New pen

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Norfolk, England
Having waited for weeks for delivery from Japan via. Amazon (I had gift cards to spend so went there rather than to my usual website) I have finally taken delivery of a lovely Platinum 3776 Century with a Japanese medium (Western fine) nib to use with their Carbon Black ink. I used to use a Jinhao with that ink as it was easy to dismantle and clean; the problem was that the finish was falling off the section, making it uncomfortable to hold, and I was having difficulty getting the flow to stay consistent. It skipped badly, so I re-ground the nib on coarse micromesh and stopped halfway through smoothing to prevent over-polishing, but it never took to the ink well. I'm pleased to report that the ink works beautifully in the pen that was designed to hold it, and, with the promise that it won't dry up in the feed for up to 12 months:rolleyes:, it'll be available for addressing envelopes, which is why I bought the ink a year or so ago.:) With the sale plus two Amazon gift cards, the pen only cost me around £20, plus another £19 or so for Customs fees, and, given that one of those cards was from my aunt who has since passed away, it has an extra, personal significance.
 
Having waited for weeks for delivery from Japan via. Amazon (I had gift cards to spend so went there rather than to my usual website) I have finally taken delivery of a lovely Platinum 3776 Century with a Japanese medium (Western fine) nib to use with their Carbon Black ink. I used to use a Jinhao with that ink as it was easy to dismantle and clean; the problem was that the finish was falling off the section, making it uncomfortable to hold, and I was having difficulty getting the flow to stay consistent. It skipped badly, so I re-ground the nib on coarse micromesh and stopped halfway through smoothing to prevent over-polishing, but it never took to the ink well. I'm pleased to report that the ink works beautifully in the pen that was designed to hold it, and, with the promise that it won't dry up in the feed for up to 12 months:rolleyes:, it'll be available for addressing envelopes, which is why I bought the ink a year or so ago.:) With the sale plus two Amazon gift cards, the pen only cost me around £20, plus another £19 or so for Customs fees, and, given that one of those cards was from my aunt who has since passed away, it has an extra, personal significance.
To have a quality pen is nice but for it to have an extra personal significance attached to it is a wonderful thing. P.
 
Quite fancy one of those myself, how is it?
It's fairly light, and has a relatively short barrel; I can use it unposted, though I find it better-balanced when posted. For reference, I'm small due to my disability, and that includes my hands - I use most larger pens, like the Montblanc 146, which I purchased a few years ago with money left to me by my maternal grandmother unposted, and only post small and light pens. This 3776 doesn't have that dense, almost ceramic feel of the Montbland, though it's a similar design, but I wouldn't say it feels cheap. i had to buy a converter as a separate item, though I think some sellers include the converter, so it's best to check whether you need to add a converter to your order if (as I'm presuming you would) you want to use bottled ink with it. Mine has the "medium" nib - it's lengthy, but, as with most Japanese pens, it runs on the fine side, probably nearly a European fine, actually.

It's a 14k gold nib, but is fairly firm - I can get a small amount of line variation but I wouldn't want to force it as I suspect it wouldn't give you much warning before it bends. For a fine nib, though, it's surprisingly smooth on standard Rhodia (I haven't yet tried it on Clairfontaine Triomphe or cheap paper). It has some feedback, but it's nice feedback, rather than feeling scratchy or as though the tines are out of alignment when it's happy making vertical strokes but scrapes across the paper on cross-strokes. It seems well-sorted in terms of the feed, which seems to provide a consistent flow with no obvious problems when you start writing, and it has a system in the cap which, in theory, prevents ink from drying-up for at least 12 months. As I said in my OP, I bought it as it was designed to use Platinum's Carbon Black bottled ink which, thanks to the carbon particles, is waterproof (I address envelopes with it as it prevents the address from smearing in the rain). If you use it in a normal pen, you have to wash it very thoroughly before storing the pen, as, if the ink dries in the feed, it sets hard in the fins and the slit thanks to the suspended carbon particles. I wouldn't say it's the best pen I own (that has to be my late-'40s Waterman Stalwart which, despite having been advertised as being affordable for students when new, has a vintage semi-flex gold nib that is, apparently, better than most modern full-flex nibs, and certainly generates huge line variation), but it's very nice and will definitely be well-used.
 
Yes, the nib is not meant to be flexed.

I like the #3776 Century pens. They are shorter than some of the Pilot ones and the Sailor 1911 L but have a larger nib and wider section that I find quite comfortable.

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Yes, the nib is not meant to be flexed.

I like the #3776 Century pens. They are shorter than some of the Pilot ones and the Sailor 1911 L but have a larger nib and wider section that I find quite comfortable.

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Thats the sort of collection I could never afford, but it's a sight to behold!
 
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