Is The Platinum Preppy Durable?

[ThirdeYe]

I used to use a red one at work and the cap eventually cracked on it. At first it wasn't an issue. It still stayed closed and did not dry out. Eventually, though, the crack got bigger and bigger until the cap would no longer stay on. The pen was never dropped or used in a rough manner nor was it ever posted. I always took great care of it and kept it in a pen holder. The simple action of capping it and uncapping it just caused it to crack.

[Water Ouzel]

How "new" is new enough to have been made with Platinum's possible fix to this? I bought them from Goulet last week..any markings which would identify whether they are in the group that's had this fixed?

I recently got a couple of the new 02 (EF) Preppies. No cracks yet, but three of the four caps will pop off if you look at them sideways, usually with the cap staying on only because the inner cap hasn't released, too.

 

I do hope they fix that issue.

[NewPenMan]

me, too. how weird to make a pen so perfect in almost every way except for this!

 

I hope they come up with a fix for it soon.

[lacie]

I have three of these that I bought in japan recently. I cracked the plastic slightly on one when I used too much pressure while rubbing the branding off but at least for now it seems to only be an aesthetic issue.

 

They all seem pretty durable but somewhat inconsistent. I have two medium nibs, one that writes amazingly smooth and another that is scratchy, skippy and often hard to start.

 

I want to turn the good writer into an eye dropper once the cartridge is spent so hopefully the lid doesn't crack.

[NewPenMan]

Maybe go the preemptive taping route?

[discopig]

All of mine end up cracking after a while, despite being careful and carrying them in a pen case.

[graystranger]

I've had 6 or 7 Preppies over the last 4 or 5 years. The clip cracked off one and one or two had cracks in the cap so they won't seal any more. I only had one for a month or so, and was not dropped or uncapped very much, and it just cracked. I'm going to try some MEK to see if it will heal the crack.

 

However, several of my Preppies have lasted 5 years or so with no problems. I keep Blue Ghost in two fountain pen and two marking pen Preppies and use them once in a while. No problems. Great because they can sit for months without drying out.

 

By the way, you can pull out the nib/feed or the marking/highlighting tip and exchange them between all Preppies and Plaisirs. Turn a marking or highlighting Preppy into a fountain pen, or vice versa. Turn a Plaisir into a marking pen or an EF (0.2mm) nib. I just wish they would make the cap just a bit tougher and less brittle.

 

I would never toss Preppies into a book bag or anything where they will be bounced around or crushed at all. I do not carry fountain pens in my pants pockets. But, Preppies are wonderful pens for the price. If Platinum would sell replacement caps, I'd keep a dozen on hand. I bet they would sell millions of replacement caps. I don't care about color, just sell clear replacement caps!!

 

A mystery that one of the largest pen companies in the world has let this problem go on for many years. However, the Preppy may be a product to lead customers to the Plaisir pens, and I should order a couple so I can replace the nib/tip when a Preppy cracks.

 

I love being able to see the ink flow into the feed of the Preppy. Try inking a Preppy or Plaisir with Blue Ghost for the first time and watch the feed under UV light. Amazing to see the capillary action drawing the ink into the through the feed, through and around the fins, and up the nib slit.

[NewPenMan]

I just had an idea, wondering if others have tried it.

 

In electronics there's a material for dressing solder joints that shrinks when heat is applied, and it both insulates electrically and provides a tight fit, owing to the heat-shrinking behavior.

 

I wonder if putting a band of such material around the cap end where the cracking happens, then hitting with a hair dryer until material shrinks and tightens would do as well or better than tape?

 

Anyone tried it?

[markh]

I just had an idea, wondering if others have tried it.

 

In electronics there's a material for dressing solder joints that shrinks when heat is applied, and it both insulates electrically and provides a tight fit, owing to the heat-shrinking behavior.

 

I wonder if putting a band of such material around the cap end where the cracking happens, then hitting with a hair dryer until material shrinks and tightens would do as well or better than tape?

 

Anyone tried it?

 

 

Are you referring to heat shrink tubing?? Might work.

 

But I hate the idea that you would need to apply something like this to a pen to make it a real product.

 

A old-line pen company like Platinum knows better.

 

 

.

Edited August 8, 2015 by markh

[NewPenMan]

While I take your point, preppy owners are faced with the de facto reality of either applying a fix to their pens, or simply not using them.

[deepak23]

Maybe a shrink fit metal ring would help?

[graystranger]

This is a good idea.

 

To shrink fit a metal ring should work, however the temperature of the metal ring would have to be below the melting temperature of the plastic of the cap. I would use hot water to dip the metal into, not a torch or any flame.

 

If you heated the metal ring to a usable temperature, and chill the plastic cap in the freezer, that would buy you quite of bit of differential expansion. The linear expansion coefficient of polymers is a lot higher than metals, so chilling the plastic should achieve a pretty good shrinkage. Combined with the warmed metal it could work.

 

Don't know about getting a very tight fit to begin with. I would think about a series of thin metal rings, 3 or 4 inserted at the same time.

[NewPenMan]

Where would a person source such rings?

[sandy101]

Some of mine have cracked, but not catastrophically so that they don't write.

 

The Plasir is a light aluminium with the same nib set up as the preppy which will last longer.

 

The plasir costs around £12.

 

Platinum also sell an adapter which means the pens can take short international cartridges. The Plasir & preppy will not take long international cartridges - it's too tight.

[NewPenMan]

This is good to know, however I don't consider the plaisir and alternative as it can't be an eyedropper, but that's just me m

Edited August 11, 2015 by NewPenMan

[graystranger]

Where would a person source such rings?

 

I have no idea. If I was dead set on doing this, I would look at all kinds of tubes made of aluminum or brass. Maybe a hobby store, model railroad, craft. Take a pen cap and see if you can find some tubing that would be a tight slip fit. I suggest aluminum or brass as they can be easily cut to length, filed, and the inside reamed out using a piece of 320 (about) grit abrasive paper wrapped around a wood dowel to come close to the ID of the tubing, and used to give the ID its final fit to the cap. It will take some experimenting, and in the end I doubt if it would look very good.

 

You could also make the cap smaller to fit a ring, but this might not look as good.

 

I also suspect a metal ring could also be glued to the end of the cap with an epoxy or similar glue. I don't know about super-glues. If I were gluing a ring to the end of the cap I would scuff the plastic surface first using something like an emery board or nail file.

 

A lot of work for a $4 or $5 pen.

Edited August 14, 2015 by graystranger

[NewPenMan]

I had another burst of genius I thought I'd share...

 

Now, cosmetically, this is not going to be pretty but I think it'll git 'er done in terms of A) protecting the nib, B)preventing nib dry-out, and C) Not cracking...

 

To get a length of flexible tubing that snugly fits over the preppy (sans cap) and to stopper the other end up.

 

Until I get another burst of genius, this might be the shortest path to functionality..any thoughts on this?

[catbert]

I had another burst of genius I thought I'd share...

 

Now, cosmetically, this is not going to be pretty but I think it'll git 'er done in terms of A) protecting the nib, B)preventing nib dry-out, and C) Not cracking...

 

To get a length of flexible tubing that snugly fits over the preppy (sans cap) and to stopper the other end up.

 

Until I get another burst of genius, this might be the shortest path to functionality..any thoughts on this?

Seems a shame to lose the spring-loaded inner cap.

 

Possibly excessive suction leading to ink dribbles when uncapping the snug tube?

[NewPenMan]

yeah, you're right..I can see how pulling off a snug tube would suck some ink right out. dang!

 

with all the plastic stuff flyin' around in our world there has to be something that can be fashioned into either a cap or a protector of the stock cap...

 

maybe epoxy + some plastic applied round the cap's end?

[Nyanzilla]

There is an upgrade version of the Preppy called Plaisir. It has the same nib, feed and grip section, but a metal body and cap, made of anodized aluminum.

=> http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fountain/e_fountain_plaisir.html