Platinum PTL5000 Review

[Morse]

 

Platinum PTL-5000

 

I bought this recently at the local Kinokuniya for everyday pocket carry to replace an elderly Sailor "short" pocket pen that needs repair. My everyday pen needed to have a hard F or EF nib for quick kanji notes and a snap cap, along with modest to nice looks. A gold nib was definitely desired, though a large price tag was not.

 

First Impressions - 7/10 Frankly, it will not draw much attention to itself. Sitting in with the dozens of other pens in the display case, it looked dressier than the Pelikanos and Preppys on top of the counter but not nearly so nice as the Sailor limited editions, Pilot Custom display, etc with which it shared the case. But that was what I was looking for - an everyday pen with a snap cap that is a little dressy without being ostentatious. If you buy one sight unseen, expect a very cheap looking plastic box - similar to what the Pilot 78G comes in, though with a pull off rather than hinged lid. The converter was extra, but at 300 yen before tax, it was not unreasonable. The overall styling is very conservative.

 

 

Construction/Quality - 8/10 Overall, this is a light pen that feels reasonably solid, but not so much as a Pro Gear Slim or 1911. However, it has a nice 14K EF nib and the construction quality is sound. Writing comfort is good, and the overall fit is good; it is in many ways a reprise of the typical 1960/70s Japanese fountain pens. The section has metal threads, and the pen body is some anonymous plastic; red and black were available. There was a nicer version of the pen in the case for an extra 3000 yen, but it had the same 14K nib and looked only to have a slightly nicer body and cap. I opted for the less pricey variant. The feed is singularly plain, with no external ribs. The clip is rudimentary and a little thinner than I would have preferred, but it is adequate. The cap is a simple snap type that goes on securely and comes off without any fuss. Posted, the cap sits securely, and I have not had the cap fall off in use.

 

Weight/Dimensions - 10/10 For a light pen to be pocket carried everyday, its 12.8g weight and 135.5mmx12.5mm dimensions (cap diameter - the pens section is smaller) are nearly ideal in my hands. It may be a little slim for those with large hands, however. Balance capped is excellent, so this is one of the pens I normally post. The only change I would consider would be to make it a “short” pocket pen and add a ‘60’s style spring loaded clip. Unfortunately most of the shorties do not let you use a converter, so maybe it is best as is? Comfort for long writing sessions is high with little fatigue. This is not a signature pen, so if you want a heavy pen look elsewhere.

 

 

Nib and Performance - 10/10 The nib is marked with the Platinum "P", 14K and the kanji for "extra fine" (I believe this is the same as the “Ultra Extra Fine” listed on the US website, but am uncertain); it is plain, with no other decorations or ornamentation. However, I was looking for a hard but smooth nib with a very fine line and I found it. There is little line variation present, but this nib allows me to quickly write kanji characters on 6mm ruled paper even better than my Sailor 1911 EF. Perhaps it is just a little dry, and I can definitely feel light feedback that is missing from a Sailor F nib, but that does seem to help my control, particularly when writing fast. Since I bought it, I have only used Pilot blue black, but it writes very well on budget Daiso pads*, "Top Valu" pads from Jusco and on the more pricey Kokuyo "Campus" notebooks. The nib does not seem to dry out in use, and it starts promptly with no skipping. Overall, it is proving to be reliable enough to be boring. Maybe later I will try some Sailor Kiwaguro ink in it.

 

*It should be noted that the Daiso pads seem prone to bleeding but not feathering with the inks used thus far, regardless of pen: Noodlers Aircorps Blue/Black, Sailor Blue, Sailor Black, Sailor Kiwagura, and Pilot Blue/Black. Neither "Top Valu" nor "Campus" noto have suffered from this problem.

 

 

Filling System - 8/10 It is a typical cartridge/converter system. Personally, I prefer a piston fill, but on a tight budget this was not to be, if I was to have a gold nib. Too many points should not be lost because of this, since it seems to be a well implemented system. The converter filled completely after one "trial fill" (fill once, empty, repeat fill) and has not leaked or refused to write. I have used it for more than one filling, and it seems well behaved so far.

 

Cost and Value - 9/10 A new 14K nib pen and converter for 5300 yen before tax? That translates to about 58 US dollars after the 5% Japanese sales tax is added in! It is hard for me to treat it as anything but a bargain. The only real downside is that the Platinum cartridges are a little pricey (420 yen for a box of 10, after tax) if you do not want to get the converter and feed it from a bottle, thus the loss of one point. There is also a 3000 yen variant with steel nib that was otherwise identical to the PTL-5000, but I have not tried that one; on the other end of the scale, there is also an 18k variant with the nicer body and cap for twice the price of the PTL-5000. It is my opinion that the PTL-5000 is the sweet spot of price and performance, though that is only my personal opinion.

 

Conclusions - 52/60 If you are looking for a low to moderate cost pen for pocket carry with a gold nib, you might consider this one. It will never take the place of my more expensive pens, and is certainly not for expressive writing with "character", but particularly when I am on the go and do not want to carry a pen case this pen is proving to be a good choice, clipped to my pocket or to the cover of my noto. Unfortunately, I have not seen this pen for sale in the US, but it is listed at the Japanese Platinum website at http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fou.../fountain9.html

 

Hopefully it will become available outside Japan in the future, in that it is a nice retro-60’s pen for a bargain price.

 

Ja, mata!

Morse

PS: My apologies that the photos are not clearer, but they were the best I could manage.

 

Edited July 6, 2009 by Morse

[acolythe]

I have two of these pens in a fine nib and love them. The fine has feedback but is smooth and is perhaps not so firm as your pen since I do get some line variation with pressure. An excellent bargain

b

Edited July 6, 2009 by MYU
removed full quotation of original post

[Morse]

I have two of these pens in a fine nib and love them. The fine has feedback but is smooth and is perhaps not so firm as your pen since I do get some line variation with pressure. An excellent bargain

b

 

Hi Acolyte;

 

Sorry, didn't mean to give the impression that the nib was completely dead as far as line variation is concerned, but this nib will never ever be confused with a flex-nib. Initially it seemed pretty dead, but after a couple of weeks I noticed that at the outer edge of my "pressure comfort zone" I can get a little line variation. However, I usually try to keep it lighter than that. Still, it is a pretty amazing extra fine, in that it can take more direct pressure than the M1911 EF without digging into the paper or otherwise misbehaving - and though I love my super-smooth Sailor nibs, the tactile feedback on this one is growing on me.

 

From your comments, maybe next month I will buy another PTL5000 with a "fine" or even a "medium" nib (do not want to risk spousal wrath with too many pens per month...) and see how that works for cursive English. This month I might break down and pick up one of the Myu90's.

 

Ja mata,

Morse

[Dan14k]

Hi Morse, thanks for your detailed review.

I recently got a Platinum PTL5000. I writes pretty well but I would like to increase the ink flow just a little bit.

 

Do you happen to know how the nib can be removed? I tried pulling it out but it did not work.

 

Thanks

Dan

[Cyclopentadiene]

Hi Morse, thanks for your detailed review.

I recently got a Platinum PTL5000. I writes pretty well but I would like to increase the ink flow just a little bit.

 

Do you happen to know how the nib can be removed? I tried pulling it out but it did not work.

 

Thanks

Dan

 

I'm looking at getting one of these myself in extra-fine. Would get good to know this just in case too!

 

Cheers,

Badger

[georges zaslavsky]

pretty nice little pen

[conib]

Do you happen to know how the nib can be removed? I tried pulling it out but it did not work.

 

 

Perhaps the metal connector on the section (that the barrel screws onto) unscrews from the section, and then after that's been removed from the section the nib and feed can be removed from the barrel end of the section?

 

Anyway, I would also like to know for sure how to remove the nib and feed, and would love to see a definitive answer ...

 

-- Constance

[KBeezie]

Hi Morse, thanks for your detailed review.

I recently got a Platinum PTL5000. I writes pretty well but I would like to increase the ink flow just a little bit.

 

Do you happen to know how the nib can be removed? I tried pulling it out but it did not work.

 

Thanks

Dan

 

I know this is necro-posting, but it may help others wondering the same, for me (a "Wancher Limited" pen by Engelka which seems to just be a painted PTL-5000) the nib seems to be able to slide forward or backwards to a certain degree but not completely off, and when all the way back it's a little dry, but I can slide it forward a little and it's more wet to my taste (probably because it opens the gap a little more with the feed).

[Lince]

I have seen the PTL 5000A is there a difference between 5000 and 5000A?