Posts filed under Platinum

Platinum Plaisir Black Mist Fountain Pen Review

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

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Platinum Procyon — a mid-tier fountain pen that had a very similar nib to the Platinum Preppy. At over $50, it can be a tough sell if you include the fact that it doesn't include a converter or any ink cartridges. On the other hand, the Platinum Preppy line is much cheaper, but they also look the part. Fortunately, the Platinum Plaisir is an upgrade to the thin plastic Preppy in the form of a sleek aluminum body and cap.

The Plaisir is a much more affordable alternative to the Procyon (and other higher end Platinums) that combines the best of the Preppy with higher quality materials in the body and cap. In short, it's a Preppy that doesn't look like a disposable pen. It's less than $20 and comes in a variety of colors, so you can probably find one that suits your tastes as long as you can get on board with the general aesthetic.

The outside of the pen features a thin aluminum material that has a nice texture that makes it grippy and fingerprint-resistant. The shape is pleasant and it feels great in the hand due to how light it is. The cap is a snap fit that works beautifully. Platinum call this the "Slip and Seal" system (same system they use on the Preppy), meaning the cap makes a great seal with the grip section so that the nib doesn't dry out between uses. I've let this pen sit for 6 weeks (on purpose) to test this feature out, and I was amazed at how it performed. It started writing immediately with no skips or fuss.

Moving on the cap of the pen, it is made of the same aluminum material and finish, but features a somewhat cheap looking band. I'm really not a fan of the band, and I think Platinum could fix this by subduing the shine a tad. It just screams chrome and detracts from the overall value of the pen. It's also quite tall, which could also be corrected. At first glance, it looks like a part that wasn't quite designed for the pen, but it happened to fit as a kludge. I've toyed with the idea of altering the band, but it's just not worth it for me.

On the plus side, the clip is exceptionally strong, which is a huge improvement over the Preppy's weak, plastic clip. Once you secure this pen to something, it's not going to budge.

Moving to the inside, you'll notice that the grip section looks an awful lot like the Preppy. That's because it's the same component! This is great because you can easily swap out the nib/grip assembly for another nib size. Surprisingly, the plastic section and nib don't look out of place next to the aluminum body. In fact, they dress up quite nicely.

Writing with this pen is exactly as you'd expect coming from a Preppy. The nib is smooth and reliable, and the grip is easy to hold and maneuver. I prefer the feel of the aluminum on my hand instead of the plastic of the Preppy since the plastic tends to get slightly slippery with natural oils over time.

Along with the pen, you get one single black ink cartridge. It's not much, but it's also a $15-$18 pen, so you can't expect much. Of course, you can pick up other cartridges or a converter to customize your writing experience.

The Plaisir is a good value as long as you can get over the aesthetic (I'm still struggling) and you're already a big fan of the Preppy nib and grip assembly. At the sub-$20 price point, any manufacturer has an enormous challenge when selling against the venerable Pilot Metropolitan. It's almost impossible to compete with the level of quality and writing experience for the price. If it's my 20 bucks, I'm going to pick the Metropolitan every time.

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

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Posted on August 28, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Platinum, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Platinum Procyon Fountain Pen Review

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

As someone who loves pens, writing, and all things stationery, I'm a bit embarrassed that I haven't given the Platinum pens more attention. I've never disliked them; it's more of a combined time/attention/money problem. This year, I decided to start wading into the Platinum fountain pens and nib assortments. To start this journey, I chose a fairly affordable Platinum Procyon.

Prior to this pen, my only other Platinum pen experience are a handful of different Preppy models, and trying out different Platinums at the Atlanta Pen Show. As you can see, I only have experience with disparate ends of Platinum's fountain pen offerings. The Procyon hits a rare price point — $53 as of this writing — that always interests me. It's not crazy expensive when comparing against the complete market of fountain pens, but it's also not a highly-affordable plastic disposable pen, either. If manufacturers can nail this price point with a pen that performs well and is a joy to use, they've won.

The Procyon borrows its name from a star — the brightest star in the Canis Minor constellation — and is intended to "brighten" the writing experience. While this is cheesy marketing, it's still a pretty cool name. But does it brighten the writing experience? The simple answer is yes.

The exterior of the pen is a classy aluminum with either a high polish finish or a matte texture depending on the color option. In the case of my unit, the porcelain white finish is shiny without being flashy. It's a great finish, and I've really enjoyed the color, even though the orange one is really calling my name.

The clip is very sleek and also quite strong. The pen is very secure when attached to something, and I haven't any issues with it coming loose in my bag or pants pocket when on the move. The top of the cap and the bottom of the pen body both feature a convex shape that adds a bit of depth to the pen and borrows from other popular models in a higher price range. Throughout these pens, the accents are all chrome.

To open the pen, simply unscrew the cap. Unlike a lot of screw caps, this one only needs a half turn to open or close. It's a very smooth motion, and after getting used to it, I kind of wish all my pens only required half a turn to open and close. The threads are smooth and it feels like a much more expensive pen when handling the cap system.

Another incredibly nice feature of this cap is what Platinum call the "Slip and Seal" system. Basically, you can leave this pen capped and unused for weeks (maybe even months?) and it will write like a champ when you decide to pick it back up. No skipping, hard starts, stuttering — just smooth ink comes out after weeks of no use. I tried this myself, and I was impressed. If you're like me and tend to have too many pens inked up at a time, this is a great feature.

Once the pen is uncapped and it's time to write, you notice the translucent dark gray grip section. It's plastic and looks significantly cheaper than the rest of the pen. But, it feels great in the hand. The small ridge at the base of the grip is a perfect tactile bump for your fingers when writing, and the plastic is smooth but still grippy. And the translucency also cuts down on visible finger prints.

The one area that this pen obviously cut costs is the aesthetics of the nib. It's a great writer, but it looks like the same nib that comes on the Preppy, which are just a few bucks. The shape is very simple, there's no scroll work or decorative touch, leaving it plain and uninspiring. That being said, it does have a small Platinum "P" logo and a the nib size information, but these are just the basics when it comes to nibs. I understand that this price point is difficult to hit, but it would have been great to add something to this nib to differentiate it from the $5 Preppy nibs.

So maybe it doesn't look fancy, but how does it write? The good news is, it writes exceptionally well. The model I have features a fine nib, and it's not a disappointment. The nib is stiff and steadfast while remaining smooth and consistent. I've done zero modifications to the nib simply because it wrote perfectly out of the box. For a pen in this price range, I wish I could say this is the normal experience, but it just isn't. This is a great writer, and I couldn't be happier with it. There's almost no flex in this nib, but that's not to be expected in a Japanese fine unless otherwise mentioned in the product description. If you like a nib that's firm as a nail while also being smooth and consistent, you can't go wrong here.

I've really enjoyed writing with the Platinum Procyon over the last several months. I wasn't sure what I'd think of it based on the price and description, but it has surprised me and earned its place on my desk.

The Platinum Procyon is available in Porcelain White (featured here), Deep Sea, Persimmon Orange, Citron Yellow, and Turquoise Blue. The Deep Sea color-way also has an option of Fine or Medium nibs, but the rest of the colors are only available with a Fine nib.

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

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Posted on July 17, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Platinum, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Platinum Procyon Citron Yellow Fountain Pen: 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 Procyon is an aluminum fountain pen with a matte finish. It is packaged in a black box and comes with one blue cartridge but no converter. My pen also came with three special “commemorative colors:” aqua emerald, dark violet, and gold ochre. These are mixable colors, but I’m not sure how you’re supposed to mix ink that comes in cartridges. Regardless, the commemorative colors will be available only while supplies last.

The screw-on cap is adorned with a chrome clip and band. “Procyon” and “Platinum Made in Japan” are printed on the cap in silver lettering.

Although the cap and barrel are made of aluminum, the grip is a smoky black, semi-transparent plastic. I like the plastic grip because my fingers don’t slip as easily.

The fine stainless steel nib is quite plain--no scrollwork or fancy styling. There’s only a letter “P” and the nib size on the face of the nib. It looks very similar to the nib that comes on the $4.00 Platinum Preppy.

As is typical of Japanese nibs, the fine writes more like an extra fine. So, if you prefer a Western-size fine, you’ll want to order a medium. The nib is smooth-ish, but because it is so fine, it sometimes catches the paper on upstrokes. It’s also rather noisy, which surprised me. I don’t know if the aluminum barrel conducts the sound or if it’s just a characteristic of this steel nib, but the scritch-scratching of my writing was quite noticeable. Usually, I enjoy the sounds of a nib on paper, but this was actually rather distracting.

The pen is medium sized, measuring 5.5 inches/140mm capped, 4.7 inches/119mm uncapped, and 6.1 inches/155mm posted. Overall it weighs 24 grams, but uncapped it weighs only 13 grams. Posting is certainly possible, but because the cap alone weighs 11 grams, it throws the balance off considerably. The grip is a very useable size (10.3mm)--not too skinny or too fat.

You can get the Procyon in several different colors: Deep Sea (a dark navy blue), Turquoise, Persimmon Orange (a muted orange), Porcelain White, and Citron Yellow. I thought I saw a photo of a matte black Procyon, maybe on Instagram, but I can’t find any references to one on the Internet.

The Platinum Procyon costs $53 at JetPens, which I think is a little overpriced, especially since it does not come with a converter and the nib is so basic. But, if you want a stylish pen with good heft, a screw-on cap, and a simple steel nib, the Procyon might be a good fit for you. I suggest adding a Platinum converter ($8.25) to your cart so you can use bottled ink with it.

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

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