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

[ethernautrix]

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.

Oh man, I wish there were a universal find-and-replace option, cos I've been calling the PLA-PTB-5000B "Bounce" instead of "Balance."

 

Anyway, I've bought three 3776s, two Bourgogne (both UEF) and the Balance (EF), to harvest their nibs for my Nakayas. (I lost one Nakaya with one of the UEF nibs earlier this year. Bummer.) I have to say, I love the steel EF nib.

[edgewalker]

As others have already said, the nibs on the Preppy/Plaisir don't really give you any idea of what to expect with the gold #3776 nibs.

 

I have two #3776s a Bourgogne with an Ultra Extra Fine nib and a Chartres Blue with a medium nib.

 

The UEF gives a lot of feedback and, although I use it daily for adding events and figures to my schedule, it's really not an everyday writer for me.

 

The M nib, on the other hand, is perfect. It has a good, moderately wet, flow. The line thickness is about the same as that from a fine steel nib on the Pelikan M200/205 -- and I think there's more feedback from the Pelikan.

 

I haven't tried the #3776 F but I hope to soon.

 

They are quite conservative in their cigar shape but the colour of the Bourgogne and Chartres Blue resin is beautiful.

[Enkida]

Thanks everyone! I've been waiting to pull the trigger since there was a massive price spike amongst all the Amazon sellers right after I decided to buy one (Murphy's Law). I've pretty much set my course on the Chartres Blue medium nib as the one to try first, though. Although I have to admit I have been really, really tempted by the "Nice" (Rose gold France-themed demonstrator Century) that popped up on Amazon along side the traditional colours.

 

That Chatres Blue is what caught my eye in the first place, so I'll continue to sit on my hands and wait for the sellers to approach their previous prices once again. And tell myself I don't need any more demonstrators... yet. XD

[BaronWulfraed]

That Chatres Blue is what caught my eye in the first place, so I'll continue to sit on my hands and wait for the sellers to approach their previous prices once again. And tell myself I don't need any more demonstrators... yet. XD

 

They may not... If you read around the forum, it seems big three Japanese makers raised prices across the board.

[Enkida]

Dang... well, thanks for the heads up though :/

[A Smug Dill]

it seems big three Japanese makers raised prices across the board.

There are still drips and drabs of PNB-10000#51 being sold on eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Rakuten Global Market, etc. if the O.P. does not have his/her eyes set on PNB-13000#51; and then, Platinum did not recently raise its prices on the rhodium-trimmed Chartres Blue PNB-15000CR#51, so it's as affordable as before. Given the steeper discounts typically offered for older models, the street prices for the rhodium-trimmed version could be pretty close to that of the newer gold-trimmed version anyway. I'd say the rhodium trim is at least as nice, if not outright nicer, than the gold trim anyway, and the plastic is the same on both versions. (But then, I'm biased, since I have the rhodium-trimmed version.)

Edited June 11, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Enkida]

Thanks! I didn't even know they came in rhodium trim, now I have five-ish more options to choose from on Amazon! Surprisingly, the rhodium trim ones are very slightly more expensive than the gold trim ones, though they're both hovering around the same price, which is still roughly 30€ more than they were two or so weeks ago. I'll give it a week to see if the price fluxuates and afterwards just "suck it up, buttercup" if they don't.

[KyleClapton]

Currently I use Century #3776 as my daily pen. It is a gift from my boss. It is B nib (although I prefer M or even thinner nib), it is not my favorite nib size, for sure. But the ink flow, feedback of writing is just too good, so finally I decided to use it instead of my Sailor Sapporo.

If you are thinking of getting a cheaper model of Platinum to test the nib, I really recommend you to try the gold nib right away as the steel nib can be really different with the gold nib pen. At around $80 to $85 you can get the #3776 with old design of #3776 Century already, so why have to spend money on cheap pen which you will not use for long.

[A Smug Dill]

I'll give it a week to see if the price fluxuates and afterwards just "suck it up, buttercup" if they don't.

 

There you go: €71.00 less 10% from Pensachi for the PNB-10000#51 with M nib (shipping not included). I don't have anything to do with Pensachi, and I haven't bought from it before myself, but I just saw KyleClapton's post and put two and two together in case you're interested.

[KyleClapton]

 

There you go: €71.00 less 10% from Pensachi for the PNB-10000#51 with M nib (shipping not included). I don't have anything to do with Pensachi, and I haven't bought from it before myself, but I just saw KyleClapton's post and put two and two together in case you're interested.

 

Thank you for your post.

We do offer 10% off until June 14th for all fountain pens. I hope you will get your Platinum pen soon, Enkida.

[Enkida]

Thank you both for that. I had actually looked at that link earlier, but by the time I got to it that nib width was sold out.

 

This story has a happy ending, though: I managed to find one lonely vendor who had a M-nibbed Chartres Blue Century in stock and wasn't asking for over 100€ for it, and I nabbed it along with a converter. So hopefully in a month's time I'll be able to share in what is hopefully the joy of finally owning my very own Platinum Century. Thank you everyone! I'll eagerly await for July!

[tinto]

I prefer smooth fine pens (with Lamy 2000 always inked), and I don’t like the golden trim and classy look of my Bourgogne 3776... but its M nib and width barrel makes it perfect for long writing sessions. All I need to do is to concentrate my sight on paper rather than on hand and I get one of the best sensations when writing.

[KyleClapton]

Thank you both for that. I had actually looked at that link earlier, but by the time I got to it that nib width was sold out.

 

This story has a happy ending, though: I managed to find one lonely vendor who had a M-nibbed Chartres Blue Century in stock and wasn't asking for over 100€ for it, and I nabbed it along with a converter. So hopefully in a month's time I'll be able to share in what is hopefully the joy of finally owning my very own Platinum Century. Thank you everyone! I'll eagerly await for July!

 

 

Glad to know that finally you made your choice. Please share with us your feedback of your Chartres Blue when you get it.

[Enkida]

It just arrived yesterday, and I have to say, the colour is absolutely beautiful! I am so glad I stuck to my guns about getting the Blue rather than the red or black ones, as this colour is really wonderful.

 

The nib is smooth and working properly right out of the box; surprisingly, the M is wider than I expected it to be (although still more narrow than a Lamy or FC M). This is not a bad thing, by the way. ;-) It does feel in a way "softer" than many of my steel nibs, but not to the point that I would even think about trying to flex it, and I like it that way (I didn't want a flex pen).

 

One thing I have to say is that I inked up the Platinum (?)blue cartridge it came packed with, and I do not like this ink. It feels fine, it writes well, but it looks like a boring school blue to me. I find myself spending all this time comparing the dull blue the ink produces to the rich, deep blue in the body of the pen and sighing continuously. Why didn't I go with the converter and Diamine Blue Velvet? Because I wanted to empty the proprietary Platinum cartridge for future use first, that's why, but now I have ridiculously inane colour regrets. XD

 

Thank you to all that advised me here, I could not be happier with this pen purchase, and will be keeping my eye more closely on other Platinum Centuries. I am intrigued!

[Time-Traveller]

It just arrived yesterday, and I have to say, the colour is absolutely beautiful! I am so glad I stuck to my guns about getting the Blue rather than the red or black ones, as this colour is really wonderful.

 

Congratulations. You won't regret it. The 3776 is one of my regular writing tools.

 

One thing I have to say is that I inked up the Platinum (?)blue cartridge it came packed with, and I do not like this ink. It feels fine, it writes well, but it looks like a boring school blue to me. I find myself spending all this time comparing the dull blue the ink produces to the rich, deep blue in the body of the pen and sighing continuously. Why didn't I go with the converter and Diamine Blue Velvet? Because I wanted to empty the proprietary Platinum cartridge for future use first, that's why, but now I have ridiculously inane colour regrets. XD

 

I got a pair of converters (two in one little box) through a Japanese seller on Amazon, and they're really good: they feel quite solid for converters, and they fit delightfully snugly.

 

But I also bought a box of cartridges (in my case: black) with the same idea: to refill empty cartridges later with inks of my choice. Platinum black is quite OK as an ink, rather water resistant, flows well, but a rather very-very-neutral dark grey. But it's not so dull that I will empty the cartridges using a syringe, which would be an option if your blue annoys you too much. I use these black cartridges for rather prosaic writing jobs where the ink doesn't matter so much.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Time-traveller

[Enkida]

I have a converter as well, but the Platinum blue is growing on me. Very slowly, I'm still not the biggest fan of the colour, but the lubrication is nice and well.. it works. It helps if I try to think of it as a blue black instead of a dull blue, hehe.

 

Still absolutely loving the way the pen writes, it's a beauty!

[TheDutchGuy]

...the Platinum blue is growing on me...

Is it Blue or Blue Black...? Platinum Blue Black is an iron gall ink which offers amazing performance on any kind of paper. It also dries fast, which makes it ideal for lefties. I’d agree it’s not the most eyecatching blue out there, but it sure is one of the best inks around.

[shawnee]

Glad you went for the Century 3776 in the end. The pen you got was also my gateway drug into Platinum and I have never been sorry. I have 5 of them now and while I still think the nibs are a bit on the ugly side, it's such a beautiful line and ultra reliable. I'm slowing converting from a Sailor fanatic to a Platinum one. Also, on a side note, it's very good value for the money. Enjoy.