amk
January 4th, 2018, 11:17 AM
I've just acquired my latest in my mini-collection of Platinum 3776 pens, the Nice Lilas. I ordered it from Asiantreasurehunt on ebay, and it made its way safely from Japan to France in less than three weeks - delivered today by the friendly facteur (postie) who wished me 'a very 'appy new year' in English.
https://imgur.com/02Yz78Vl.jpg
It took some unwrapping.
https://imgur.com/ULi0sqpl.jpg
And finally, there it was.
https://imgur.com/HKneytgl.jpg
For some reason, the box these pens come in reminds me of a brand of French cheese... the smell is quite different thank goodness!
So... having got my pen out of its box and admired it for a bit, and written with it for a bit, I'm enjoying it.
https://imgur.com/mE5Po2pl.jpg
First of all, the colour is wonderful. You can never really tell from photos, but there's a really deep colour lurking inside what at first looks like quite a pale pen - the surface is matt, but if you turn the pen in the light you can see the glitter of the little flutes cut in the barrel and the depth of colour comes through. I like it a lot. Personally, I like it with the gold trim - it seems to warm up what could otherwise be a rather cold pen.
Secondly, the feel. Nice and solid in the hand, dense though relatively light. Those with larger hands might want to post it; personally I can manage without. As with all the 3776s, the section has a little rim just at the end to stop your fingers slipping.
Fit and finish? Pretty good but not impeccable. There are seams on the section, and since this is the only part of the pen that is not matt in texture, that really shows up. There's also what looks like a bit of excess glue (I hope it is not cracking!) where the end cap screws into the barrel. On the other hand the cutting of the brand name into the cap ring, and the threads, are impeccably handled.
Filling system? Platinum converter. Okay, but for some reason Japanese engineering doesn't seem to be as good at converters as it is at pen in general, or motorbikes, or cars - I find Platinum converters stick unless I take them apart and add a dab of silicone grease to the piston seal. (I should have done that here, but I was just too impatient to get the pen working, so that will have to wait for its first flush-out.)
https://imgur.com/v1UcYull.jpg
Nib - broad. That's a Japanese broad of course, which is a Lamy medium... Lovely. Just a little bounciness - it will flex if I push it, but I don't think that's really fair on the nib. I might think about getting this tweaked to a cursive italic at some point. I fired the pen up with Herbin Bouquet d'Antan and had a little squiggle. It's matchy-matchy but I suspect the ink isn't getting the best out of the pen - however, it writes very readily, a little wetter than I'm used to from Platinum nibs. It's a rather rounded nib, not a lot of character, but very respectable and does what it says on the tin.
So all in all, a very nice pen with one or two niggles.
One warning; this pen is a dust and fingerprint magnet! already! but I like it, and my princess cat likes it, and it is, little niggles notwithstanding, actually a really, really nice pen.
Oh yes, the numbers: 14cm capped, just under 12cm from the nib to the end of the barrel, and 15 1/2 cm posted.
Just to add: I've now fired the pen up with Cross Black (had some legal documents to sign) replacing the Herbin which was pretty much used up, and what a difference! the pen writes much more readily and is a real pleasure to use, with the nib gliding very nicely over the paper.
https://imgur.com/02Yz78Vl.jpg
It took some unwrapping.
https://imgur.com/ULi0sqpl.jpg
And finally, there it was.
https://imgur.com/HKneytgl.jpg
For some reason, the box these pens come in reminds me of a brand of French cheese... the smell is quite different thank goodness!
So... having got my pen out of its box and admired it for a bit, and written with it for a bit, I'm enjoying it.
https://imgur.com/mE5Po2pl.jpg
First of all, the colour is wonderful. You can never really tell from photos, but there's a really deep colour lurking inside what at first looks like quite a pale pen - the surface is matt, but if you turn the pen in the light you can see the glitter of the little flutes cut in the barrel and the depth of colour comes through. I like it a lot. Personally, I like it with the gold trim - it seems to warm up what could otherwise be a rather cold pen.
Secondly, the feel. Nice and solid in the hand, dense though relatively light. Those with larger hands might want to post it; personally I can manage without. As with all the 3776s, the section has a little rim just at the end to stop your fingers slipping.
Fit and finish? Pretty good but not impeccable. There are seams on the section, and since this is the only part of the pen that is not matt in texture, that really shows up. There's also what looks like a bit of excess glue (I hope it is not cracking!) where the end cap screws into the barrel. On the other hand the cutting of the brand name into the cap ring, and the threads, are impeccably handled.
Filling system? Platinum converter. Okay, but for some reason Japanese engineering doesn't seem to be as good at converters as it is at pen in general, or motorbikes, or cars - I find Platinum converters stick unless I take them apart and add a dab of silicone grease to the piston seal. (I should have done that here, but I was just too impatient to get the pen working, so that will have to wait for its first flush-out.)
https://imgur.com/v1UcYull.jpg
Nib - broad. That's a Japanese broad of course, which is a Lamy medium... Lovely. Just a little bounciness - it will flex if I push it, but I don't think that's really fair on the nib. I might think about getting this tweaked to a cursive italic at some point. I fired the pen up with Herbin Bouquet d'Antan and had a little squiggle. It's matchy-matchy but I suspect the ink isn't getting the best out of the pen - however, it writes very readily, a little wetter than I'm used to from Platinum nibs. It's a rather rounded nib, not a lot of character, but very respectable and does what it says on the tin.
So all in all, a very nice pen with one or two niggles.
One warning; this pen is a dust and fingerprint magnet! already! but I like it, and my princess cat likes it, and it is, little niggles notwithstanding, actually a really, really nice pen.
Oh yes, the numbers: 14cm capped, just under 12cm from the nib to the end of the barrel, and 15 1/2 cm posted.
Just to add: I've now fired the pen up with Cross Black (had some legal documents to sign) replacing the Herbin which was pretty much used up, and what a difference! the pen writes much more readily and is a real pleasure to use, with the nib gliding very nicely over the paper.