Pairings Party: Nahvalur Original Plus Powder Blue, Wearingeul Undine

Even if I’ve reviewed a product before, I like to return to it every few years if the company keeps it in the lineup. It doesn’t have to be changed much, if at all, but I do want to see if anything is different as the product matures. And let’s be clear, I’m a simple man. I see fun colors, I’m interested.

That’s the case with the Nahvalur Original Plus in Powder Blue. It caught me by surprise in 2023 with how nice it was, and it has continued to be one of the best mid-range, bang-for-your-buck, pens going.

In testing the Powder Blue Original Plus, it performs exactly as my first one in Matria White. That’s a good thing. The only difference is that I chose the 1.1 mm nib for the new model, as opposed to the Fine nib in the … original.

Outside of color and nib, the Original Plus is known for using a vacuum filling mechanism. That’s not something often seen at this price point, and it works great. Filling is easy, it seals off well when not in use, and cleaning is a breeze because you can unscrew the grip section and run water through the barrel.

Nahvalur releases new colors of the Original (Piston-filler,) and Original Plus two or three times a year, including the just launched full color Original in translucent and opaque barrel models at the Washington D.C. Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW this past weekend. I still prefer the clear barrel/color cap and finial style, but all of them look great.

When choosing an ink for Powder Blue, my default choice would normally be Pink, but I went more matchy-matchy with Wearingeul Undine. I’m not sure of the story behind the ink, and reading the product description I’m not sure I want to, but wow is this a nice color. It’s a bit of a dual shader, with a colorful Turquoise/Teal combo (is that a thing?) with a lot of Pink/Purple shading. It flows great from the 1.1 mm nib.

Recommending both of these products is easy. In thinking about the Original Plus, it is a $63 pen (with some sale options at $47,) and I think that is fair for what you get in this market. As I was thinking about it in the context of other pens in this price range, would I choose the Original Plus, or the Pilot Prera?

As a bonafide Pilot stan, I think it’s a coin flip. The Prera has a better nib, and the Original Plus has a better filling system. Both come in fun colors, and should hold up as well as plastic barrel pens can.

Where would you rank the Original Plus versus the Prera, or the TWSBI ECO or 580? It’s right there in the mix for me, and I’m glad to have another solid option in this range.

(These products were purchased from Dromgoole’s and Goldspot, respectively, at a discounted price.)

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BENU Tessera Black Amber Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

When I think of BENU, I think of bright colors, glitz, glam, sparkle, and pizzazz. The Lisa Frank of pens. So I did a double-take when this elegant writing instrument crossed my screen. We've still got the glitter--always the glitter!--but it's tempered by a formal, almost minimal (for BENU) black resin and gold accents. It's like a grown-up version of BENU and I like it just as much as I like the glowing neon they're known for.

The Tessera line from BENU is so called because of the textured grid pattern that mimics the tesserae of ancient mosaics. It's particularly striking in this smoky acrylic as each facet catches the light. The surface has a matte texture, while the cut-ins are polished, which accents its unique finish. The finial, cap band, and grip section are all in an amber colored clear resin that is loaded with sparkling gold flakes that make the material look like enchanted Amber. There are gold rings that separate the amber from the black. The clip and nib are also gold plated. The overall effect is very refined and formal.

The cap screws on to threads on the grip section. The threads can be felt when holding the pen, but they aren't sharp or uncomfortable and the grip tapers and flares so that it's comfortable to hold. The cap does post, but makes the pen a bit back-heavy in my opinion. Though overall, it's a very light pen.

It takes standard international ink cartridges or a converter, and it comes with one. And like every BENU pen I've ever used, it writes like butter. It has a fine point and writes so smoothly that I never want to put it down. This pen is classy, elegant, and a joy to write with. If you've been curious about BENU pens but felt that their usual vibe is a little too loud for you, I'd check out this line. There's one that is all black, if you want something even more minimal. And of course there's also bright purple, if you want to go full BENU.

The BENU Tessera Black Amber sells for $205, which is slightly more than some of their other offerings, but not by much. And it's much less than other highly designed resin pens. I think the price is about what I'd expect from a nice steel-nib pen, and BENU pens are high on my list of favorite brands.

(This product was purchased from Goldspot at a discounted price.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Platinum 3776 - Ranking the Nibs

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Midway through doing the nib comparisons for the Pilot 74, and well after testing the Custom Heritage 912, and the Custom 743, it finally dawned on me that I should also do this for the Platinum 3776. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me sooner since I love this model so much. I also have all the nib sizes, BUT several of them had been altered either with grinds (where I got the nib second hand), or other modifications, like stacked nibs. Thankfully, Bryce Gillett of Luxury Brands of America was more than happy to send along a tester set for this review!

There is room for 10 Platinum 3776 in this box. This is how pens are shipped to distributors, who are then responsible for getting them set up in retail boxes, along with converters, warranty cards, etc.

There are currently 8 nibs options available in production. They range from UEF (Ultra Extra Fine) to Music.

The Platinum 3776 is available in the following 8 nib options: Ultra Extra Fine (UEF), Extra Fine, Fine, Soft Fine, Medium, Broad, Coarse (aka Double Broad), and Music. Unlike Pilot, which has both a Double Broad and a Coarse (which is even broader), Platinum only has the Coarse. In the past, some Platinum models were available with a Soft Medium nib. Unfortunately, this is no longer available, so you might want to pounce on it if you see this nib on a second hand pen.

As with the other nib reviews, I am using a similar “methodology” as those rankings, which were based off of the one the Bossman originally did in his Custom Heritage 912 writeup. As the 3776 has been around for a long time, I won’t go into the details of the pen, but will be focused on the nib.

A few things to keep in mind:

• I am right-handed but have a “stupid steep” writing angle - 75 degrees isn’t uncommon for me, while most people have a 45-50 degree angle.
• I tend to write primarily in cursive, and occasionally in print (but not like the Bossman’s block print), typewriter font and calligraphy-esque styles like Copperplate and Italic. My go-to nib size from any maker/country/region is Medium. I also prefer broader nibs as well as stubs/italics. I rarely reach for Extra Fine, especially since I own very few of them.
• LBA let me ink up these Platinum 3776 pens, so I opted to use Platinum Blue-Black since that’s what you’re likely to get (in cartridge form) with most of their pens. Thank you, Luxury Brands of America, for sending these 3776s so I could do a nib showdown!

Platinum labels most of their cartridges so you can tell what ink is inside since dark ink cartridges look alike. Top to Bottom: BB = Blue-Black, Brown, Light Blue. If your cartridge says B, that’s Black. Some cartridges aren’t labeled because the color is obvious.

• The writing sample with all the nibs was done in an Odyssey A5 Notebook with 68 gsm Tomoe River paper.
• My Chinese teachers from high school would be shuddering, but hey, it’s accurate, just not beautiful. The character Platinum uses for their tester pads appropriately means “pen”.
• Last but not least, I mostly followed Brad’s formatting but I don’t believe he’s done an all-nib review of the 3776, so there’s nothing for me to not-read 😃

All the nibs on Tomoe River 68 gsm, written with Platinum Blue-Black.

All the nibs on Platinum’s tester pad. I don’t know what kind of paper it is, unfortunately. It is pretty FP-friendly but the Coarse writing looked a little smudgey/feathery, maybe there was an oil or water spot?

8: Ultra Extra Fine

Given that I usually put Extra Fine at the bottom of the list, it should come as no surprise that the Ultra Extra Fine is sadly taking its place here. That said, it’s not that I hate the UEF, if anything, the extra light touch required to use this nib and still have a pleasant experience (for me), makes my writing look extra nice but I’m just really not an extra fine person, let alone ultra extra fine.

7: Extra Fine

Since you knew which nib was last, I’m sure you all knew what was next. But really this nib is really quite nice - I mean, both the UEF and EF are nice writers. Almost to the point of me maybe getting one next time I have the opportunity. But while I did enjoy writing with it, I still want to put down more ink, so sorry, Extra Fine, you’re second to last for me.

Before I move on to #6, I want to add that if I preferred finer nibs, I would probably get the UEF over the EF because of its novelty and uniqueness. Moving on…

6: Coarse (aka BB / Double Broad)

I like big nibs and I cannot lie, but this might be too big (that’s what she said. 🙂)

I swear I wasn’t following the ranking from the Pilot Custom 74 article but wow, this Coarse nib is juicy and thicc. I know I literally just said I want more ink on the page, but not like this. It’s like a big ol’ Sharpie (that doesn’t bleed through every paper I’ve ever tested), which is also too broad for my writing. In fact, when I try to write bigger in any nib size, my cursive looks more wobbly and uneven. As with other big nibs, this is perfect for grinds like an Architect or Naginata Togi/Kodachi.

I am now going to contradict myself and say that this stacked Coarse nib by Gena Salorino is even thicker than the regular Coarse nib but it’s still one of my favorite nibs and it’s been inked (and reinked) several times since last August.

5: Music

Look at those 3 tines! (Usually, but not always, the tell-tale sign of a Music nib. Sailor, I’m looking at you.)

This was a tough choice because the Music nib is so fun! It’s fat and juicy and gives nice line variation, BUT it isn’t easily swappable with the other nibs because it has a slightly different feed and section. You can swap whole sections with other pens, but you can’t just pull the Music nib and swap in a Medium. This is the biggest reason I put the Music nib in this spot and not one higher. Sad face.

4: Fine

That’s one FINE nib! (I’ll see myself out, haha!)

Anyone getting whiplash yet? Ok, this one and the next one were tough choices because I really could go either way and I’d be ok with it. But I gotta make a choice and I picked Fine. Again, for me, it comes down to showing off the ink and the Fine doesn’t do it as well as the Broad. The Fine nib is still great as an everyday writer. I looked at my pens and realized I have more Broads than Fines, which probably means I must not love Fine as much as Broad.

3: Broad

Broad nibs put down a good amount of ink without being too crazy.

I just realized that none of my Broads have any grinds, which is a shame since it is a great canvas for a nib grinder to work their magic! I would either get a Cursive Italic or an Architect - I’ll check with the nib grinders to get their thoughts - a project for the upcoming SF Pen Show!

2: Soft Fine

I swear I wasn’t drunk when I was making the downstroke with the Soft Fine, but definitely user error, not the nib.

The first few times I tried a Soft Fine, I didn’t get it. Back then it felt so fine (finer than the Fine, unlike Pilot, where the softer nibs were either the same size or slightly broader than their non-soft counterparts), maybe even too fine, and I couldn’t tell the difference (softness-wise) between it and the Fine. Fast forward many years and ah yes, I can definitely feel the difference. It is not a flex nib, but it does have a nice lil’ bounce, which you can use to get lighter upstrokes with less pressure, if you wish.

1: Medium

Medium, you’re number 1 on my list! Kinda, sorta. 😂

I’ve always said that Medium is my go-to nib, and for the 3776, it is my favorite nib. It’s perfect for my size and style of writing and always feels good no matter what ink I put in it (caveat, I don’t really use shimmers in my Platinums. I suppose I should try using a shimmer ink but the flatness of the 3776 nibs against the feed makes me skeptical about how they will be able to channel the shimmer. But that’s an experiment for another time!

I did say the Medium is my #1, but I also said kinda, sorta, because…

1: Soft Medium*

This one is a bit unfair because the Soft Medium nib is no longer available, hence the asterisk. I have a SM which had been ground to a CI before I got it second hand and I love the slight bounciness of the nib, coupled with the Medium nib size that I love so much. I can’t really compare it to the others in the tester kit since it had been ground, but I know a good nib when I use one. If I ever come across another 3776 SM, I might will have to pounce on it.

Ranking:

As with the other Pilot nibs, I still don’t love the super fine nibs (UEF and Extra Fine) nearly as much as the other nibs. I still don’t love the super broad nibs either, but I enjoyed the Platinum Music nib more than Pilot’s.

Last but not least, here are some writing samples with other nibs too.

As you can see, the nib sizes may be the same (Fine, Medium, etc), but they definitely don’t feel the same or have the same line width. Ink selection also makes a difference as well as minor inconsistencies from nib to nib.

And there you have it, my ranking of the Platinum 3776 nibs. I think the Bossman needs to test out all these nibs because I’m curious if there’s ANY overlap between the two of us! As I’ve said before, the beauty of this rabbit hole is that we all like different things and there’s plenty of pens and nibs to enjoy for all of us!

I timed this article to come out in time for Yoseka’s Stationery Fest, as well as two of the largest US pen shows (DC and San Francisco), so you should take advantage of the opportunity to try all the nibs for yourself at the Luxury Brands of America tables and let me know which ones are your favorites!

(Disclaimer: Thank you again to Luxury Brands of America, who provided all of the Platinum 3776 tester pens for review. All other pens are my own.)