3 Attachment(s)
Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Hello,
I've found a local seller letting go a couple Platinum vintage pens, mostly the mini's but I really can't find much on google, except that it is a similar to the Pilot mini's elite etc.
Anyone has any experience with this? The seller says the nibs are alright but have not tested/opened for years. Are these gold plated? How does it write? I would be able to get slight line variation without much effor on the 14K or 18K?
They are about 30USD shipped.
Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Attachment 52908Attachment 52909Attachment 52910
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
You can't see the nibs clearly on those, but if they say 18K or 14K on them they are gold, not plated. There are Pilot, Platinum and Sailor versions, as well as unnamed ones. I wouldn't expect a great deal of line variation - maybe a little bounce or softness. (I have a Sailor 18K pocket pen and it is definitely softer than modern Sailors - also several others but I haven't inked the other ones yet!).
Just checking, I have two Platinums (neither exactly that model) - one has a smaller nib than that and is a nail, the other is one of the silver ones with bouquets of flowers on it and has a bit of give. Nib on the second looks like the same shape as those, but that doesn't necessarily tell you anything.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
When I've seen them available, Pilot Elite pens like these in your pics usually have gold nibs and as Voiren says, if they are marked as 14K or 218K then they are gold not plated nibs. Yes they are firm nibs, so not much flex, but still a good price if you can get them for $30.
You could try doing an ebay search for Pilot Elite fountain pen and see if you can find some more images and examples on there. I wasn't aware that there was a specific mini version of the Elite. It's called a pocket pen because it's small with a long cap. When you post the cap you get a long pen. :)
I've been looking for one for quite some time but they usually have F or EF nibs and I want something much broader.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Thanks Voiren!
Chrissy, those are Platinum, not Pilot hehe! They really look a lot like it.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MRusso
Thanks Voiren!
Chrissy, those are Platinum, not Pilot hehe! They really look a lot like it.
Oh are they? They really look very similar to each other.:)
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
They're all very similar. I don't know who started but that style really took off in Japan. I picked up one or two recently. Lovely nibs if you like firm.
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Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Deb
They're all very similar. I don't know who started but that style really took off in Japan. I picked up one or two recently. Lovely nibs if you like firm.
The platinums?
I was looking to get some slight line variations that I can get with my dip pen with G-Nib without much effort as you can see the image attached. Am I looking at the wrong pens?
Attachment 52917
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
I meant that the Platinum and Pilot long/short pocket pens all look quite similar.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MRusso
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Deb
They're all very similar. I don't know who started but that style really took off in Japan. I picked up one or two recently. Lovely nibs if you like firm.
The platinums?
I was looking to get some slight line variations that I can get with my dip pen with G-Nib without much effort as you can see the image attached. Am I looking at the wrong pens?
Those Platinum pens wouldn't be my go to pens of choice for line variation.
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Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
I took some photos of mine, because I'd already got them out to look at the Platinums...
Attachment 52920
From left: two Sailors, two Platinums, a Pilot and an unnamed.
Attachment 52921Attachment 52922
Nibs. The bottom left Sailor is the one I've been using. The Sailor logo and 18K are on the sides of the nib rather than the top. The unnamed three-tine music nib doesn't say anything on the visible part. From the side view you can see that the bigger Platinum (bottom right) has a really flat feed and side profile.
Attachment 52923
My inked Sailor and the quickly-dipped larger Platinum. The heavy text is not *too* heavy-handed, but is deliberate. The ink's darkened over time in my Sailor, and that is writing wetter too.
Attachment 52924Attachment 52925
I went ahead and dipped the music nib too! It does flex, but tends to railroad if you go for maximum line variation in one stroke. It is a shallow oblique as well, so works better with a little rotation.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
A music nib in a pocket pen - I had no idea such a thing was, well, a thing. Why is there no drooling smilie when you need one?
Can't help with the original question, I fear. My only pocket pen experience is with a Pilot example with a plated nib; I believe the word is they were made in Korea.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
great collection, thanks very much. I see that the sailor 18K seems to give a more interesting writing.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MRusso
great collection, thanks very much. I see that the sailor 18K seems to give a more interesting writing.
Every nib can flex at least once, but doesn't mean it was intended for it. The 14K and 18K nibs don't inherently have the ability to do so (and return to it's unflex shape without damage). Also every nib may differ I've had a Platinum Pocket pen that had a 14K nib that was a bit on the springy side, I wouldn't have ever considered it flex or capable of line variation in regular practice, just had a bouncy feeling (like many of the 'soft' nibs out there, not intended for flex writing to that degree).
But then the exact same model of pen, that just happened to be in a different color has a rather firm fine nib.
https://i.imgur.com/YocRdsl.jpg
Sometimes they'll have inscriptions to define them as being 'soft' like the platinum on the bottom I think (I'm not too familiar with the Kanji).
https://i.imgur.com/9H6zhql.jpg
Others will be a bit more obvious such as this 18K "Soft" nib.
http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/...ni/nib_top.jpg
But just the same, the 18K Nib can also be firm as a nail such as this 18K "Posting" nib.
https://i.imgur.com/lL1Lq0S.jpg
The nibs on some may be softer feeling, but definitely not intended for line variation and can damage the nib if you keep going at it heavy for that purpose. The softs at best are good for a single size up (which isn't much visually) when jotting down similar to a number of bouncy semi-flex.
Probably the only one I would say gets closer to a semi-flex in ease, that seems to a little more dramatic (and was for a tiny bit of shaded writing, but not the line variation that many people expect now days) would be the "Falcon" nibs that are labeled "FA" now :
https://i.imgur.com/3Rby6eV.jpg
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
grainweevil
I fear. My only pocket pen experience is with a Pilot example with a plated nib; I believe the word is they were made in Korea.
Probably that small "Elite" that SpeerBob on eBay was selling for quite a while with the Steel EF. And yes they were made in Korea, likely 70s or 80s.
https://i.imgur.com/Imnky71.png
Compared to a Japan made Elite of the time :
http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/...are_posted.jpg
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
I have one of those NOS pens from speerbob (he is still selling them). The nib feels amazingly soft and springy like my Sheaffer Balance Junior (which is 14k gold). I was sure the Elite nib was gold. I'm completely gobsmacked that it is steel.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
Quote:
Originally Posted by
grainweevil
I fear. My only pocket pen experience is with a Pilot example with a plated nib; I believe the word is they were made in Korea.
Probably that small "Elite" that SpeerBob on eBay was selling for quite a while with the Steel EF. And yes they were made in Korea, likely 70s or 80s.
Very likely. I acquired it pre-loved, so can't say if it came via SpeerBob, but (once I'd finally found it) it does look identical. It's a very good little pen.
Re: Info on Platinum mini 60's or 70's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MRusso
great collection, thanks very much. I see that the sailor 18K seems to give a more interesting writing.
[snip]
Sometimes they'll have inscriptions to define them as being 'soft' like the platinum on the bottom I think (I'm not too familiar with the Kanji).
https://i.imgur.com/9H6zhql.jpg
The kanji in question does indeed mean soft.
