d0698f5.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/BoxComponents_zpsa61e0215.jpg

 

Convertor

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/Converter_zps8145b0f6.jpg

 

Platinum Cartridge

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/PlatinumCartridge_zps97759090.jpg

 

Platinum Cool, Crystal Blue

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/CapOn_zps7057c32b.jpg

 

Cap Posted

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/PenPosted_zpsf18b16d7.jpg

 

Cap

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/IMG_1124_zps4e039eca.jpg

 

Cap Length

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/CapLength_zps3e81e644.jpg

 

Pen Length Without Cap

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/BarrelLength_zps1b13a2ce.jpg

 

Pen Length Posted

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/PostedLength_zpsdb1efb27.jpg

 

Feed Underneath the Nib

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/UnderneathNib_zps6de28b8f.jpg

I unfortunately don't have a very good camera and this photo doesn't do the pen justice, but the plastic underneath is clear and you can see the Aurora Blue ink flowing underneath the nib, which is pretty Cool

 

Writing Sample and Thoughts

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/PlatinumCoolWritingSample_zpsfa894d21.jpg

 

Rhodia Paper

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Platinum%20Cool/RhodiaPaperSample_zpsee2321a4.jpg

 

Edited December 2, 2014 by Liquidmetal490

[Gloucesterman]

Check out the blog Brian Goulet did on the "Cool". He included a little segment at the end on how to turn the gold finish to a silver finish, quickly and easily.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Thanks for the review. I bought (and returned) a medium nib Cool because, as you mentioned, I found the writing experience to be terribly toothy. Too bad I didn't keep it as I'm sure it could have been easily smoothed out. The finish on the nib was beautifully done, though.

[dan in montreal]

Thanks for the review. I have this in the clear finish and didn't like it much at first. I found the nib OK, but nothing to write home about. I inked it again several months later and I found it thoroughly enjoyable, mainly because of its "spinginess". Strange. Maybe my expectations had lowered? I use it quite often now. But that cap... That white insert. What an ugly feature. I still do not know what they were thinking.

[Liquidmetal490]

Thanks for the review. I have this in the clear finish and didn't like it much at first. I found the nib OK, but nothing to write home about. I inked it again several months later and I found it thoroughly enjoyable, mainly because of its "spinginess". Strange. Maybe my expectations had lowered? I use it quite often now. But that cap... That white insert. What an ugly feature. I still do not know what they were thinking.

 

I can only imagine how that white cap looks in person in the clear finish model, it certainly detracts from the overall look. I wonder if its a Japanese pen thing? I don't know enough of other demonstrators to comment, but I do have a Pilot Prera and it too has a similar white snap cap. They keep the caps secure and the nibs dry, but at quite an aesthetic cost.

[Kyouju]

But that cap... That white insert. What an ugly feature. I still do not know what they were thinking.

Ditto Thanks for the review, though. Love all the photos.

[nicholasyeo]

The nib is slightly springy isn't it! Kinda unusual for steel nibs. It's a good thing...

[maverink]

i have the pen with fine nib and its springy with a bit of line variation as well.

[Aurko]

I rather like the Platinum Cool, but not enough to get one. The fact that the cap isn't transparent is honestly a little bit of a deal breaker, sadly.

[migo984]

I have the Cool in both blue and clear. After using them both for some time, and chucking them around and otherwise treating them rather badly, I actually appreciate the white inserts. Any ink splatters, blobs or blotches don't show at all. In my other demonstrators with clear caps, the ink staining can get quite bad and takes a lot of maintenance and care.

 

Overall, they offer a fun and surprisingly good writing experience for such an inexpensive pen. Lovely nibs, easily smoothed if they are initially too toothy.

[graystranger]

I have the same crystal blue Cool as you have but in a F nib. I found it to be a tiny bit toothy but not scratchy at all. Especially on good quality paper (Midori, Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Apica) but also fine on printer or copier paper. Flows very well. The gold converter looks more like silver through my blue transparent barrel. Goulet Pens carries the converter in silver, but he has a video showing how you can remove the gold finish easily.

 

The inner cap seals air tight, I think the pen can sit for weeks without drying out. Never had a hard start. To me, my pen writes like a $200 gold nib pen, smooth and soft, wet and nice. Liked it so much I got a green Platinum Balance (same pen but with opaque resin body and cap and gold trim) with a F nib. It came a bit too scratchy for my taste, but with a bit of smoothing it quickly matched the Cool's nib. The writing experience with both pens just about equals my 1960's Sheaffer gold nib pens, Vanishing Points, Waterman Carene F, Pilot SEF Metal Falcon (which is more scratchy but a wonderful writer on good paper), to name a few.

 

The feature that sold me on this pen is its ability for the feed and nib to come completely apart for cleaning. See Brian Goulet's Video: http://blog.gouletpens.com/2014/08/breaking-down-platinum-coolbalance.html .

 

I am now using Platinum Carbon Black in both pens and have had the Cool inked with this since October 27 and have had no problems, no hard starts, no poor flow at all. This is a pigmented ink and it is recommended that you clean your pen weekly when using it. I'm testing to see how long it takes before I have a problem. I'm filling its converter with an ink syringe so I'm not flushing out the feed when I refill it. Today is December 2 and still no problems. I may post my experiment later when I have to flush the pen out.

Edited December 3, 2014 by graystranger

[UkeDan]

Wow thanks for the link graystranger (I sound like a character in a western movie...). I had missed that video. I had given up on taking the Cool apart and had let it soak in a 10% vinegar solution, which erased the traces of Asa Gao left in the section. Then I inked it with Waterman's South Seas Blue, and then Apache Sunset but that last ink seems too dry for the Cool. Next try will be Black Swan in Australian Roses, if I gather up the courage....

[graystranger]

Black Swan in Australian Roses was the first ink I put in my Platinum Cool, and it worked just fine. Never heard of cleaning a pen with a vinegar solution, but guess it would work, often used to clean glass. When I took my Cool apart, I took the time to wipe a little of my Goulet Pens silicone grease over the outside diameter of the rubber seal so it will seal well with the inside wall of the grip section. I told you I was using Platinum Carbon Black pigmented ink in this pen since October 27. It is now December 9 and still writes perfectly with no flushing or cleaning or nib wiping. No problems at all. And, I'm not writing that much with the pen (I have too many pens inked up now), maybe once or twice a day. Or even skip days. Nib just does not dry out at all. Glad the link helped you.

 

By the way, Graystranger was my alias in Cowboy Action matches, so it seemed like a good email address to use.

[DylanKeefe]

Thanks for the review!! I've been looking at picking up one of these as my first foray into the world of Platinum pens. I'll keep looking for a well priced blue one!!

[graystranger]

If the opaque cap inside the transparent cap turns you off, get the Platinum Balance - same pen but with opaque cap and barrel, you can't see the inner cap. I got the green one and it is very nice looking, comes apart just like the Cool, as they are the same pen. Comes in green, blue, black and wine red. The metal trim and steel nibs are all gold colored, while they are silver colored on the Cool pens.

 

Edited December 12, 2014 by graystranger

[bone215]

I also chose the solid green Balance with F nib.

Just a small touch of noise and feedback on the nib. Acceptable for as fine a line as it puts down.

Ergonomically a very well designed fit for my medium sized hand. All of my Platinum's have been trouble free and they seem to hold onto their ink very well, not needing refills often.

The green color is very pretty.

[prf5]

Inspired by Brian Goulet's informative review, I bought a fine clear Platinum Cool. As Brian noted, the white cap is bound to raise eyebrows. It makes the pen look better when it's clipped into a shirt pocket, but that's small compensation. The pen has been thoroughly reviewed on this site and elsewhere, and Liquidmetal490 has given a nice report here. All I can add is that this is writing without the usual overhead. For $42.00, I have a well-balanced, lightweight pen that opens easily, posts securely, closes with a click, starts up with no delay, doesn't skip, and writes pretty well on cheap paper. The Platinum Cool writes better than pens that cost far more, and if something goes wrong or if I break it or lose it I can just buy another one. What a relief.

Edited January 3, 2015 by prf5

[cleosmama]

If the opaque cap inside the transparent cap turns you off, get the Platinum Balance - same pen but with opaque cap and barrel, you can't see the inner cap. I got the green one and it is very nice looking, comes apart just like the Cool, as they are the same pen. Comes in green, blue, black and wine red. The metal trim and steel nibs are all gold colored, while they are silver colored on the Cool pens.

 

Platinum Balance.jpg

How well does it write?

 

Denise

 

P.S. Your dog is cute (the one in your avatar).

[graystranger]

Denise, my experience with the Cool is the same as the two commenters before yours, it writes wonderfully. Smooth, wet (but not too wet), starts immediately when capped for a long time. I love it and love to write with it.

 

The Green Balance (also a F nib) was more scratchy when I got it. Did a minuscule amount of nib tuning and then a little light nib smoothing and it quickly became a very smooth writing pen. I think what I did made the nib a bit wider, it writes a little wider than the Cool nib. Just a tiny bit wider.

 

The dog is a rescue my wife found nearly starved to death on a highway near our rural home in 1998. She was a wonderful buddy for years, mostly black & tan coon hound. I named her Nellie Bell, just a wonderful country hound. She may have been the smartest dog I've ever seen.

[prf5]

How well does it write?

 

The specs of the Cool and Balance are identical, as detailed on Brian Goulet's website. What makes the Cool attractive is the writing experience, cost, and ease of filling. Brian lauds the latter in his review. The nib is critical to the writing experience, but weight, balance, and relationship between weight and girth are also important. Some people may find the 18 gram overall weight too light or the 152 mm posted length too short. For me, these dimensions are just about right. I write in spurts, so the pen is opened and closed frequently. A cap that screws on and off is an impediment, but others may feel differently. Finally, something that Brian didn't mention is that the Cool's finish isn't as slick as the acrylic finishes on some other pens, and it feels more comfortable.