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After asking for recommendations here, I bought a Platinum Century #3776 and I am delighted with it. After a couple of months using it, it's the most reliable fountain pen I've ever had (although this may be normal as the other pens I had were cheaper...), and I love the nib's feel too. The only downside of it is the fact that it doesn't take standard cartridges. I have bought the international cartridge adapter, and it works, but at least in my case (with Waterman serenity blue ink) it decreases reliability. With a Platinum blue-black cartridge, the pen never ever skips. But with the adapter, it sometimes does, and I need to squeeze the cartridge to get it working reliably for a while. So, question #1: is this just a necessary evil with the adapter, or should I be able to get the same reliability as with Platinum cartridges if I find the right ink and/or replace the adapter with another? If it's a necessary evil, then one possibility would be to stick with Platinum ink. I like their blue-black color, but I have read horror stories about it being an iron gall ink that eats nibs for breakfast. I definitely don't want to damage my pen. However, since it's a gold nib, maybe this shouldn't be a problem? So, question #2: can Platinum's blue-black ink damage a 14K gold nib, or is there no risk of damage in this case? Finally, a third option (which is not my favorite as it's more uncomfortable, but it can be a good B plan) would be to refill cartridges using syringes. But I have also read horror stories about bad stuff happening when you mix iron gall ink with other inks (in fact, Platinum themselves warn about this). So, question #3: can I refill a cartridge which originally held iron gall ink with a different ink? What precautions do I need to take to do so? PS: I know there is also the possibility of using a converter, but this is not something I like in my case, as my pen travels a lot between home, work, and various places and it would be a bit too messy for that kind of use. Thanks in advance!

Hi! I've recently purchased my first-one-ever fountain pen - Platinum PTL-5000A (Platinum Standard) with a fine nib. I've since come across an opinion, that is it not so good as a pen for a beginner, but it was listed amongst Goulet top next level pens, and I was able to get the pen for a little more than price of a Lamy Al-Star in retail around me, so I guess it shouldn't be that bad of a deal. Now for the question part. I ended up with a bunch of (3, to be exact) Platinum converters for my pen. For low long you can usually use one? Should I keep them all, or use 1 and try to trade or sell them? I also have two models of them 500 and 700, and it seems, that the only difference is trim colour, is it so? That brings us to another question - should I even bother with Platinum converter? It seems, that the converter holds 0.5ml of ink, while the Platinum ink cartridge looks like it holds ~1ml of ink. I'm only using my pen for a week, and already have a little less than half of my cartridge. I don't mind if I need to change my ink only once a week, but I'm afraid that if using a converter, I can easily run out of ink in the middle of the day with no option to refill it, and basically needing to switch to something else. That got me thinking, that I could just purchase some Platinum cartridges, and just refill them with my bottled ink using a syringe or something similar to it. My pen maintenance would switch to a biweekly schedule, making me more than happy. Since Japanese pens are not represented where I live, I'm thinking of purchasing a Platinum International adapter, and using standard international long cartridges as a container. Did anybody try to do this with PTL-5000A or a similar pen? Will the long cartridge fit in the pen along with the adapter? And last, but not least, is there any advice on how much can I push my pen when writing? I like to sometimes press it a little harder to make a broader line on a page, I now I'm afraid that I've done it with to much force, somehow it seems, that my line is now broader if compared to one when pen was just bought. I can post photos of my nib if anybody is willing to help, but I don't have any magnifier glass handy right now. Looking forward for any advice you can give in the relation to any of my questions. Thanks!