Pen Pit Stop : Platinum 3776 Century Fujin Raijin

[namrehsnoom]

Pen Pit Stop : Platinum 3776 Century Fujin Raijin

 

Welcome to the Pen Pit Stop. Here you will find reviews of pens that already have some mileage on them. More specifically, these reviews are of pens that are in my personal collection, and that have been in use for at least a year. I thought it would be fun to do it this way – no new & shiny pens here but battered vehicles that have been put to work for at least a year. Let’s find out how they have withstood the ravages of time.

 

The fountain pen that enters the pit stop today is the Platinum 3776 Century Fujin Raijin. This particular incarnation of the well-known 3776 Century model is decorated using the Kanazawa-haku gold-leaf technique and adds a picture of the Wind & Thunder gods Fujin & Raijin. In the Kanazawa-haku technique, gold leafs are created by beating and extending the foil to a thickness of about 1/10.000 of a millimeter. Pasting small cutouts of these gold leafs, one by one, onto the pen body creates a sense of depth, and gives the body an elegant glow. A thin coat of lacquer protects the final design.

 

 

The barrel has a picture of Fujin, the Wind god. On the cap you will find a traditional representation of Raijin, the Thunder god. The pen itself is your normal 3776 Century, so you can expect a good writer with a nice 14K gold nib. I got mine with a B-nib, that writes more like a western medium. I bought my pen in April 2020, so it’s been in use for some time now. Let’s take a closer look at it.

 

Pen Look & Feel
The 3775 Century has a cigar-shaped design and is a fairly small and elegant pen. There’s no logo or brand designation that detracts from the pen’s looks – the only brand designation I found is a small “P” etched on the nib. The 14K gold nib is fairly large in comparison with the pen body, giving you the impression of a much bigger pen. I really like that Platinum used all-gold accents throughout the pen’s design: the gold foil covers the complete pen body and cap, and the trimmings, clip & nib are also gold-toned. It could have looked over-the-top, but it’s not. The end result is aesthetically pleasing, mostly due to the depth created by Kanazawa-haku technique. 

 

You use the pen by removing the screw-on cap, which is completely air-tight thanks to Platinum’s “Slip & Seal” mechanism. I typically use the pen unposted, which is possible because I have small hands. There might be a problem if you need to post your pen: personally, I would not risk it – over time you might damage the gold foil due to friction between posted cap & body. 

When screwing the cap on the body, there are several positions where the treads start gripping. As a result, there are multiple orientations for the cap to fit on the body, and there’s only one where the Wind & Thunder gods line up. It doesn’t bother me, but I understand some people might go nuts about it.

 

The 3776 Century is a cartridge convertor pen, that uses Platinum's proprietary cartridges. This pen arrived with a good quality convertor included, always a nice plus!

 

 

 

The pictures above illustrate the size of the Platinum 3776 Century Fujin Raijin in comparison with a standard Lamy Safari. Capped, both pens are about the same size. But uncapped the Platinum pen is substantially smaller than the Safari. You can post the pen, but I would personally recommend against this with the more delicate finish on the Fujin Raijin pen body – it would destroy the look of this pen when you get scratches.

 

Pen Characteristics

• Build Quality:  the pen is very well build. Mine is about two years old now, and still looks good as new. But it’s definitely a pen you need to handle with care: you don’t want scratches on this pen’s body - they would totally destroy the looks of this pen. The screw-on cap can end up in different orientations, which means that the pictures of Fujin & Raijin will not always align. This might be a problem for some people.
• Weight & Dimensions: a fairly small pen – about 12cm uncapped, which is how I use it to write with. The grip section is about 1 cm in diameter at the threads, and tapers down a bit towards the nib. When gripping the pen, your fingers will also rest on the threads, but these are hardly noticeable. The pen feels very light and is really comfortable for long writing sessions. 
• Filling System: this is a cartridge convertor pen, that uses Platinum’s proprietary cartridges. A good quality convertor was included with the pen.  
• Nib & Performance: the 14K gold nib feels substantial on the pen’s petite body, but the aesthetics of the whole work well. I got my pen with a B-nib, that writes like a western medium. The nib performed exceptionally well, right out of the box. A very smooth nib, with just a touch of feedback from the paper. I really like it!
• Price: this Fujin Raijin incarnation of the classic 3776 Century cost 395 EUR including taxes. Personally, I found the pricepoint acceptable for a beautiful pen with a 14K gold nib.

 

What could have been better?

 

I really like the Kanazawa-haku gold leaf finish on this pen. It’s really well executed and gives a very unique texture to the pen. I’m not such a big fan of the added design elements though – in this case the Fujin & Raijin pictures. My guess is that these are stickers that are applied to the body after the gold leaf cover has been put on. They certainly look like tattoo-style stickers. Personally, I would have been happier with a non-adorned pen with just the gold leaf texture, a more minimalistic look, like in the picture above.

 

Conclusion
Platinum 3776 Century pens are known as excellent writers, and this pen follows that rule. The Kanazawa-haku gold leaf finish works really well on the 3776 body, and results in a beautiful pen with a very distinctive & warm texture. The Fujin & Raijun added accents… well I could do without them. In my opinion, the pen would look better without these added elements. Overall, I still think it’s a good buy, and I’m glad to have added a Platinum 3776 Century to my pen collection.

 

[Paul-in-SF]

Thank you for the practical review. I have one of these, but I don't use it very often, precisely because it is difficult for me to write with it without posting, but I don't want to post it (although the internal threads on the cap are plastic and might not do any damage). Poor choice on my part, there's really no point for me to have a pen with a delicate finish when I could have the exact same writing experience with one of the regular material finishes. I don't usually buy pens just to look at. 

 

I don't think the figures are actually stickers; Platinum USA uses the words "drawn on" in their advertising, and there does not appear to be any perceptible difference in the surface between the figures and the background. They may seem a bit cartoonish, but that style is pretty standard in traditional Japanese art. 

[mizgeorge]

Thank you @namrehsnoom - another excellent review, and one that reminds me why I don't need one of these. 

 

 

 

 

[jchch1950]

"Drawn on"or stickers are a nice technique that gives a special look to the pen at reasonable price.Nice review and photos.

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for the review!

 

On 12/12/2022 at 3:53 AM, namrehsnoom said:

My guess is that these are stickers that are applied to the body after the gold leaf cover has been put on. They certainly look like tattoo-style stickers.

 

It's pretty difficult to ascertain, from the wording of these two articles on Platinum Pen's website, as to whether the images are in fact drawn (directly) on the pen after the gold leaf is applied, or drawn — or perhaps (screen-?)printed — on a sticker separately first and then applied whole onto the pen body.

• https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/news/8600/
   

  Quote

  金沢箔もみち らし技法を軸へ一本一本丹念に施し、近代蒔絵の卓越した技巧で琳派の雰囲気を表現しました。

  
  近代蒔絵 (modern maki-e) suggests the sticker approach, but,
   

  Quote

  歴史の中で育まれた伝統技法を万年筆に描きこむことで、

  
  this suggests that “drawing on the fountain pen using traditional techniques”, going by Google Translate, but my (primarily Chinese-influenced, as I don't speak Japanese) reading of the verb 描 is that it could also be simply illustrated or depicted (on the fountain pen).
   

• https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/en/news/detail/?pid=8727 
  (and, in Japanese, https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/news/8727/)
   

  Quote

  The tiger and the pine tree, which are Japan’s representative auspicious motifs, drawn on the gold-leafed barrel make the pen a true masterpiece filled with elegance and dignity.

  
  This is the company's official, original English text, in its press release for a subsequent #3776 Century Kanazawa-Haku model, the Matsu-tora. Google Translate's translation of the original Japanese article makes no mention of drawing, and instances of 描 are automatically rendered as illustrated or depicted.

On 12/12/2022 at 4:20 AM, Paul-in-SF said:

Poor choice on my part, there's really no point for me to have a pen with a delicate finish when I could have the exact same writing experience with one of the regular material finishes.

 

I personally prefer the texture of the Kanazawa-Haku, in terms of how it contributes to the holistic writing experience; it is not as hard and slick to the touch as the polished AS resin on the regular #3776 Century models.