Platinum Century 3776 Bourgogne (Burgundy) I got Today

[KBeezie]

Got this one new from Japan for $72 shipped (2,000 Rakuten points was applied to discount it about $20 from the normal price). Ordered it on the 29th and was in my hands this afternoon.

It's a Platinum Century 3776 in Bourgogne (Burgundy) with a 14K Medium Nib. I previously had a black Century 3776 with a Soft Fine nib but traded that away recently.

The medium on it is very smooth right out of the box without any adjustment or smoothing needed (whereas the soft fine had a bit of tooth to it much like the 14K EF on my Platinum PTL-5000). Mainly just pulled the nib and feed out to rinse it down and clean it before inking it up the first time as I do with all my new pens (converter was already rinsed as I used it from another pen).

It's a very nice deep red color which is more transparent under good lighting, otherwise it's deep with a hint of see-thru. Parts like the springs in the slip-n-seal mechanism are more noticeable thru the material. My only initial gripe is that the materials will show fingerprints and dust much more easily than some of my pens which was to be expected.

Despite the tipping size guide (http://www.nibs.com/TippingSizespage.htm) over on nibs.com indicating between a western fine and western medium (0.49mm instead of 0.45 or 0.55), the medium seemed smaller (comfortably so) to more of a mid-range of western extra-fine to fine. For me that's a comfortable range. I would have not minded it being a little larger to my initial estimate based on the tipping chart.

Currently inked up with some Diamine Syrah which more-or-less matches the exterior of the pen, and doesn't make any of the staining on the nib seem off putting based on the pen's color.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/boxed_capped.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/boxed_uncapped.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/capped.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/capped_close.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/uncapped.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/nib_n_cap.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/cased.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/syrah.jpg

[Robert]

I love those 3776 broad nibs - my current favorite writer is a Platinum LE clear demonstrator. Great pen, KB - - and superb photography, too.

[tandaina]

I ordered the blue. The color is gorgeous! I wouldn't pay the American price for it ($176 from the Goulets) but was happy to pay $90 for it. I ordered a B assuming it would be a Western medium... No, no it was a huge blobby (but very smooth) B. So it has been sent off to a nibmeister to become a cursive italic, cause it is just too wide for normal use as is. (Ironic huh?)

[KBeezie]

I ordered the blue. The color is gorgeous! I wouldn't pay the American price for it ($176 from the Goulets) but was happy to pay $90 for it. I ordered a B assuming it would be a Western medium... No, no it was a huge blobby (but very smooth) B. So it has been sent off to a nibmeister to become a cursive italic, cause it is just too wide for normal use as is. (Ironic huh?)

Funny thing is I was expecting the medium on this to be a little bigger based on the tipping sizes off nibs.com, but it's seeming more like a EF~F on the western scale.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/inked/rhodia_sep3_2014_300dpi.jpg

Based on the same tipping guide, a broad is supposed to be around 0.60mm (a Jowo/Western medium being roughly 0.55mm, and Jowo Broad being 0.85mm)

But in the end, I do like the size and smoothness this came in, just wish I had some calipers or something so I could make a measurement of the actual tipping size.

[tandaina]

Maybe they've got some quality control issues? Sounds like a big difference from the expected size to what I saw. My MB 146 M nib is quite a bit narrower than the 1776 B. Who knows. When Pendleton gets it ground he can tell me how wide it comes out.

[KBeezie]

Maybe they've got some quality control issues? Sounds like a big difference from the expected size to what I saw. My MB 146 M nib is quite a bit narrower than the 1776 B. Who knows. When Pendleton gets it ground he can tell me how wide it comes out.

Well I know the Century 3776 M looks sort of like it would be in between a Pilot F and M on the metropolitan (which I don't have anymore), which is *somewhat* the expectation (ie: Platinum being slightly smaller than Pilot of the same nib size). But as I understood it, they normalize or get bigger the broader they go (ie: beyond a medium is anyone's guess).

However I pulled up Platinum Century 3776 on Nib Nook http://www.gouletpens.com/Nib_Nook_s/1114.htm

And they do run a little small up to medium, but then it's a leap from medium to broad. (guess in Japan if you're going broad, you're going BROAD, lol).

It's also possible that the tipping size done by nibs.com were done on older pens, for example the vintage pilots I have run a little larger than the modern ones.