Struggle Between Platinum 3776, Century Ii And Pelikan 200

[pschan]

Hi FPN!

 

I currently own a cheapie China produced Hero 6160 and ink it with Parker Quink Blue. I am thinking of buying a new set of pen and ink mainly for notes taking and examinations.

 

For pens, I am thinking of pens that have a rigid nib (I write numbers often so I want a relatively fixed width) and have a quicker dry time (maybe that's more about ink selection). For unknown reasons, the Cross was suspiciously cheap (though the sell the other finishes at ~$145 USD).

 

My potential choices:

Platinum #3776 Century Fountain Pen (0.38) ~$80 USD

Century II Lustrous Chrome Fountain Pen (0.5) ~$65 USD

Pelikan M200 or M205 (0.5) ~$120 USD

 

 

For inks, I am thinking of buying a black ink that could dry quickly and won't bleed easily (waterproof is not a must but it may help).

 

My potential choices:

Noodler's Black (Positive responses all over the web :-) )

Iroshizuku's take-sumo (It looks nice! But anyone could verify with the slow drying time?)

 

Thanks!

 

J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2016 by pschan

[tinto]

A platinum 3776 Century with a fine nib should work great for numbers and slow dry time.

 

I have experience with pelikan 4001 black and it has been quite nice. I am told that J. Herbin Perle noir is more saturated and has more water resistance.

 

Good luck with your choice!

[sandy101]

The Cross Century is quite often discounted. It is a good pen, and comes with a lifetime guarantee. You will need to buy a Cross convertor as Cross cartridges are expensive. The Cross pen is metal and will be heavier than the Pelikan and the Platinum which are resin. So you need to know what suits your hand best. There is quite a difference with a metal and a resin pen - metal suits my hand better than resin.

 

The Pelikan is a piston filler. They tend not to need inked quite as much as Convertors which is great if you are happy with the ink, but it is a pain if you want to change colours regularly.

 

Pelikan Brilliant Black is a fine ink to use, although I find Quink works really well with most cheap school papers.

[BillH]

Nice pens. I do not have a Cross pen, but have two #3776 and many Pelikans. Love the 3776 and usually have one inked, but I am a Pelikan fan first and foremost and will buy more of them (but no more 3776's). Just love Pelikans.

 

Consider the Pelikan 4001 ink, esp if you buy the pen. I've quit putting Noodlers in my Pelikans after reading various threads here on FPN. I've also had very good results with DA Document Black... it's my most used black ink.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your new pen, whichever one you pick.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have two M200's and a 3776 Century. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. My 3776 is a broad (~western medium),my M200's a fine and a OB.

 

I have had the 3776 less than a week and have filled it twice. The piston filled M200 might have that as an advantage.

[Bo Bo Olson]

The 200 is a springy 'true' regular flex....and not a nail. Regular flex use to be a normal flex of issue nib on pens...if the company wasn't nail like Parker.

It gives a good ride....but being designed to write cursive is wider than Japanese. But is 1/2 a width narrower than the fat and blobby made for ball point user semi-nail modern post '97 400/600 nibs.

 

The posted 200 is a very well balanced pen....there are many colors one can luck into. Some are scarce and cost a lot....used.

I like Pelikans and German pens.

Is a good pen to buy here on the com...used.

You can for @ 25/7 Euro buy another screw in and out nib for it. For later if you ever want to get into shading inks....the M is a great nib for shading.

I do have to stick up for M nibs...in that is on many just issued pens and are looked down on as folks rush to super narrow or super wide nibs.

I'd picked up the now broken prejudice against M nibs here here on this com.

 

Are you a printer or do you write in cursive. Printers should stay with the Japanese nib, designed for printers.

 

Japanese M=western F.

Japanese B = almost western M.

Japanese F= Western EF,

Japanese EF = XXF, or spiderweb....Japanese XXF= XXXF needle point; baby spiderweb and with spiderweb or baby spider web width you have to use a brilliant, vibrant supersaturated just to see it. ....clean more often ink.

 

4001 Black ink is not good in EF nibs on poor paper....only Noodlers makes such a black ink. They are high maintenance clean often inks.

How much of your paper supply do you control...or is your school test paper as poor as governments can buy?

I would clean Noodles inks if you are running just a school black pen, after every second filling just to make sure.

What noodlers I do use get cleaned after every filling in I only have two bought for the shading. Apache Sunset and Golden Brown....both are long time to dry.

 

4001 black will dry quicker....no big deal for school tests that it is a dark gray on poor paper. 4001 Black is a dryer ink so will make a narrower line than Noodlers wet supersaturated inks.

Narrow inks matching a narrow nib makes since....more than a fatter darker line...if skinny is that important...and in math is it.

 

But if you are going Japanese the M or Western F are the start of shading ink nibs. Any one's EF is too narrow for that.

 

In you are probably ham fisted most noobies are...start with the Cross nail. I have a Cross Townsend with a steel nib. It is butter smooth. But an EF will never be real butter smooth.

It is a heavy pen.

I don't know the Platinum at all.

 

Do hold the pen behind the big index knuckle like a fountain pen so the nib floats in a small puddle of ink and not before the big knuckle plowing furrows in the paper from holding the fountain pen like a ball point.

[Runnin_Ute]

Inks: Noodlers Black is good but I don't use black much. Blue Black, blue, red (it has its uses)....

[rwilsonedn]

I don't think you could go wrong with any of the three pens. Do note the difference in line widths between Japanese (the Platinum) and European or nominally US pens, though. The Platinum will be about one grade finer than you expect.

Also, for note-taking, if you typically take a note, put the pen down for a while, and then take another note, you might consider the Pilot VP pens. The retracting nib and click action are really nice for sporadic note-taking, keeping the pen from drying out and refusing to start. And the nibs are wonderful.

ron

[deepak23]

3776 is a great pen. Only, as others have said, get an M nib. Writes finer than most western F. With an M nib a CC full would last you for a good couple of days of writing...

[PAKMAN]

My choices would be the Pelikan first, then the 3776 and the Century last. Having owned all three.

[Bluey]

As far as nib quality goes, comparing the Pelikan with the Platinum is like comparing an old skool Skoda with an oil leak with a BMW. The Cross sits in between.

 

The Pelikan has greater ink capacity and the Platinum is let down by their iffy converters (just use the cartridge instead).

 

 

Stylistically it's personal choice, but I'd probably go for the Pelikan in that regard unless the blue or red Platinum are a choice.

 

I own the Platinum and a Pelikan with an m200 and an m600 nib, so I would say choose the Platinum if the nib is the most important part to you.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Bluey

[pschan]

Thanks everyone for your valuable suggestions!

 

Till this point, I am most likely going for a M205 (the 2016 demonstrator Aquamarine as it seems to look nice).

 

I did some research on the nibs and it seems most consider Pelikan nibs to be quite broad. Should I go on with EF or F nibs if I work on number quite a lot? Will it give a scratchy feeling for EF nibs?

 

Cheers!

 

J

[Noihvo]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Buzz_130]

I have an M200 and 5 3776s. The 3776 is light, reliable, and durable. The nib has the perfect amount of feedback, and for every-day writing, the writing experience is perfect. Match this pen with the Platinum Carbon Black, and you have a combination that meets 100% of your requirements.

 

Buzz

[Aysedasi]

I'm looking to get a 3776 but I want the double broad nib. The M200 has always been far too small a pen for me. I've owned several and ended up parting with them all because they were just to slight for my large hands.

[Ambimom]

Don't know if this helps, but my M200 is the pen I have carried daily for 20 plus years! The pen never skips, no hard starts, no burps...et. al. It writes perfectly every time, even if it has just been sitting for a week or two. It has never needed any adjustment -- just a cleaning every so often. I prefer a M point but if you're writing numbers, perhaps a F would suit you better.

 

Saying that, I've just invested in a Chartres Bleu Century 3776 which I've ordered directly from Japan for about $70. Hasn't arrived yet, but I have great expectations.