Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Platinum 3776 Century with Music Nib: A Review

(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 3776 Century music nib is a 14K nib with three tines instead of the usual two. Music nibs were originally created for composing music, so the nib creates the fat part of the notes and turned vertically, the stems. See this article on Richard's Pens for an in-depth discussion. Music nibs can also be used for general writing, offering a wide line with some variation.

The four big Japanese companies that make music nibs are Nakaya, Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum. Sailor's music nibs are unusual in that they only have two tines, so some do not consider them authentic music nibs. Nakaya and Platinum's music nibs are almost identical except for branding. If you want to try a music nib, but don't want to pay a premium price, Platinum is the way to go. Pilot also offers a relatively inexpensive music nib on its custom 912 model.

The pen I'm reviewing is the plain black Platinum 3776, but now you can get Platinum's music nib on the fancier 3776 Century models in Chartres Blue or Bourgogne. The black pen itself is unremarkable–it is made of plain plastic with gold trim.

The larger band around the cap is engraved "Platinum Made in Japan 3776."

The pen is a cartridge/converter filler. The converter works well, but holds only 0.5 ml of ink, and the music nib puts out a lot of ink.

The nib is, of course, the heart of this pen. It is engraved with the usual 3776 design. The gorgeous fat nib and two tines are what make it stand out.

Unlike other, finer Platinum nibs, the music nib has no spring to it at all, and it definitely has no flex. But, it writes an exceptionally smooth, fat line.

There's not much of a difference when you compare writing with the Platinum music nib and Nakaya's music nib.

But, I had John Mottishaw add flex to my Nakaya music nib, and you can see the extra line variation when I apply pressure to the Nakaya nib. That added flex also makes the Nakaya nib write more softly than the Platinum. Still, the Nakaya doesn't come close to the flex of a vintage music nib (oh, for a Waterman music nib!)

You can purchase the plain black Platinum 3776 with a music nib at Pen Heaven (UK) for $193.23.

Pros

The Platinum black 3776 Century with a music nib is reasonably priced.
The 18K nib is essentially the same nib as the much more expensive Nakaya music nib.
The music nib writes a smooth, broad line with good variation.

Cons

The pen itself is unremarkable. If I were to purchase a Platinum with a music nib, I would get the more colorful Chartres Blue or Bourgogne.
The cartridge/converter system is fine, but because the music nib requires a lot of ink, expect to refill more often.
The Platinum music nib is stiff and offers no flex or spring.

(This pen was provided for review at no charge by Pen Heaven.)

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Susan Pigott and filed under Pen Reviews, Platinum, Fountain Pens.

Massdrop Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen Custom Edition

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Retro 51 Tornado fountain pen isn't new, but this Massdrop Custom Edition features a killer body design that you won't find anywhere else.

Look and feel

The Massdrop Custom Edition Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen has a striking aesthetic that I happen to find very attractive. I love the herringbone design. The pattern also gives the pen a textured feel, which is nice. Of course, it also includes the signature Retro 51 Tornado trademarks, like the knurled top, labeled band, and clip. This pen screams Retro 51 Tornado, but it's different enough that you won't mistake it for one — it's obviously a fountain pen.

The weight was surprising to me. When you look at the pen, it looks like a completely metal pen. When you pick it up, it weighs less than you'd expect. And, it feels like a third (or maybe even a half) of the weight is taken up in the cap alone. Once you remove the cap, the pen has a very pleasant weight for writing.

Posting this pen can be problematic. For one, it never really feels completely secure. When writing, it feels as though it might slip off at any moment. The other problem, for me at least, is that the pen is way too long for comfortable writing. If you insist on posting your pens, this one isn't for you. For me, I typically always prefer writing without posting, so it fits right in with my existing habits.

Along with the "Retro 51 Tornado" label on the cap band, there's also a three digit number from the limited Massdrop run. This makes the pen collectible as it was a limited edition and each pen was numbered. I'm not sure if Massdrop will ever run this pen again, so it's nice to know where this one stands in the full run.

The clip is very strong, but is designed with a dramatic slope at the end, which makes it easy to slip onto denim pockets, bag slots, and other thicker fabrics. Given the strength of the clip, I'm not worried about the pen slipping out under normal circumstances.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the grip on this pen, as it's made of a light-weight plastic and tends to get slippery when in use. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the grip needs to be metal, but I would say it could use a heavier-weight plastic. It just doesn't feel great, and it detracts a bit from the overall writing experience.

Another downside for me is the feel of the threads on the pen cap. I've noticed that it's incredibly easy to mis-thread the cap when closing the pen. I'm not sure why this is, but I've found it irritating on several occasions. Once you find the correct thread, it screws on very easily. It's just a matter of finding that thread over the other "wrong" threads. It's not the most intuitive thing.

The nib is a Schmidt nib, and it's one of the bigger ones. Given the size of the rest of the pen, the size of the nib fits perfectly. The pen is a cartridge/converter filler, but only a couple of cartridges are included with the pen. Another perk of the size of the pen is that you can fit two international short cartridges in the pen — one to use now, and another spare.

One of my favorite features of the pen, besides the pattern on the body, is the brushed "jewel" on the top of the pen cap. Like all Tornados, this one has a matching jewel, and I love the way it looks in relation to the high-contrast herringbone pattern on the body.

Writing performance

So how does this Schmidt nib do when writing? It does well in most senses.

The particular nib on my pen needed some adjustment before it was ready to go. One of the tines was misaligned, so that was an easy fix. Still, the nib can be a tad scratchy and the "sweet spot" is relatively small. This isn't a huge deal, and it's something I've come to expect with most fountain pens under the $150 range (that don't have "Pilot" in the name...). Despite the sometimes-scratchy nature of the nib, it's an excellent writer.

The flow from this nib is among the best I've used. There's never an issue with starting or skipping, no matter how long it's been stored. It doesn't matter how quickly you write, or how broad and elaborate your strokes are, this nib and feed can keep up with the demand.

It's a steel nib, so there's not much flex or shading, but it can flex a small amount with enough pressure. Even for a steel nib, it's very stiff. I would attribute this to the sheer size of the nib — that's a lot of steel.

It's a great writer despite the scratchy feel it sometimes exhibits. I've used several Schmidt nibs in the past, and this one doesn't disappoint.

Conclusion

The custom edition Retro 51 Tornado by Massdrop is a visually stunning pen made a respected brand — there's a lot to like. Given the nature of Massdrop, they might not go on sale again, but there's always the used market if you're so inclined. And, the ability to stow an extra cartridge in the body of the pen adds a cool factor to this pen that none of my other pens can claim. If you like herringbone patterns, this is a beautiful pen.

(Massdrop provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews, Retro 51.

The Omas Ogiva Cocktail Vodka Yellow Limited Edition Fountain Pen: A Review

When I first saw pictures of the new Omas Ogiva Cocktail limited edition pens, I wanted one so badly. I seriously considered buying the yellow or blue version, but I simply did not have the money. Plus, I purchased one of last year's limited edition Albas in green with an EF extra flessibile nib, and I couldn't see the need for another pen just like it in a different color.

But, Kenro Industries sent the Pen Addict some pens to review, and happily, one of them was a Cocktail in Vodka Yellow with a 14K broad nib. I love my extra flessibile nib, but I was interested to see how the non-flexible broad wrote.

The Omas Ogiva Cocktail limited edition fountain pen is a cigar-shaped piston filler. All three colors (Vodka Yellow, Blue Angel, and Bloody Mary) are semi-transparent, but, obviously, the yellow is the most transparent of the three. The yellow color is rich and in sunlight the faceted surface of the cotton resin sparkles.

The pen has rhodium colored trim. The clip is Omas's usual style with a cylinder to assist in clipping the pen to a pocket or papers.

The band on the cap is engraved with the beautiful Greek key design as is the band at the top of the grip. The only other adornment is a thin silver ring at the piston end.

The nib is large and luscious. It has arrow engravings, the Omas name, and the gold content on top. The nib size is engraved on the side.

Omas nibs (at least the ones I've tried) tend to be very wet. That is definitely true for this nib. It never skips or has hard starts, but it lays down a thick, wet line.

Unlike the extra flessibile nibs, the broad nib has no flex. The difference is that the broad nib writes a consistently thick line whereas the extra flessibile nib offers variation from EF to B.

If I were to purchase an Omas with a broad nib, I would probably have it ground to a smooth italic and tone the wetness down just a bit. Still, I'd rather have a too-wet nib than one that stutters and is stingy with ink.

This pen is large, comparable to a MB 149 but lighter and not quite as thick. It is 5.75 inches in length, capped; 6.875 inches posted; and 5.06 inches unposted. It is light in the hand (21 grams) thanks to the cotton resin material. I find it very comfortable to write with.

I love being able to see the inner workings of demonstrator pens. But that leads to one negative. The piston seal on this pen allowed ink to seep in between the sides of the seal and the pen body. It is quite noticeable because of the light color of the pen.

I checked my green Omas for similar leaks, but it has a tight seal. So, the defect might be limited to this particular pen. I don't think there's any way to remove the piston for cleaning, unfortunately.

All in all, I love the Ogiva pens Omas is producing. I am sorely tempted to buy the Blue Angel (because: BLUE), but I'm sort of hoping that next year Omas will do a light turquoise version like the vintage Omas 360.

The Omas Ogiva Cocktail pen retails for around $395.00. It comes packaged in a sturdy Omas box with a suede-like sleeve for the pen. These are limited edition pens, so once they are all sold, there will be no more.