The Pen Addict

Platinum OLEeNu Lead Breakage Prevention Mechanical Pencil Review

Aside from the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga, there haven’t been any great strides made in pencil technology over the past several years. That is not a bad thing. Pencils - mechanical included - are some of the most traditional writing instruments around, and it is difficult to change an almost perfect tool.

The Platinum OLEeNu attempts to bring something new to the table with its lead breakage prevention mechanism. This is not a world changing advancement in technology, but I will say it works as intended and is a nice feature.

When I started the written review, I was writing with standard pressure and at a standard pace. If you look closely at the page, you can see the gradient variation when I started pressing down really hard to see if I could get the lead to break, and I couldn’t. Now, I didn’t get violent with it, but you can see how hard I was pressing by how dark the lead is.

That is the major feature of the Platinum OLEeNu, and it works well. What I don’t like about this pencil is the barrel design, specifically the clip. Like most of you, I rotate all non-Kuru Toga pencils in my hand as I write to keep a sharp point on the lead, and the extra large clip gets in the way of my rotation. Not a deal breaker - more of an annoyance. The grip area wasn’t my favorite either - it is best described as funky. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I don’t love it.

In lieu of posting all of the technical details here, check out the specs and photos on the JetPens product page. There are some great photos and descriptions of how this pencil works.

Review: Platinum Japanese Art Pocket Brush Pen

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

The Platinum Pocket Brush Pen is in the family of brush pens that aren't actually brush pens.  Instead of individual bristles, these pens have a single molded tip that mimics the silouette of a brush but doesn't fan out against the paper the way a true brush would.  Something about this design makes for a very diverse assortment of products!  These false brush tips can be wet or dry, sturdy or fragile, floppy or stiff - it's a minefield and a treasure trove out there, with each pen feeling very different from the next when you get it in your hand.  

(A few examples, top to bottom: Copic Multiliner brush, Uniball brush, Pilot brush, Platinum brush)

The Platinum brush stands out visually due to the gold flowers stamped onto the barrel and a sparkly gray clip (that likes to come off in your hand when you try to remove the cap).   It looks and feels a bit cheap - but it is cheap, at $3.  

This pen gives a thick line in comparison to the others. You can get a fine line out of it here or there if you're careful, but it takes some effort and goes against the pen's wishes.  

Among the various brush pen options, the Platinum Carbon does have a unique set of characteristics: it is waterproof,  fairly dark, and has decent flow. The other options are either not waterproof (the Uniball and Pilot brushes), don't provide a large wet line (Tombow), or aren't as dark or smooth (Copic).

The nearest equivalent to this Platinum Pen is the Copic.  If you like Copic brushes in general, I'd say there's not a lot of cause to try the Platinum unless the slightly darker ink is a big advantage to you.  Personally I haven't had a lot of luck with Copic brush lines, and actually prefer the Platinum brush to work with even though it's cheap and kind of stubby-tipped.

 

 

 I won't lie to you - I don't love this pen.  I prefer to be able to get a finer line, and if I'm going bold I prefer the feel of the Uniball brush even though it's not waterproof.  However, if you are looking for a moderately wet-writing disposable pen with a waterproof line for the purpose of doing bold sketching, this Platinum brush is certainly worth $3 to try!  

 

 

 

Platinum Double 3 Action Transparent Body Multi Pen + Pencil Review

I am a sucker for transparent barrels, and this Platinum Double 3 Action multi pen is just fantastic looking. The entire line is new at JetPens, and comes in Aqua, Crystal, Gloss Rouge, Lavender Purple, and the Fresh Leaf body that I picked up. Platinum does a very nice job with the look and feel of their pens, and this one is no different.

While looks are important, it is the writing performance that keeps you coming back to the pen on a daily basis. This model comes with both black and red 0.7mm ballpoint ink cartridges, and I have to say, these are the smoothest traditional ballpoint pens that I have used recently. It takes little to no effort to pull the pen across the page, leaving a nice, consistent line. Both ink colors are dark enough too, which is sometimes an issue with ballpoint pens.

The pencil is your average 0.7mm mechanical pencil, so it writes just fine. What I do like about the added pencil is that the eraser is under a screw cap and is decently wide - both things not always found on +1 multi pens. So its got that going for it, which is nice.

While I personally will still use my gel ink multi pens more than this one, the Platinum Double 3 Action does a lot of things well and will certainly find its way into many ballpoint multi pen fans hands.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil

I have had this review in the hopper for the longest time (uploaded the image to Flickr on 9/14/2010), but I am just now finally getting around to typing it up.  Why?  Who knows.  The Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil has a lot going for it - besides a long name - but I have found that it is not for me.

The thing that attracted me most to this pen was the fact that the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slims refills fit perfectly into the Platinum body, making this one of the fancier Hi-Tec-C multi pens around.  The barrel is exceptionally well designed, with a sleek gunmetal body and sharp chrome accents.  The cartridge switching mechanism is interesting in the fact that a single button press exposes the cartridge you want.  All you have to do is face the text of the ink color you want towards you, press the button, and bingo!  Out pops your ink or lead.

I have never been able to get used to it though.  I felt the overall package was a little lighter feeling than I expected, plus the switching mechanism caused some rattling when writing.  Not terrible, but enough to notice.  In the end, I haven't gotten much use out of it.  Maybe it is time to take the Slims refills back out and use them for something else.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen - Super Fine

The Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen in it's brand new packaging glory.

After becoming obsessed with Esterbrooks, I've felt a need to acquire an Esterbrook desk pen set. I really wanted to try out desk pens and see if I could really use it daily. While this never happened, I got a Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen instead. This pen is particular in that it comes with a cartridge of carbon ink, which is waterproof.

The pretty gold-plated stainless steel nib of the fountain pen. It has the signature Platinum "P" logo.

The Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen writes as smoothly as a fountain pen should and solidly. It has a 14K platinum nib and takes ink with cartridges. After the ink empties, I'm pretty sure you can just take a syringe and fill it up perhaps. What's interesting about the cartridge though is that it is stopped by a metal bead which plugs the whole of where the ink comes out. Just stick the cartridge in the pen, push with some force, and then the bead is dislodged and the ink is flowing. The pen feels very nice in my hand and looks very elegant with its elongated body. The cap feels a bit cheaper, but this doesn't mean that it not good quality. I guess it is because it comes with a stand to put the desk pen in, but I did not buy it and felt that the cap was sufficient for me.

The fountain pen tested on Clairefontaine 90g paper.

I found that I really loved the carbon ink! It's waterproof and it dries reasonably fast compared to the majority of fountain ink pens. However, this carbon ink is lighter in pigment and is more so a dark grey than black. And also, because it is carbon ink, it is not suitable for all types of fountain pens and may clog up some of the finer more delicate ones (or so I have heard). 

However, I found that I cannot ever posses a desk pen. In the beginning, I was able to use it daily and it was nice. Yet, as time went by and I became swamped with school things, I used it less and less.. and it made a big mess as the ink pooled to the bottom since I heard that a desk pen has to be stored pointed down.

Another view of the Carbon Ink Pen and the cartridge it comes with.

In conclusion, I found that this pen is not for me. At all. I've realized that I really do need portability for me to actually use pens (daily), especially since I am not always at my desk. But, the carbon ink is really interesting and some people may be able to find good uses for it, particularly artsy folk who like to deal with watercolors and other watery things. I'm highly considering buying a bottle of Platinum carbon ink and loading it up a fountain pen, if I find the correct fountain pen to use it with.

The Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen can be found for a mere 12$ at Jetpens.com! A fairly great price. (But it appears to be sold out currently). The accompanying stand can be found for 18$, and a bottle of carbon ink can be found for $22.50 - both at Jetpens.com.