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Curious About The Platinum 3776 Century's Nib, But...


Enkida

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... I've never tried a Platinum pen before, and am wondering if I should invest in a cheaper pen first to see if I like their nibs. (Something like a Plaisir). Easily available to me here are the Preppy, Plaisir, Procyon, and Century. I'm 100% not interested in a Preppy (don't like the aesthetic), and I find the Procyon to be too expensive for "just testing" to see if I like the way they finish their nibs - I'd just go ahead and get the Century in that case.

I'm interested in the 3776 Century precisely because I want to see how their gold nibs write (in an M width), so I'm not sure how much benefit I would get from testing Platinum's steel nibs. Then again, in my robust collection of mostly mid-range fountain pens, I don't own a single Platinum. I have been wanting to branch into gold nibbed pens just out of curiosity, and to that effect I bought myself a very nice Lamy 2k (F) an was gifted a nice small vintage Pilot in pink and silver with painted flowers, with a gold nib "14k585" nib (F) which I do enjoy, but find to be uncomfortable to hold for longer writing sessions due to the small, thin size, as well as having just a touch too much feedback for my taste.

Should I ignore the Plaisir and go straight for the Century? Or is the nib on the Plaisir representative of what I might find on the Century as well, in terms of feedback, smoothness, hardness, etc? Any advice appreciated. I have enough pens I like that "hey, it's a good bargain" is no longer reason enough to buy a pen, but spending over 100€ on a pen I might not even like in the end is still a bit rich for my blood.

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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3776s can be found in the region of $70-80 if you look around enough. I think they're worth a go and are generally very good nibs.

Edited by OmegaMountain

"Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts." - Patrick Rothfuss

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The Plaisir uses the same nib as the Preppy, which runs wider and smooth OOTB.

 

Preppy nibs are not similar to the 3776 nibs, which run narrower with feedback OOTB.

 

I think you are right: it's not worth getting the Procyon for a test drive if you are looking for a Gold nib.

 

I tried a friend's Broad 3776 briefly and it was like writing with a stiff nib with pencil-like feedback and it was nice. But I didn't try the 3776-M. The narrower nib does make a difference I can't comment on.

 

I was actually in this position a month ago: I found my Pilot Gold Medium nibs to be too smooth. They made me subconsciously press down just to feel the nib on the paper to "catch my bearings", and that made me appreciate feedback more...

 

...And with the very agreeable size and dimensions of the 3776 at the very agreeable price from overseas...

 

...I went on to order a 3776-M Chartres Blue online overseas. The day after I did, I felt an urge to try the Sailor pens, which were next on my list. I then read and watched Sailor Pen reviews, which made my mouth water for a Sailor Medium 21k nib far more than the 3776-M. Incidentally, the order of the 3776-M Chartres Blue had to be cancelled because they sold out and couldn't restock for some reason.

 

...But I found myself in the mood to save for the Sailor 1911L, so I did. I can order that right now...

 

...But I find myself in the mood to save even more for a certain Eboya (My Grail Ebonite pen. I love ebonite :wub: )...

 

...But saving has gotten me in the mood to potentially save even more for an Aurora 88 (My Grail non-Ebonite pen) if the Eboya's ebonite and Sailor's renowned nibs don't steel me away...

 

...because I found that after a year of pen purchases I rather save a while to get the pen I truly want instead of incremental pen purchases, especially right now when I know exactly what I need and prefer.

 

That's my story. I hope it wasn't completely useless lol.

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A quick search on FPN Classifieds turned up two 3776s for sale, one $75 and one $80.

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A quick search on FPN Classifieds turned up two 3776s for sale, one $75 and one $80.

 

I'm in Germany, so either I'd be ordering from an Austrian pen shop to the tune of over 100€, or ordering from Amazon to 80€ + customs. I look through the classifieds here from time to time but there are too many entries that don't ship out of CONUS or have the wrong nib size. Thank you though!

 

 

...I went on to order a 3776-M Chartres Blue online overseas. The day after I did, I felt an urge to try the Sailor pens, which were next on my list. I then read and watched Sailor Pen reviews, which made my mouth water for a Sailor Medium 21k nib far more than the 3776-M. Incidentally, the order of the 3776-M Chartres Blue had to be cancelled because they sold out and couldn't restock for some reason.

 

...But I found myself in the mood to save for the Sailor 1911L, so I did. I can order that right now...

 

 

Sailor pens also make my mouth water, but between the two I'd rather try a Platinum first, I think - I just like the way the Chartres Blue 3776 looks ;-) Believe me, I fussed and fidgeted over the Pilot-Platinum-Sailor conundrum several times as well, but I landed on Platinum as "probably" being the best one to spring for (first, haha). It was a helpful post, btw, so thank you ;-)

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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IMO if you like the feeling of writing with a pencil you will surely like the feeling of writing with a 3776 nib.

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That's a tough one to answer. I really like my Pilot Kakuno EF, which has enough feedback to feel like writing with a pencil, but it's the nice kind of feedback, the kind that makes you able to control the pen. I like the feedback on my TWSBI Eco F nibs, too, though they're a good deal smoother. And while I enjoy that my Lamy 2K nib is smooth as butter, my handwriting definitely suffers when I skate across the page with it.

 

But on the other hand, the vintage Pilot F gold nib I have definitely has too much feedback for my tastes. It's not scratchy, but unless I'm putting a Sailor ink in there, it's not really a pleasant feeling to write with. This has confused me because I've been told Pilot makes the smoothest nibs out of all the Japanese makers out there. But the steel EF on my Kakuno is definitely not glassy (in a very good way), while the gold F on my vintage is also very rough (in a not so good way).

 

I am confuzzled and may need to actually buy the pen to find out one way or the other, in other words. :wacko:

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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I have three #3776 Centuries, the gold nibs write just like any steel nib would, they're so stiff. From my experience, an extra-fine Platinum Preppy writes a line comparable to a fine 3776 Century, but the Preppy is a lot smoother. My medium 3776 writes wider than I expected (very close to medium Lamy Z50 nibs I have) and it's really smooth.

 

I suppose I had some bad luck with my Centuries, as 2 out of 3 pens had their tines misaligned out of the box. but after some tinkering I got them fixed.

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Ieeh, I don't like the width of Lamy mediums, but I don't want another extra fine writer either! I have to check if they have something inbetween the F and M then besides the SF; I'm not looking for a springy nib here. Thanks for the input!

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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I'm in Germany, so either I'd be ordering from an Austrian pen shop to the tune of over 100€, or ordering from Amazon to 80€ + customs. I look through the classifieds here from time to time but there are too many entries that don't ship out of CONUS or have the wrong nib size. Thank you though!

 

 

 

 

Sailor pens also make my mouth water, but between the two I'd rather try a Platinum first, I think - I just like the way the Chartres Blue 3776 looks ;-) Believe me, I fussed and fidgeted over the Pilot-Platinum-Sailor conundrum several times as well, but I landed on Platinum as "probably" being the best one to spring for (first, haha). It was a helpful post, btw, so thank you ;-)

 

I agree, the Chartres Blue is beautiful. I think it's a unique resin.

 

It's hard not to fuss and fidget between those three Japanese companies.

 

I do like getting Japanese pens overseas, not only because of the price, but because the vendors I get them from guarantee them brand new and unopened. I love that, but it's definitely worth knowing what you're getting into, because they don't return an opened pen.

 

Or if I go to a vendor here in the U.S. I make sure they can either tune in house, like the reputable Nibs.com with the great John Mottishaw and his apprentices, or guarantee a brand new pen, cuz that's not always the case and I've gotten "new" pens and nibs from vendors here in the U.S. that were not so, were used and even ruined by previous customers ultimately making a pleasant purchase a drag.

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My Platinum 3776 M is very smooth. When I first tried it, I found it slippery and was afraid it might be difficult to control, but I was using a wet ink on very smooth paper. With all subsequent ink and paper combinations, it has worked well. It writes a line similar in width to my European fine point pens, definitely narrower than my Lamy Safari.

 

The Platinum Balance has a softer nib and might be interesting for you to try.

 

Of course, what is "a touch of feedback" for some is intolerable for another. I am convinced that it makes a huge difference how much pressure one applies when one writes, and suspect that many people who describe Platinum nibs as rough are applying more pressure when they write than the people who describe them as smooth. My favorite Japanese pens are my two Sailors, but if your vintage Pilot has too much feedback for you, I suspect that Sailor would not be your best choice.

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I would jump straight into the Century, probably in medium; I did this with Sailor, jumped into a Professional Gear instead of going for mid range pens, turned out to be a very special pen; would have done the same with Pilot (912) but I ran into a few interesting pens at lower prices; I find the 3776 Century's design very bland, except for the blue and rhodium which goes for more than twice the price, but I'd still like to experience their nibs.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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As others have said, I don't think the steel nib pens from Platinum are similar to their gold-nibbed pens. In fact no pen I ever tried is similar to my 3776 with a fine nib. It has a lot of feedback, the famous pencil-like feeling. I'm still not sure if I like it, after owning it for close to a year.

I was able to try out different nib sizes in a store once, and I found that the fine nib (and smaller) have this characteristic, but not necessarily the other nib sizes such as M. Still I would expect the nib to be very stiff.

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As someone who jumped straight into a 3776 for my first Platinum (SF, but I like flex) I have to say I'm quite happy. The nib is great: very fine (good for sketching), a little feedback but not too much, nice line variation but stiff enough that its easy to keep the line thin when needed. The general construction of the pen is also good, and the size and design are nice. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you do go straight for a 3776.

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As someone who jumped straight into a 3776 for my first Platinum (SF, but I like flex) I have to say I'm quite happy. The nib is great: very fine (good for sketching), a little feedback but not too much, nice line variation but stiff enough that its easy to keep the line thin when needed. The general construction of the pen is also good, and the size and design are nice. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you do go straight for a 3776.

 

Do you happen to know how "bouncy" the SF's "flex" is as compared to, say, the nib on a Pelikan M200? I put flex in quotes because I'm sure it's not a flex pen and have no intent to use it that way, but if it's within the range of Pelikan's standard steel nib "flexiness" I can tolerate that. I do tend to prefer nails with the finer nibs and more flex on broader ones, as a general rule of thumb.

Edited by Enkida

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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Or is the nib on the Plaisir representative of what I might find on the Century as well, in terms of feedback, smoothness, hardness, etc? Any advice appreciated.

No, the nibs (which are permanently attached to the narrow feed) in Platinum Preppy, Plaisir, and DPQ-700A desk pens are not representative of Platinum nibs in any other model in any way.

 

I concur that the retail price of the Procyon is too high, especially relative to Platinum's gold-nibbed pens, to be 'worth' buying one just to test and satisfy one's curiosity. Platinum has other steel-nibbed models: most notably, its Balance line (reviewed here), which I think shares the same nib design as its Affection line, but also (desk pen) models such as the DP-1000AN with a different nib design from all of the above, and also the now discontinued steel-nibbed #3776 (marketed as '#3776 Balance', without the Century designation or the Slip and Seal mechanism) pens. Then, Platinum has at least two other designs of gold nibs outside of the #3776, being the President (also found in most of the Izumo pen models), and those in its Vicoh line which includes the PTL-5000A.

 

If you want to try the M nib of a Plaisir, then I'd say just get spend $5 on a Preppy 05 as an experiment and for nothing else, or keep it in a pen cup for use with testing inks that could prove to be troublesome, but never use it for actual writing or drawing applications.

 

The steel nib in the Balance is 'bouncy', I suppose in the way the nib in the Pelikan M200 is 'bouncy'. The #3776 14K gold SF nib is a completely different beast (and very fine and sharp), and the SM nib is very different yet again. If you "don't want another extra fine writer", then I'd say you wouldn't want the SF nib.

 

The front page online for Nihombashi Mitsukoshi's '20th World's Fountain Pens Festival' (which is over as an event) is still accessible, and it hosts a visual line width comparison (by way of handwriting) of different nibs on Platinum #3776 Century pens. I'm not sure how to scale the image appropriately, though; my Fine-nibbed #3776 pens don't really write quite as fine as Mistukoshi's corresponding writing sample appears on my monitor.

Edited by A Smug Dill

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I was fairly certain going in that I didn't want a SF or SM or "soft anything" nib with one of these pens, that just confirmed it for me. I also think I'm just not going to bother with any of their steel nibs and go straight for the 3776 Century at this point rather than one of their other pens. I'm also fairly certain after looking at that, that I want their M nib, so thank you very much!

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


- Lois McMaster Bujold

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My 3776s are the most bang for the buck of any of my pens. I don’t use my soft fine often. It is tiny. I must write slowly with it, except on the smoothest of paper. I also have two broads, one unmodified and one modified to a Pendleton Brown cursive italic. The unmodified is a sweet writer. The CI is excellent. To complicate my appreciation of Platinum, I have a Nakaya with a soft medium nib. Many say Nakaya nibs are Platinum nibs. They appear quite similar. My Nakaya SM is also excellent. 3776s are not just a good place to experiment. They are outstanding pens, good enough to prize for the long haul.

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I have two Sailors, both medium nibs. I also have two 3776s, one fine, one medium. While I love all of them, the 3776 fine is the absolute best when it comes to writing on bad paper, which I do daily at work (I'm a teacher).

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I was fairly certain going in that I didn't want a SF or SM or "soft anything" nib with one of these pens, that just confirmed it for me. I also think I'm just not going to bother with any of their steel nibs and go straight for the 3776 Century at this point rather than one of their other pens. I'm also fairly certain after looking at that, that I want their M nib, so thank you very much!

 

I'm in Germany too, and I got my 3776s (three of them) through Amazon from a seller in Japan. All of them are bourgogne. :D

 

Out of curiosity I first bought an SF: very nice, very fine (finer than German F), a bit springy. Then, inspired by the YouTuber 'Pens and Teas', who said she had an SF and an F but found the harder F more comfortable for longer bouts of writing, I also got an F. I think she is right: the springy SF demands more attention while writing, and the F is calmer (I think you could call it that).

 

Then I also bought an M. This is like a German F (that is to say, like a Cleo Skribent or Diplomat F; Pelikan or Lamy F clearly lays down a thicker line).

 

I usually use the F or the M, depending on the ink and my mood.

In current use: Cleo Skribent Classic, Waterman Expert, Diplomat Excellence, Pineider Avatar, Sheaffer Targa (the good old Sheaffer, not one Made in China)

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