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.

Fountain Pens for Daily Use

I recently starting collecting fountain pens this past summer and fell in love with them. This compelled me to convert all my school stationery to become more fountain pen friendly, with the idea that I could use fountain pens to take notes in class.

On the first day of lecture in my physics class, I tried it out and decided that I should really just stick to using gel pens to take notes. I had the following problems: the doesn't dry fast enough making the ink smear, the ink is too water soluble, and I just feel really pretentious (and I just get distracted by my pen and start writing random things). It seems that all the problems are down to the ink, as I am basically using Private Reserve Velvet Black, but I'm really afraid of loading other types of ink into my fountain pens, and the safest inks seem to have similar problems. 

The mild sadness that is seen through my physics notes on a side-staple bound ~A5 Rhodia notebook. (Areas circled in red = problems which include smudging and distraction.)

Now, it's really difficult for me to find time to use or take care of my fountain pens. I've basically emptied them all and then now only dip whenever I feel the need to use them.

I'm wondering, how do you find time to use fountain pens? And if you use them daily, how often do you use them and in what situations do you use them in? 

Review: Pilot Penmanship Fountain Pen

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

It's not easy to find a budget fountain pen with a very fine nib, so I was eager to receive the Pilot Penmanship despite some inconsistent reviews.  Besides, it's a cute pen, and comes in transparent as well!

I was worried there would be no flex to the nib, but there's a little - enough to make me happy.   The demo above shows the effect of pressing harder towards the middle of the line.  On a toothy paper a feather light touch is possible.

The nib is acceptably smooth on the paper, not buttery but not bad (see addendum, however). The line is very fine - comparable to the Pilot Hi-Tec-C .4!

The ink included with the pen is not waterproof, which limited its usefulness for me.  Some folks report using this pen as an eyedropper, lining the threads with silicone and filling the body with ink.  I was very nervous to do this - I travel with these pens and would not be able to relax with that much ink in my handbag! - so ordered the converter cartridge.

The cartridge is nothing special.  It only wants to get about 70% full and doesn't feel as sturdy and well-made as the Lamy converter. Ah well, it does the job.  After filling the cartridge with Noodler's Bulletproof, this pen became a really great, useful option that I often use when out sketching.

I am now enjoying this pen a lot. However, be aware that the pen might not behave optimally when you first receive it!

My Pilot Penmanship Adventure

Upon receiving the pen, I washed the tip and attached the disposable ink cartridge. Immediately it was apparent that the nib was exceedingly scratchy against paper - really unpleasant. Oh no!  Based on online reviews, it seems like maybe this pen is a gamble - that some people receive a perfect nib, and others don't.  Was I one of the unfortunates?

But wait.  When I tried to use it anyway, it became apparent that something worse was wrong.  The ink wasn't flowing.  The darkest it would get was a middle gray.  I covered several pages with scribble and it didn't improve.

Next steps.  I took out the cartridge and re-attached it.  No go.  Washed it again.  No go.

Since it was scratchy AND not flowing, maybe the tines were misaligned? Following advice online, I inserted a straight razor between the two tines to help straighten them out and ensure they weren't pressed together.  No go - the problems remained.

Then I remembered that my old Rotring calligraphy pens came with an "Arkansas Stone" and "buffering leather" intended to help adjust the nibs.  Well I don't know anything about adjusting nibs but you can't ruin something that's already broke, right?

I carefully slid the pen across the stone several times held at the angle with which I draw, then across the buffering leather at the same angle.  It seemed to make the nib write more smoothly, but STILL the ink wasn't flowing! 

I took the cartridge out again, this time poking around at the plastic.  

Voila - it worked.  All this labor, and it turned out to be a problem with the cartridge.  I've never heard of this happening, so maybe it's a one-in-a-million glitch.  However, there are a fair number of reports of scratchy nibs on the Pilot Penmanship.  They are obviously inconsistent.  I feel lucky that my novice efforts with the sharpening tools improved the nib instead of destroying it.

So this pen is a gamble, and there's no way to know what the chances are.  One thing for sure - your chances are better if you're willing to mess with the nib.  In reward for my labor I got a great pen that is already in active use, and I'm excited to start using it with different ink colors.

More drawings sketched with the Pilot Penmanship...