Platinum Pocket Nibs

After Sailor had released the first Japanese pocket pen in 1963 –the Sailor Mini— Platinum soon followed suit with its own line of compact pen.

Pocket pens were very successful and became a workhorse in the lineup of the companies. Platinum, on its side, showed this by implementing a wide variety of nib points in them.

Eight different nibs for a single model. And there might have been some more nib points. Clockwise from top, music, soft fine, fine, sign, manifold, script, medium, and extra fine.

Such is the case on display today—eight different nib points in one single model. And there might have been some more.

The Platinum pocket model. Albeit with minor variations, this model was in the Platinum catalog for about 10 years around 1970.

Out of those, four are labeled in English—music, sign, manifold, script. But how do they write? Are they significantly different to those we usually encounter?

All these five nibs were made between 1967 and 1969. Their points are music, sign, medium, manifuld, and script.

The following writing sample might answer those questions. The medium nib (中字) is shown as reference. All of them, might be worth notice, are quite rigid, and there are no major differences among them in this detail.

Sailor Fude pen – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
August 19th, 2021
etiquetas: Platinum, plumín, plumín musical

From Platinum to Lanbitou

Some time ago I made some comments about the current policy of Platinum focusing on the lower and middle ranges of the market. The recent models Procyon and Curidas, together with the well-known Preppy, do show that policy.

Platinum Curidas.

The problem is that Chinese pen companies are fighting hard for that market, and they do that with much better prices and the occasional shameless copy.

Lanbitou 3088.

The Lanbitou 3088 shows that last case very clearly. It is a blatant copy of the Platinum Curidas for a fraction of its price: about EUR 70 for the Platinum, and about EUR 5 for the Lanbitou. This, on top of the teething problems of the Curidas, are not good news for the Japanese brand.

Signed.

The weak slab in the PR China's production is the distribution of its products. This is based on online channels, but some brand are slowly opening other mechanisms. But in any event, online channels are here to stay, for both Chinese and non-Chinese products, and the business of these channels is only increasing.

Platinum of Lanbitou?

So, what is the future for Platinum and other traditional brands? I have predicted that low and middle priced pens –say up to about EUR 100-- will soon become Chinese. And should Western and Japanese brands survive, they are bound to offer products with a higher added value –exotic materials, lavish decoration, innovative nibs, ...--, and an impeccable quality control.

And all that is not what Platinum is doing now.


My thanks to my friend Antolín, whose pictures are greatly appreciated.

Parker Junior – Diamond Teal

Bruno Taut
July 29th, 2021
etiquetas: Platinum, Lanbitou, mercado, capless

On Ban-ei Nibs (III). Family Portrait

If only for the sake of documenting Ban-ei (挽栄) pens at large, it might be worth to publish a family picture of nibs used on them.

Ban-ei implemented nibs primarily made by nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro (兜木銀次郎), but there were some other units of different origin on them. The following picture shows eight examples, but there might me more.

Starting at 1 and clockwise, there are the nibs:

Eight nibs present on Ban-ei pens.

At 1. Sailor nib. On this case, it is associated to a torpedo pen with maki-e decoration.

At 2. Parley nib, JIS no. 3231 registered by Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho. The pen is a torpedo with black urushi.

At 4. Steady nib, JIS no. 3233. This is one of the brands registered by Kabutogi. Its pen, an Onoto-type already reviewed, might not be a Ban-es strictly speaking—only Sakai and Kabutogi participated in the production.

At 5. Nib engraved with a Japanese text (復刻手造万年筆, fukkoku tezukuri mannenhitsu, reissue hand-made fountain pen). This text appears on nibs implemented on some Danitrio-commissioned pens, and in some other numbered editions. This nib is likely to be equivalent to those singed as GK (see nib at 7).

At 7. GK-signed nib. Present in a variety of pens, included the Visconti Urushi series.

At 8. Kabutogi's nib labeled as 50. This particular unit is engraved with JIS no. 4622, registered to Kabutogi's brand Seilon.

JIS 4622.

At 10. Kabutogi's nib labeled as 60. This unit is also engraved with JIN no. 4622.

At 11. Platinum nib. Present in many of the Danitrio-commissioned series, but not only on those.

The eight pens.

References:
Eizo FUJII. “酒井栄助の万年筆” (Sakai Eisuke no mannenhitsu; The fountain pens of Sakai Eisuke). Shumi-no Bungubaku, 34, p. 120-124 (2015).
A. LAMBROU & M. SUNAMI. Fountain Pens of Japan. Andreas Lambrou Publishers Ltd., 2012.

Arenton no. 3 – unknown blue-black

Bruno Taut
July 3rd, 2021
etiquetas: Ban-ei, plumín, Sakai Eisuke, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro, Platinum, Sailor, Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho, Steady

Japanese Ebonite

In many a pen forum, the Pilot Custom Urushi, marketed initially in 2016, raised a discussion—what is better, a Custom Urushi or a Sailor King of Pen (KoP)?

The answer to that question depends heavily on the market where you were located. In Japan, for instance, the Sailor KoP is in general cheaper than the Custom Urushi, but that is not the case in many other markets.

Custom Urushi or Sailor King Profit Ebonite?

However, I wonder whether those two pens belonged to the same category. Sure they both implement large nibs, but the urushi layer of the Pilot sets it apart and adds some refinement the Sailor lacks both in the plastic and ebonite models. The urushi, in other words, might be enough to justify the higher price of the Custom Urushi in the Japanese market. And, consequently, an even more expensive KoP would necessarily be at loss with respect to the Pilot.

More apt to comparison, in my opinion, are the Sailor King Profit made of ebonite and the Eboya Hakobune XL. Both pens are made of ebonite without any additional coating, both sport size 8 nibs, both are full sized. And both cost around JPY 75000.

Eboya Hakobune XL or Sailor King Profit Ebonite?

Their differences are also clear. The KoP has a plastic section –the same section valid for all KoP models. The Eboya, conversely, is completely made of ebonite.

The weakest element of the Eboya might be the nib—a German-made Bock clearly labeled as such. In exchange, the feed is made of ebonite, which is something that many aficionados appreciate.

Hakobune XL's nib and feed--18 K gold and ebonite.

The problem the buyer might have is the limited distribution of these two models. Sailor seems focused on mode expensive versions of the KoP series of pens, and finding the King Profit in ebonite is very difficult lately. On its side, Eboya's Hakobune XL is not in the regular catalog of the company, and its availability depends on the supply of the Bock 380 system.

Conspicuously absent in this discussion is Platinum. And that because Platinum does not make any nib of a similar size. Platinum's strategy for luxury pens seem based on the decoration and not on the nib.

Platinum Izumo and Nakaya Cigar. Platinum's sense of luxury is associated to the decoration rather than to the nib.

And now, the decision of what to buy is up to everyone of us.

Pilot, Eboya or Sailor? Up to you.

Arenton silver rings – Unknown blue-black ink

Bruno Taut
Nakano, May 13th 2021
etiquetas: Pilot, Platinum, Eboya, Bock, Sailor, plumín, mercado

Curidas (IV). One Year Later

It was about this time last year when the Platinum Curidas became available in the market. It was released after a lot of hype and some delays that made it both desired and scarce during those early weeks of Spring 2020. Now, one year later, what can be said about it?

I have been using intermittently three units-one with each point. My use was not excessive in any moment—they were part of the pens I had inked, and they rarely left my desk.

These are my observations after a year of irregular use:

– The nibs perform correctly. They are smooth, and the ink flow is correct and constant.

Not much difference between the EF and the F nib points. Other than that, pleasant nibs. The problems are somewhere else.

– The retracting mechanism, on the contrary, is far from being acceptable. Out of the three units, only one works smoothly. The other two are very slow at closing the lid when retracting the nib. There are also some reports of nibs becoming dry,  possibly due to a deficient closing of the lid.

– Occasionally, the nibs have become stuck inside the barrel and could only be released by carefully pushing the nib unit from the front –i.e. from the nib point-- backwards. In one case, out of three, the nib unit became stuck every single time I tried to use it. So, it became useless and in need to repair.

So, the conclusions on the Platinum Curidas cannot be positive. The mechanism and the nib unit need further refinement in order to become reliable. In the meantime, the pen is simply not good enough.

Ohashido - Lamy Petrol

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 17th, 2021
etiquetas: Platinum, capless

Spurious Arguments

The last significant iteration of the Platinum 3776 came out in 2011 with the model 3776 Century. This version came with a shorter nib (save in the case of music nibs) and with the slip-and-seal mechanism to prevent the nib from drying up when not in use.

This model has since then been a useful canvas for the all-too-common creation of limited and special editions—the Fuji Lakes, the Nice pens, the Star Wars, the Fuji Seasonal Views...

Variations on a theme.

In 2012, Platinum marketed the pen called Jin-Shin, a limited edition of 300 units,150 for Japan, 150 for the rest of the World; both numbered over 150. As a pen, it is a variation of the 3776 Century, albeit without the slip-and-seal mechanism.

The Jin-Shin of 2012.

The main point of this pen is its maki-e decoration. Its technique is called “sumikoage taka maki-e” and it uses charcoal powder ("sumi") to form a raised surface. This technique has later been used by Platinum in a couple of pens of the Izumo series. The motif depicted on the Jin-Shin is a dragon—“Black Dragon in the Dark”.

Sexy underwear.

To justify this special edition, Platinum tries to make an argument invoking the Chinese astrology and the symbolism associated to the number 29... All in all, poorly explained mumbo jumbo, but repeated almost verbatim by retailers all around the World. However, it does not matter much—any argument is good to create yet another limited edition.

And this pen is beautiful.

Ohashido plain ebonite - Kobe Ginza, Sepia Gold (Sailor)

Bruno Taut
December 31st 2020
etiquetas: Platinum, maki-e

Le charme discret

What's the difference between the following pens?

A Platinum Izumo (top) and a President.

In essence, they are the same pen—a Platinum President with the very characteristic 18 K gold nib. The difference, beyond the factor 3 in price, is the outer layer, the decoration—plastic versus ebonite and urushi.

It is the same case of these other pens—a Platinum 3776 and a Nakaya.

A Nakaya Portable (top) and a Platinum (pre-Century) 3776.

Again, these pens share the essential parts of a pen—nib, feed, filling system. Their prices, however, are a factor 5 apart due solely to the decoration. And to marketing, of course.

Is urushi and its labor that expensive? In any event, we live in a free market and the price is marked by the seller and decided by the buyer. At least on commodities like pens.

Still life with natsume (棗).

And urushi has a subtle but undeniable charm. Paraphrasing maestro Buñuel, le charme discret de l'urushi.

Parker 61 Flighter – Unknown blue-black.

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 28th, 2020
etiquetas: Platinum, mercado

Platinum 25G

We have seen how Pilot's strategy re anniversary pens has often been an experimental model that later became part of the general catalog. Some significant examples were the Pilot 65, the Pilot 75, and the Pilot Shijin (80th anniversary).

On its side, Platinum seems focused on releasing the model 3776 over and over again, including those made for celebratory occasions. That was the case in 2019 and the pen named “The Prime”. It is a Sterling silver pen under which find a 3776 Century.

Platinum's The Prime. Platinum's 10th anniversary pen.

.
In 2009, Platinum reached its 90th anniversary and released the pen “25G” to celebrate it.

The Platinum 25G.

The 25G was a limited edition of 1000 numbered units. The body is made of aluminum and carbon fiber (manufactured by Toray Industries) and aluminum. The result, according to Platinum, is a light pen at 25 grams. On the unit I am presenting today those theoretical 25 grams become 28.3 g including a dry converter. In the same conditions, the regular 3776 is 22.3 g; the modern 3776 Century, 24.6 g; and the Platinum President, 25.3 g.

The 25G and the 3776 of the time. Paradoxically, the regular 3776 is lighter than the carbon fiber model.

The most unusual feature of the 25G is, however, its shape. It does depart from most pen designs in the market making it quite unique.

The filling system of this pen is through cartridges and converters, as is customary in all modern Platinum pens. The nib is a pre-Century 3776 unit made of 18 K gold. It came with three different nib points—F, M, and B. The nib engraving is special for the occasion—two circles, one of which is a recreation of the old globe logo of the company; and on the other we can read “PLATINUM 90”.

The nib is the same as in the 3776 model of the time, but in 18 K Au.

The insides of the 25G.

The old logo is also imprinted on the cap finial together with the text “The 90th Anniversary”. The barrel end, also metallic, carries the inscription “JAPAN” and the pen number within the limited edition.

The pen ends.

These are the dimensions of the pen:

Length closed: 146 mm
Length open: 125 mm
Length posted: 156 mm
Diameter: 16.2 mm
Weight: 28.3 g (with converter, dry)
Ink deposit: 1.1 ml (cartridge) / 0.6 ml (converter)

The selling price was originally JPY 100,000, plus tax. It seems it was not particularly popular at the time, and remained in the shelves of stationers for quite some time. Lately,a number of unused units have shown up at some second hand shops in Tokyo (at least) for much less than that original price.

All in all, an interesting pen even though it might be little else than an overpriced 3776 in a fancy costume.

Omas 556 – Kobe Ginza Gold Sepia

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 16th 2020
etiquetas: Platinum