3776 Century Vs. 1911 Demonstrators (B Nibs)

[katanankes]

I recently acquired two demonstrators, one made by Sailor and one by Platinum. They are very similar visually and they both sport a B nib. I am going to provide a comparative review.

 

The two demonstrator pens are:

1) A Sailor 1911 Profit in large size (14cm)

2) A Platinum 3776 Century special edition Censke for Nagasawa Pen Style Den (a major stationery trader with its main branches located in Kobe). The pen is already sold out, but there are plenty of other 3776 Century demonstrators that I would assume behave in a similar fashion).

 

1. Appearance

 

 

(Platinum left, Sailor right)

 

At first glance, the two pens are almost identical... The differences are in small details:

1) The 1911 is a tad longer, maybe 2 mm (this is consistent with official measurements).

2) The 3776 shows more... the section is exposed while it is not visible in the 1911. Also, you can see a spring mechanism in the cap. This is the famous Slip & Seal mechanism that helps closing the nib in a hermetic space and preserve the ink for a long time.

3) Both pens sport a B nib, but it is 21k on the 1911 and 14k on the 3776.

4) The 3776 has a number of customized engravings: it reads Kobe and 1882 with the logo in the shape of a (bleep). On the main ring it reads NAGASAWA Pen Style Den.

5) As expected, each pen accommodates its own proprietary converter or cartridges. See the pic below showing the pens loaded.

6) Finishes are gold plated. The central ring on the 1911 is a bit larger.

 

3. Filling

 

(Platinum bottom, Sailor top)

 

The two pens are easy to fill with their converters. The capillarity of the feed works just fantastic and they start writing right away as soon as you plug in the cartridge or the converter (I unconventionally filled the converter without the nib on).

For this test they were filled with the same red Kobe ink.

 

3. Test drive

 

 

I tested the pens both on cheap and premium paper, like the Rhodia pad pictured above. They are both great writers, but with some interesting difference:

 

1. The 1911 is hard as a nail, when you write you can hear the noise of the nib on the paper (it is not scratching, but you got the idea). The flow is very generous and wetter than the 3776. This is hardly surprising since the nib is marked H-B (Hard Broad). It works great with the Kobe ink permitting a good deal of shading.

2. On the other side, the 3776 B nib is very soft and writes smoothly, almost not touching the paper. The ink flow is a bit drier.

 

Both nibs are marked B, but, as it is usual for Japanese nibs, their line is much thinner than the one left by an American or European broad nib. In this case I would say that the line is between F and Medium when compared to American and European nibs. I also have a 1911 Profit with a Naginata Togi medium nib and it performs much better (more smooth) and its line is similar to the line left by the 1911 demonstrator in terms of width (even if the Naginata treatment gives some line variation absent in regular hard nibs).

 

4. Conclusion

 

The two demonstrators are two very nice pens (for those liking demonstrators of course). The nibs are very different. I wish the Platinum nib was wetter, that would have made it perfect. I personally do not dislike the hardness of the Sailor nib, but I understand that it could be too scratchy for someone. It should also be noted that the pens uncapped fall into the "small" range and could be uncomfortable depending on the pen size you need. They both post securely though.

Edited December 28, 2015 by katanankes

[mehandiratta]

please ... can you name on the pics... what pen is on left or right... not clearly visible...

 

Thank you for the comparative...

[dk76]

The pen on the left with the gold trim converter is the Platinum. And it's the bottom pen in the third picture

[katanankes]

That's correct. I added the caption to clarify this point, I understand that the pics alone are not very clear.

[jay.is.here]

these golden demonstrators are looking lovely.