Review 2: Triple Platinum Century 3776!

I know this is a pen that is well-known among enthusiasts and has been reviewed several times before, but I own three in different finishes and very different nibs and thought it would be fun to do a little side-by-side review!

First impressions:

The Platinum Century 3776 is a classic cigar shaped pen, of medium size, with a very traditional profile; the rounded caps and gently tapered body make for a pen that sits very pleasantly in the hand, posted and unposted. The whole package has a very sleek, professional appearance, which some may find a little traditional or even bland. The coloured offerings add some flair to the line though!

Weight:

- Capped: 24g empty

- Uncapped: 14g empty

- Cap: 12g

Dimensions:

- Length capped: 13.8cm

- Length uncapped: 11.9cm

- Length posted: 15.4cm

- Barrel diameter: 13mm at the widest point

- Section diameter: 10mm in the middle of the taper

Construction:

The piston converter feels of high quality, with a metal and plastic barrel and smooth piston and plunger. An adapter is also available to allow use of standard international cartridges,

A thin gold-plated trim ring sits at the base of the section. The section itself is gently tapered, without too big of a step from the barrel to the section, and has a small flare at the end. This contouring guides the hand into a position of holding the pen quite close to the nib; for those who prefer to grip further back, the threads are smooth and not at all uncomfortable to hold.

I have three colour variations of the Century; the "standard" black, the Chartres Bleu, and the Bourgogne. All are made from the same resin / plastic, and while the pens are polished to a beautiful shine, the plastic still has a slightly cheap feeling to it? The workmanship is excellent, but it doesn't quite have the heft of a lacquered metal pen or the unique sensation of celluloid or ebonite. What cannot be faulted, however, is the stunning deep colours of the Bourgogne and Chartres pens; a rich wine red and an intense blue respectively. Platinum seems to have run on a French theme, producing pens inspired by Nice, and as here by the wines of the Bourgogne region, and the famous blue stained glass of Chartres cathedral. All these pens have gold plated trim throughout, complementing the rich colours and providing a classic, luxury touch. The blue and black pens are now also available with rhodium trim for those who prefer a silver finish!

On the subject of filling, these pens are cartridge converter pens, taking proprietary Platinum cartridges or converters. All of mine came with converters, however this may not be standard across all retailers!

The caps house Platinum's slip-and-seal mechanism; the inner cap is spring-loaded, as can just be seen in the translucent pens above, meaning that when the pen is screwed closed, the inner cap firmly engages with the section providing an airtight seal around the nib and feed. Platinum claim that these pens can be left for up to a year (!) without drying out; I haven't tested this claim myself, but have never had any problems with hard starts or dried ink in the feed, even if the pens haven't been used in a while.

The clip is very functional, plain in design with just a fine border stamped into the metal, and gold plated. The clips are firm but springy, and while easy to clip onto shirt pockets would struggle with thicker material, however they do an excellent job of holding the pens in place! No accidents yet in nearly a year of daily use with these pens.

The cap has two trim rings, the wider stamped with "#3776 PLATINUM MADE IN JAPAN".

Nib and feed:

The real star if the show when it comes to the Platinum Century is of course the nib. What you get is a large, brightly polished 14k gold nib, in a huge range of sizes; Platinum offers UEF, EF, F, M, B, BB, SF, and a music nib. I own the UEF, SF and B nibs, and have previously had pens with F and C which I have since sold or traded.

The imprints on the nib are perhaps polarising; some seem to like the design, some don't. I think it suits the pen well; the unusual heart-shaped breather hole is a quirky touch, and while the 'scrollwork' is perhaps plain, I don't think this detracts from the looks of these pens. The nib is also stamped with the material data and nib size, and the Platinum logo. Prominently, the #3776, the height in metres of Mount Fuji, adorns the nib; surely this must be a poke at Mont Blanc?!

What you may notice from the comparison above is that the black and blue pens have a black collar inside the section, and the red has a opal-esque white collar - I assume the reason for tthis is cospetic, as the red is more translucent than the blue and would be muted by black plastic inside.

Just look at the difference in the tipping! The double broad/ C nib is even broader, with the most enormous glob of iridium I've ever seen on a nib. See the comparison between UEF and C below? Absolute polar opposites of the production line!

Writing:

The 14k nibs have been universally good out of the box from the 5 I have owned; the fine, broad and double broad have been glassy smooth writers, and the UEF and soft fine have had more tooth, but none has been scratchy; more so a sensation of dragging over the paper? I have been seriously impressed with this, as the fines and certainly the ultra-extra-fine are tiny tips indeed! The standard nibs have a little spring to them, with the UEF being the firmest of the lot. The soft fine is far from a "true flex" nib but adds a pleasant expressive springiness to the writing experience, and one can coax decent swells and hairlines with a little care. The skips in the writing samples below are faults of my very light touch when writing, not of the pens; the feeds keep up admirably with the ink needs, even on the absolute firehose B and BB nibs!

Writing on the whole has been a very pleasant experience with the Platinum Century pens, especially the wonderful broad; it's so glassy smooth! The soft fine is more playful, and is a true fine and very suited to everyday use too. The ultra-extra-fine is one of the finest production nibs, and unless you really like fine nibbed pens, this isn't the one for you. If you need to write on terrible paper, it's handy (I've done the sudoku in the newspaper with this pen with no bleeding of ink!), or if you need to make very small margin notes in a textbook or something.

I prefer to use my Centuries posted, as I have big hands, but the gently tapered ends make for a comfortable writer unposted too.

Thoughts and opinions:

I like these pens, in case you hadn't noticed - part of the reason I own several! Platinum has created an affordable, universal pen in the Century; it may not be exciting, but it works very well, has a fabulous variety of nib options (looking at you cough Pelikan cough, with your F, M and B...) and is a very dependable writer. The slip-and-seal cap is a nice touch, that adds to the reliability and practicality of the pen. For the money you get an exceptional nib, which is what the pen is really all about; especially imported directly from Japan, these are very affordable considering what you get. The Platinum Century is a nice medium sized pen, comfortable for use posted and unposted, although some may find the light weight offputting if you prever a heavier pen.

Put it this way, there's a reason that there's always a 3776 in my daily rotation. I like them. They're classic, dependable pens that just work, and I thoroughly recommend that any keen fountain pen user try at least one.

Finally, and you'll have to excuse the slightly dusty pen chest, how could I not include a picture with a ray of sunlight striking the stunning colours of these pens? The plastics are pretty in themselves, but absolutely glow with a little light behind.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief review and comparison; any questions, please ask away!

Alex