Platinum 3776 soft fine nib experiences.

[essayfaire]

On 5/14/2021 at 7:44 PM, A Smug Dill said:

 

The Platinum SF and SM nibs are unlike its regular 14K gold F and M nibs; that's that. If you're not already familiar and/or comfortable with how they behave — preferably from first-hand user experience — then there is always the possibility that you find them less agreeable than the regular nibs; but then every purchase is a punt by the consumer and user, and in my opinion should never be assumed to come with an implied guaranteed that spending more money buying yet another pen improves the overall capability or enjoyment of his/her collection of pens.

 

 

 

Does that include writing with a lighter hand? I'd expect writing ‘dryly’ to be normal for a truly fine Japanese nib with a tiny contact surface area between tipping and page, which may result in lighter-coloured ink marks and reduced incidence of sheen, etc. that some users may find aesthetically unsatisfactory; but writing scratchily under just the weight of the pen itself is a different matter. A competently ground nib should not be scratchy even when there is no ink or other liquid to lubricate it as it moves against the paper surface with little or no downward pressure applied.

I don't know whether or not I would truly care for the SF or SM, but I do not live anywhere near a pen shop (even when not in the midst of a pandemic) where I would be able to try one out before buying.  This thread causes me to think the SF or SM may not actually be my cup of tea.

 

And yes, the EF is scratchy.  I don't expect anything but consistency and suitability for small writing in my Japanese F and EF nibs.  I have decided I prefer my Pilot F to Pilot EF, but I don't find the EF "scratchy" or anything that I would consider improperly fashioned.  I really do think it's the pen, unless Platinum EFs have less tipping than Pilots.  It's not an EEF.

[A Smug Dill]

27 minutes ago, essayfaire said:

And yes, the EF is scratchy.  I don't expect anything but consistency and suitability for small writing in my Japanese F and EF nibs. ...‹snip›... I really do think it's the pen,

 

It could well be. I ordered two F-nibbed Platinum Izumo Tamenuri pens at the same time (back in 2013, long before I dived into fountain pen geekery); one put down finer lines but wrote more scratchily than the other. (I gave my wife her choice between the two, which was the one that puts down slightly broader lines.) Only years later, when I got tired of the scratchiness, did I bother to look at the nib under a loupe — something I really don't like doing — and saw that there is a slight misalignment of the tines, and that was probably the case from the very start. Once I aligned the tines, writing with that pen was no longer scratchy.

[Christopher Godfrey]

@Ste_S: I know this is off-topic; but you wrote this in your OP -- <... it's probably the most characterful modern nib I've used. Toothy, and soft, but in a different way to vintage gold nibbed pens>

 

Then why on earth have you not tried a Pilot with FA nib?  For my money, this nib is the closest thing to a vintage flex nib that you can find (I have not seen in person a MB 149 "Calligraphy").  I have written this previously on many occasions; but once I had installed an ebonite feed from Joey Grasty's Flexible Nib Factory, this nib has been one of my "go-to" daily writers.  It flexes wonderfully (you <can> cause tram-lining if you try very hard) and perhaps even more <willingly> than any of my vintage Pelikans -- but maybe this is not what you seek, since you did mention somewhere that you tend to be heavy-handed...

 

In my opinion, the Pilot FA nib is FULL of character and its flexibility potential is marvellous, if (and only <if>) you install an ebonite feed.  Enough said.

[Ste_S]

16 hours ago, Christopher Godfrey said:

@Ste_S: I know this is off-topic; but you wrote this in your OP -- <... it's probably the most characterful modern nib I've used. Toothy, and soft, but in a different way to vintage gold nibbed pens>

 

Then why on earth have you not tried a Pilot with FA nib?  For my money, this nib is the closest thing to a vintage flex nib that you can find (I have not seen in person a MB 149 "Calligraphy").  I have written this previously on many occasions; but once I had installed an ebonite feed from Joey Grasty's Flexible Nib Factory, this nib has been one of my "go-to" daily writers.  It flexes wonderfully (you <can> cause tram-lining if you try very hard) and perhaps even more <willingly> than any of my vintage Pelikans -- but maybe this is not what you seek, since you did mention somewhere that you tend to be heavy-handed...

 

In my opinion, the Pilot FA nib is FULL of character and its flexibility potential is marvellous, if (and only <if>) you install an ebonite feed.  Enough said.

 

Pilot are a joke in the UK. Very limited range, and what they have here is overpriced. The Falcon is almost double the price of a Platinum 3776 Burgoyne with SF nib for example.

[A Smug Dill]

41 minutes ago, Ste_S said:

Pilot are a joke in the UK. Very limited range, and what they have here is overpriced. The Falcon is almost double the price of a Platinum 3776 Burgoyne with SF nib for example.

 

I don't see the Elabo (aka Falcon) listed on Pilot Pen's UK web site, so I'm not sure where you got the regional (distributor's) official pricing, or whether you're talking about the metal-bodied model or the resin-bodied model.

 

I suppose you do realise that the metal-bodied Pilot Elabo is almost double the price of the Platinum Bourgogne with gold trim even in Japan (¥27,500 inc tax vs ¥14,300 inc tax)?

[Just J]

Is this a situation where one might try opening up the central feed channel a sliver or so? 

 

But my knee-jerk reaction would be to box the replacement up and send it right back to your correspondent at Cult along with a note instructing him/her to try it out & let you know how they enjoyed the experience.   & yadas.... 

[Ste_S]

The pen has gone back to Cult Pens for a replacement. They’ve informed me this is the last time they’ll issue a replacement, if this one has problems it’ll be a refund. 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Ste_S said:

They’ve informed me this is the last time they’ll issue a replacement, if this one has problems it’ll be a refund.

 

Sounds fair.

[Honeybadgers]

On 5/16/2021 at 1:14 PM, Ste_S said:

So, no doesn't work with a cartridge either. Had a closer look at the nib and feed, and I guess this is why.

 

Kinda disappointed in Cult Pens that something like that went out, especially after I had issues with my first one.

 

 

 

I'd put money on that the nib and feed were together fine in the box. But when you put pressure on it, it bent up like that - the reason is simple, the nib/feed weren't pushed in far enough from the factory. You could resolve THAT problem by pushing the nib and feed back in more deeply. The 3776 nib/feed assembly are famously kind of tight, so it's very plausible that everything looked normal and the feed/nib were just not quite in by a millimeter or so. That lets the nib bend up like that (It's not damaged, just wiggling up in the space since the 3776 nib is quite short compared to others like JoWo) and looks way worse than it is.

 

So not really a QC failing on cult pens, it was likely not like that before you got it, but was just not pushed in far enough at the factory, which let the nib do that when you put writing pressure on it. Either way, this isn't a big deal or very common, so don't be too upset with either platinum or cultpens. I trust they'll make things right for you. The 3776 SF is really a wonderful writer.

 

And FWIF, platinum is always going to be the "scratchy" feeling brand between sailor (who tunes their nibs to write like a very sharp HB pencil) and pilot (who tunes theirs to have a smooth "drag" like feedback)

 

I wouldn't say any of my platinum 3776's are scratchy in a "this pen wasn't tuned right" kind of way, and I have an EEF, EF, SF, B, C, and music. They just have a distinct kind of scritch. But QC failings happen to every brand.

 

Also, the 3776 still has a lot of grey market pens out there and pilot has largely rounded them up, so the price difference is noticeable. But the falcon is also a more premium pen (it used to be namiki) in the line than the standard 3776. So compare the custom 74 or 91 to the 3776 (the nib options for the 74/91 are practically identical to the 3776 and include SF/SFM/SM and music) and not the falcon.

[Ste_S]

Pen #3 has arrived.... and it's a worker! Very happy, the Soft Fine nib is really nice.

[PithyProlix]

10 hours ago, Ste_S said:

Pen #3 has arrived.... and it's a worker! Very happy, the Soft Fine nib is really nice.

 

Awesome sauce!

[stevekolt]

My 3776 Bourgogne with Gold SF nib is fantastic! Inked with Franklin Christoph Urushi Red ink it is just what I was hoping for. I have two more 3776's, a Laurel Green and Gold SF, and a Chartres Blue with a Music nib that I haven't inked as of yet though... 

[A Smug Dill]

4 minutes ago, stevekolt said:

… it is just what I was hoping for.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much!