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Oncdoc
January 25th, 2014, 12:22 PM
I impulse ordered this platinum pen. Anyone have one? Like?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/26/ujy3y6a3.jpg

kaisnowbird
January 26th, 2014, 01:12 AM
A good looking pen and I would assume pretty decent value for the price too. :)

I don't have one yet - the white opaque inner cap is stopping me, but I do like the see through section that lets you see the feed working. Be sure to tell us how it behaves.

pandabirdy1
January 26th, 2014, 04:01 AM
My brother gave me the clear version from Engeika- it's also known as.. ahem... Platinum 'Cool'.
I'm determined to overlook the white opaque section in the cap, and I think I'm noticing it less because the pen writes so well.
I've inked it with Diamine Ancient Copper - and it looks beautiful in the transparent feed and barrel.
I like that the nib is not a nail, has some springiness to it. I think it's a great pen for the price!

kaisnowbird
January 26th, 2014, 07:31 AM
Transparent feed, you say? I need to take another look then! For that, I'm willing to overlook the white inner cap. Does the one from engeika come with a converter and would the converter have silver trim to match the other details of the pen?

Oncdoc
January 26th, 2014, 10:39 AM
I don't have the pen yet but will give feedback after using it. It was only $23 on eBay with best offer

cwent2
January 26th, 2014, 01:03 PM
Transparent feed, you say? I need to take another look then! For that, I'm willing to overlook the white inner cap. Does the one from engeika come with a converter and would the converter have silver trim to match the other details of the pen?

Only from Engeika:

Cartridge, Converter and one special Adapter included

The limited fountain pen edition may be out of stock at anytime.

We will contact you after we confirm your order and stock.

COPIED FROM ENGEIKA

pandabirdy1
January 26th, 2014, 08:12 PM
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Hi - I thought I would try to take some pics of the pen - to help in enabling...... Please excuse the quality though.

This is the Platinum 'Cool' - I try to ignore the name - with Diamine Ancient Copper.

These are my attempts to photograph the transparent feed, the 'gold' section of the convertor, and THAT CAP!
The white cap inner does seem to stop the pen drying out, and it writes consistently well, straight off.
I'm happy with mine!

kaisnowbird
January 26th, 2014, 09:36 PM
The photo links are not working. :(
You might need to use advanced reply to upload the pics successfully.

pandabirdy1
January 26th, 2014, 10:45 PM
Ah poo! Will try again, thanks.

pandabirdy1
January 26th, 2014, 10:48 PM
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Oncdoc
January 26th, 2014, 10:49 PM
Wow. Looks very nice. Looking forward to mine.

kaisnowbird
January 27th, 2014, 12:04 AM
Thank you Pandabirdy1, now that's seriously enabling. The clear feed is looking even better than I imagined. Pity the converter is not silver finished, but your choice of Ancient Copper complements everything beautifully.

pandabirdy1
January 27th, 2014, 05:12 AM
To be honest the gold on the convertor is not usually my cup of tea, but I don't mind it here.
And a brighter ink would probably show off the clear feed more dramatically.

It made it to Melbourne from Japan in three days!!!

cwent2
January 27th, 2014, 08:05 AM
Thank you Pandabirdy1, now that's seriously enabling. The clear feed is looking even better than I imagined. Pity the converter is not silver finished, but your choice of Ancient Copper complements everything beautifully.

I think Goulet pens has a video on how to remove the gold color on the converter......

KrazyIvan
January 27th, 2014, 08:35 AM
This looks really similar to the Monteverde Artista Crystal that also has a transparent feed but no opaque inner cap.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7722080460_d068fd9a4e_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7722080460/)
Monteverde Artista Crystal (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7722080460/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7722056844_4763920c48_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7722056844/)
Monteverde Artista Crystal (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7722056844/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

jde
January 27th, 2014, 02:22 PM
This looks really similar to the Monteverde Artista Crystal that also has a transparent feed but no opaque inner cap.


Having tried both of these pens, you'll find the nibs will be very different between them. The Monteverde is better looking. The Platinum may not look as "cool," but IMHO the nib is better. It's soft, and Platinum touts it as semi-flex, or if you read their English version of the site "moderately flexible." (http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fountain/e_fountain_balance.html) Am not a flex geek, but do enjoy a soft nib that gives some shading as I write along.

I think the Platinum is a very good entry level pen into Japanese nibs!

pandabirdy1
January 28th, 2014, 03:12 AM
Beautiful pen and photos KrazyIvan!

Are there nib options available ?

pandabirdy1
January 28th, 2014, 03:19 AM
This looks really similar to the Monteverde Artista Crystal that also has a transparent feed but no opaque inner cap.


Having tried both of these pens, you'll find the nibs will be very different between them. The Monteverde is better looking. The Platinum may not look as "cool," but IMHO the nib is better. It's soft, and Platinum touts it as semi-flex, or if you read their English version of the site "moderately flexible." (http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fountain/e_fountain_balance.html) Am not a flex geek, but do enjoy a soft nib that gives some shading as I write along.

I think the Platinum is a very good entry level pen into Japanese nibs!

I was convinced to try this pen by reading of it's semi-flexiness, as compared to other demonstrators in this price range.
I do like the aesthetics of the Monteverde!

I think the springiness gives my writing a little bit of character. I'm not so in love with modern nails. My 2c worth. :)

kaisnowbird
January 28th, 2014, 05:37 AM
This looks really similar to the Monteverde Artista Crystal that also has a transparent feed but no opaque inner cap.


Having tried both of these pens, you'll find the nibs will be very different between them. The Monteverde is better looking. The Platinum may not look as "cool," but IMHO the nib is better. It's soft, and Platinum touts it as semi-flex, or if you read their English version of the site "moderately flexible." (http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fountain/e_fountain_balance.html) Am not a flex geek, but do enjoy a soft nib that gives some shading as I write along.

I think the Platinum is a very good entry level pen into Japanese nibs!

I like my Artista clear, but would like to see the whole feed, not just beneath the nib, but inside the section too. Looks like this Platinum will do that, similar to Lamy Visa, but with a clear-ish feed.

I've put it on my wish list, which is getting a bit long for my liking. :rolleyes:

conib
February 1st, 2014, 02:01 PM
I impulse ordered this platinum pen. Anyone have one? Like?

I have one each of the "F" and "M" nibs of the "Cool" in blue, just like in your photo.

Each pen came with one gold-plated Platinum converter, one adapter for international cartridges, and one Platinum-proprietary cartridge of Platinum Black ink.

I removed the gold plating from the converters using some 30-micron 3M Wetordry polishing "paper" (the aluminum oxide abrasive is actually bonded to a non-woven flexible cloth rather than a paper). The underlying metal was revealed to be more nickel-colored (like stainless steel) than chrome and so doesn't look exactly like the furniture but it definitely looks better in this pen than the gold!

After flushing both pens and their converters, I filled the "M"-nibbed Cool with Sailor sei-boku pigmented ink. The "M" Cool did not like sei-boku, and kept clogging. So I cleaned out the sei-boku and installed the cartridge of black Platinum ink. It had no problems with that ink, which was a relief!

Unfortunately, I'm not terribly happy with the performance of the Platinum Black ink in this pen; the line it puts down is too wet for me and keeps making blots at the end of strokes unless I write very fast. It also feathers pretty badly on my laser printer paper (currently Office Max 24lb). When I finish this cartridge I plan to fill this pen's converter with either some Waterman's Mysterious Blue or Pelikan 4001 Turquoise (I haven't yet decided) to see how it does with a drier ink.

After I saw the behavior of the "M" Cool with the sei-boku I went ahead and installed the Platinum Black cartridge on the "F" Cool. Again, this ink and pen combo writes a bit too wet for me and makes end-of-stroke blots (albeit rather smaller).

There seems to be a big difference in stroke width between the "F" and "M" Cools, and for my preference I'd like to see something in between. But I'm also thinking that a nib grind on the "M" to a CI could be pretty awesome, if I can find an ink that writes well for me in this pen.

The one thing that I really don't like about the Cool is that its inner cap is fixed and not removable for cleaning. Also, both nibs arrived with a touch of baby's bottom but a bit of work with some 1-micron 3m lapping film corrected that.

I find the Cool to be very comfortable to write with and it's a good length even for larger hands. Its semi-flex nib gives a nice ride.

-- Constance

cellmatrix
February 1st, 2014, 02:21 PM
I was under the impression that the old "pre century" style platinum 3776 fountain pens were called balance. At least that is what these folks in japan are calling them:

http://www.engeika.com/product/86

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Platinum-3776-Balance-14K-Fountain-Pen-Black-PTB-10000B-EF-Extra-Fine-nib-New-/171232490983?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de4075e7

At any rate, these are great pens, especially the nib, and they are really selling at a low price nowadays.

cwent2
February 1st, 2014, 02:27 PM
I was under the impression that the old "pre century" style platinum 3776 fountain pens were called balance. At least that is what these folks in japan are calling them:

http://www.engeika.com/product/86

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Platinum-3776-Balance-14K-Fountain-Pen-Black-PTB-10000B-EF-Extra-Fine-nib-New-/171232490983?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de4075e7

At any rate, these are great pens, especially the nib, and they are really selling at a low price nowadays.


http://www.engeika.com/product-list/5?page=5


PLATINUM BALANCE COOL PGB-3000A Edition Pink Crystal Demonstrator Body Stainless Steel Nib All Nib Sizes Chrome Accents Fountain Pen[PGB-3000A#74]
US$27.00
[Non Member Price:US$30.00]
Retail Price of Manufacturer:US$39.00

cellmatrix
February 1st, 2014, 03:28 PM
I was under the impression that the old "pre century" style platinum 3776 fountain pens were called balance. At least that is what these folks in japan are calling them:

http://www.engeika.com/product/86

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Platinum-3776-Balance-14K-Fountain-Pen-Black-PTB-10000B-EF-Extra-Fine-nib-New-/171232490983?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de4075e7

At any rate, these are great pens, especially the nib, and they are really selling at a low price nowadays.


http://www.engeika.com/product-list/5?page=5


PLATINUM BALANCE COOL PGB-3000A Edition Pink Crystal Demonstrator Body Stainless Steel Nib All Nib Sizes Chrome Accents Fountain Pen[PGB-3000A#74]
US$27.00
[Non Member Price:US$30.00]
Retail Price of Manufacturer:US$39.00

I realize that the thread is about the platinum cool. I only wanted to mention out of interest that the 3776 is also sometimes called balance. And granted it costs 50 dollars more than the cool. But even so, its a great value in my opinion. I really enjoy mine. Cheers!

eqlzr
February 25th, 2014, 12:44 PM
At this stage in my collecting/accumulating of FPs, I'm looking at things differently now. Earlier on, I would have jumped on this pen. However, now when I see this kind of stuff, I generally decide to save the money for a nice discount on a pricier pen that I inevitably know I will see down the line. I'm going after extra quality now, not extra pens. I've got plenty of pens that were good "values" because of their relatively low cost. But now I want more pens that are are good "values" in spite of their higher cost.