(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
The Platinum Procyon is an aluminum fountain pen with a matte finish. It is packaged in a black box and comes with one blue cartridge but no converter. My pen also came with three special “commemorative colors:” aqua emerald, dark violet, and gold ochre. These are mixable colors, but I’m not sure how you’re supposed to mix ink that comes in cartridges. Regardless, the commemorative colors will be available only while supplies last.
The screw-on cap is adorned with a chrome clip and band. “Procyon” and “Platinum Made in Japan” are printed on the cap in silver lettering.
Although the cap and barrel are made of aluminum, the grip is a smoky black, semi-transparent plastic. I like the plastic grip because my fingers don’t slip as easily.
The fine stainless steel nib is quite plain--no scrollwork or fancy styling. There’s only a letter “P” and the nib size on the face of the nib. It looks very similar to the nib that comes on the $4.00 Platinum Preppy.
As is typical of Japanese nibs, the fine writes more like an extra fine. So, if you prefer a Western-size fine, you’ll want to order a medium. The nib is smooth-ish, but because it is so fine, it sometimes catches the paper on upstrokes. It’s also rather noisy, which surprised me. I don’t know if the aluminum barrel conducts the sound or if it’s just a characteristic of this steel nib, but the scritch-scratching of my writing was quite noticeable. Usually, I enjoy the sounds of a nib on paper, but this was actually rather distracting.
The pen is medium sized, measuring 5.5 inches/140mm capped, 4.7 inches/119mm uncapped, and 6.1 inches/155mm posted. Overall it weighs 24 grams, but uncapped it weighs only 13 grams. Posting is certainly possible, but because the cap alone weighs 11 grams, it throws the balance off considerably. The grip is a very useable size (10.3mm)--not too skinny or too fat.
You can get the Procyon in several different colors: Deep Sea (a dark navy blue), Turquoise, Persimmon Orange (a muted orange), Porcelain White, and Citron Yellow. I thought I saw a photo of a matte black Procyon, maybe on Instagram, but I can’t find any references to one on the Internet.
The Platinum Procyon costs $53 at JetPens, which I think is a little overpriced, especially since it does not come with a converter and the nib is so basic. But, if you want a stylish pen with good heft, a screw-on cap, and a simple steel nib, the Procyon might be a good fit for you. I suggest adding a Platinum converter ($8.25) to your cart so you can use bottled ink with it.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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