Choosing first japanese gold nib

[Frank C]

I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your new pen. I use Japanese fountain pens almost everyday. They are among the best and probably the most cost-effective fountain pens. 

[A Smug Dill]

7 hours ago, Arcticart said:

… the "bourgogne" color.  …‹snip›… The only thing that dents the otherwise good impression of quality is the converter that can rattle against the insides of the barrel.

 

That is not an isolated occurrence, at least with model PNB-13000#71, i.e. the #3776 Century Bourgogne with gold trim, and glyphs on the cap ring in bas-relief (as opposed to sunk relief on the PNB-10000), after Platinum minimally refreshed about two years ago and raised its retail price by 30%. See:

• https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351242-ch-912-vs-metal-falcon-vs-platinum-president/?do=findComment&comment=4349043
• https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/354988-platinum-3776-century-bourgogne/

Even though that's only three data points anecdotally, between @mindance's, @YonathanZ's and mine, all three are the Bourgogne model (and I do have an older PNB-10000#71 that didn't exhibit the issue). Therefore, I'm disinclined to recommend the PNB-13000 if someone wants to try out a Platinum #3776 Century nib and/or its legendary Slip&Seal cap seal performance, notwithstanding that is the lowest-priced model in the Platinum #3776 Century product line; but, more importantly, I'd singularly recommend against choosing the Bourgogne, even though I bought a second one myself after the product refresh, not for any love of that colourway, but because at the time Cult Pens was offering it singularly more cheaply than the other four PNB-13000 models.

 

I have not come across any reports or anecdotes of the issue in the Chenonceau White or Laurel Green pens, which weren't available colourways prior to the product refresh.

 

7 hours ago, Arcticart said:

The pen is a nice size for my hand though there is a sharp ledge at the end of the section which while not uncomfortable, is noticeable.

 

I find the same; although, for some reason, it seems less noticeable on the Platinum #3776 Century Kanazawa-haku models, even though it's exactly the same shape (whereas the Celluloid models are slightly different, and so are the Briar models).

 

I bought into the whole ‘flex’/soft nib hype early on, when I dived headlong into the hobby early 2018, and ordered three Platinum #3776 Century pens all with SF nibs — one for my wife (and with a custom inscription commemorating her first solo book in print), and two for myself. Ended up selling one of mine — which is a rare thing for me to do — to a fellow hobbyist here who wanted to try an SF nib and didn't mind getting one secondhand. My other one is seldom used, so I eventually just handed it over to my wife (more for the reason that it's filled at the time with newly acquired Diamine Writer's Blood ink, of which she really likes the look, so instead of emptying out one of her pens I just gave her mine to use).

 

I was just reviewing last night which Platinum pens I still have (or am waiting for delivery); not counting the dozens of Preppy, Plaisir, and Prefounte pens sitting in pen cups, out of the gold-nibbed ones still in my fleet, ten out of fifteen have F nibs.

 

8 hours ago, Arcticart said:

Thanks for the input. It'll come in handy when I save enough for my next one.

 

In case you're wondering about the SF nib for the Pilot Custom line — as opposed to the Pilot Elabo aka Falcon — I just remembered this thread (or, more accurately, it turned up in a search):

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/340857-pilot-sf-nib-dry-upstrokes/

 

I have done some comparison of the output of various Japanese pens and nibs, all in the finer range:

but the ‘feel’ of writing with each pen — including whether the nib is soft/bouncy either by virtue of the alloy's mechanical properties, or by the nib's design and geometry — is what I didn't want to include in the scope of the comparison.

[arcfide]

10 hours ago, Arcticart said:

I also didn't expect the nib to be this soft. It's very springy, but not "flexy" It feels unique.

 

I'd enjoy reading your comparison of this nib against your Santini flexy nib. 

[Arcticart]

On 8/19/2021 at 6:15 AM, A Smug Dill said:

That is not an isolated occurrence, at least with model PNB-13000#71, i.e. the #3776 Century Bourgogne with gold trim, and glyphs on the cap ring in bas-relief (as opposed to sunk relief on the PNB-10000), after Platinum minimally refreshed about two years ago and raised its retail price by 30%.

 

I might have picked the white or blue had I been aware of this beforehand. Live and learn

 

The nib size comparison will be useful when I'm ready to dive into Pilot/Sailor gold nibs.

 

On 8/19/2021 at 8:23 AM, arcfide said:

I'd enjoy reading your comparison of this nib against your Santini flexy nib. 

 

 

This had to wait until my Libra was empty and I could ink it up with the same ink as the 3776. The platinum soft fine nib to me doesn't "flex" as much as it's springy. I think the nib geometry is such that the tines don't spread much under pressure unlike the Santini. I did notice the platinum started "feeling" better once I switched to the sailor ink. It is still dry, unless you coax some extra ink by pushing the nib a little. It's hard to quantify the properties of the nibs, but let's say the Platinum nib feels more "tool"-like and clinical in performance. Like a precision instrument. The Santini feels more "alive" and while it has feedback too, it glides easier on the paper likely thanks to the generous ink flow. The Santini nib feels softer to write with, but slightly less precise than the Platinum nib. Even though the platinum nib doesn't flex much even the small variations are visible on the thinner line of the fine nib, which I do like.

[arcfide]

17 minutes ago, Arcticart said:

This had to wait until my Libra was empty and I could ink it up with the same ink as the 3776.

 

Thank you for the comparison! It is interesting to see the differences. 

[A Smug Dill]

On 9/2/2021 at 7:02 AM, Arcticart said:

I might have picked the white or blue had I been aware of this beforehand. Live and learn

 

For what it's worth, I've recently acquired a President and a Procyon shipped from Japan — from a seller who likely only back-ordered the items from its supplier in the Japanese domestic market after taking my money, and acting as little more than the middle man, thus I'm pretty confident they're from recent production batches — I've discovered that the fit is equally as ‘loose’ when I plugged the Platinum converters I already have on hand into those pens. So I'm inclined to conclude that Platinum made a very small change to the diameter of the posts inside the gripping sections of all of its pens in current production, while I'm not sure whether newly produced converters have a commensurately narrower mouth (since I didn't order any new ones, when I already have a dozen new spares in a drawer).

[Arcticart]

Resistance was futile, so as soon as I could afford it, I dove right back in. When I first started I always thought Pilot would be my first Japanese gold nib because I figured I'd like the smooth nibs the best. But it turns out it'll be the last.

 

 

I'm usually not too affected by limited edition FOMO, since there will always be a new color next year. But the green color with gold trim just spoke to me, and it wasn't much extra on the regular model. After first 2 pages I can already tell I'll love this nib. Pleasantly smooth with good amount of feedback. Quite stiff nib, but decently wet.

[arcfide]

17 hours ago, Arcticart said:

After first 2 pages I can already tell I'll love this nib.

 

I think it will be very interesting to see which of the big 3 Japanese you end up liking the most over time! Personally, now that I know how much I like big music nibs, I'm just biding my time until I decide to pick up the Pilot and Sailor versions to go along with my Platinum. 

[A Smug Dill]

On 9/2/2021 at 7:02 AM, Arcticart said:

Even though the platinum nib doesn't flex much even the small variations are visible on the thinner line of the fine nib, which I do like.

 

I love those pointed slashy tails and sharp abrupt reversals of direction in your handwriting. Awesome.

 

 

I don't know whether you'll be glad to know that Platinum Pen in Japan has just put up its retail price for your pen (and other entry-level #3776 Century models), so I'll expect there will be some flow-on effect on European retailers in the near future.

 

21 hours ago, Arcticart said:

But the green color with gold trim just spoke to me, and it wasn't much extra on the regular model. After first 2 pages I can already tell I'll love this nib.

 

Looking good! Glad to hear you love the Sailor nib you have.

 

This is what a Sailor ‘medium-sized’ 14K gold Medium nib, such as that which is on your Pro Gear Slim, is capable of:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348419-sailor-nib-sweet-spot/?do=findComment&comment=4237480

 

 

[arcfide]

I notice that you went with the Soft Fine for the Platinum but the Medium for the Sailor. What drew you to the Medium nib on the Sailor? 

[Arcticart]

On 9/16/2021 at 5:15 PM, A Smug Dill said:

I love those pointed slashy tails and sharp abrupt reversals of direction in your handwriting. Awesome.

 

My handwriting is still messy. I don't know for sure, but the sharp reversals might be the result of being a left handed underwriter. I've been trying to analyse why the platinum SF nib feels like it doesn't like being pushed "uphill", which is an unfortunate side effect of how I write as a lefty. It might be partly because the SF nib tip angles downwards at the tip more than the other platinum nibs. WaskiSquirrels video on the platinum nibs was especially useful to see this difference. This means the nib "angle of attack" on the paper when I write is higher than 45 degrees, and it makes pushing the nib very sensitive to any kind of pressure or angle changes. I really have to feather touch this one when I write on anything but the smoothest paper.

 

On 9/17/2021 at 12:30 AM, arcfide said:

I notice that you went with the Soft Fine for the Platinum but the Medium for the Sailor. What drew you to the Medium nib on the Sailor?

 

The platinum fine drove home how some nibs are borderline too fine for me.

[arcfide]

3 hours ago, Arcticart said:

The platinum fine drove home how some nibs are borderline too fine for me.

 

Makes sense, especially given that Platinum nibs are probably finer than most nibs for a given nib size. 

[A Smug Dill]

4 hours ago, arcfide said:

Makes sense, especially given that Platinum nibs are probably finer than most nibs for a given nib size. 

 

Notwithstanding that, according to Platinum's own (previously published) chart, its Soft Fine nib puts down slightly broader lines than its regular Fine nib, in my experience — having owned three #3776 pens with 14K gold SF nibs and maybe ten with 14K gold F nibs — when writing with little or no downward pressure, the SF nib puts down finer lines (and feels more dry).

[Harold]

23 hours ago, Arcticart said:

This means the nib "angle of attack" on the paper when I write is higher than 45 degrees, and it makes pushing the nib very sensitive to any kind of pressure or angle changes. I really have to feather touch this one when I write on anything but the smoothest paper.

 

The platinum fine drove home how some nibs are borderline too fine for me.

Sounds to me like you should give Pilot's Waverley(WA) nib a go. It is made to be smooth in any direction, particularly at elevated nib angles(not soft though). It's the same line width as Pilot's medium nibs, which are about the same as JoWo's medium nibs.

[Arcticart]

On 10/3/2021 at 10:42 PM, Harold said:

Sounds to me like you should give Pilot's Waverley(WA) nib a go

Having looked up the WA nib, you might be right. It reminds me of the bobby custom bent nib on the Jinhao 51A, which incidentally is one of my favourite nibs because how it just glides on my upstrokes.