Daiso Pen Vs. Platinum Riviere

[Readymade]

 

You can find 2 brands of fountain pens at Daiso storesin Singapore - the Platinum Riviere and Daisos own house-brand pen. Both cost S$2, have tipped (Western) Medium steel nibs that write relatively well out of the pack and use their own proprietary cartridges.

 

I think the Daiso pen is better value than the Riviere. It has a larger nib, a molded grip that resembles that on a 1980′s Pelikano, and the barrel has a wider girth. This pen feels more substantial. In addition, the Daiso pen doesnt dry out while capped but the Riviere does.

 

 

The barrel of the Daiso pen has a rubber-like finish, which may not be to everyones liking. Ive no problems with it. Still think its great value, and I bought a couple anyway just to practice nib stubbing.

[watch_art]

I bought about 50 each of these a couple years ago from Japan through an FPNer, and while some of them worked wonderfully, some of them were just dead writers. It took HOURS of playing with nibs (before I knew how easy it should have been) and flushing feeds to get (the dreaded) oily manufacturing stuff out. I got em for my 4th, 5th and 6th grade students and they just loved em. Some of their parents bought some and these little guys brought on questions about nicer more expensive pens for their kids. Very good starter pens. Thanks for the review!

[Yuki Onitsura]

Neato. I always love these comparison reviews =)

 

Yuki

[joelchan]

I had these two fountain pens in my cupboard as long as I can remember ! not ink yet !

 

Thanks for the review !

 

but mine will still be in the cupboard.. haha

[SigmaZuiko]

I picked up one today and used it to practice grinding to XF. I'm contemplating on plugging the end and greasing the threads to turn it into an eyedropper when the cartridge runs out...

[texbodemer]

I also find the Daiso pens to be better than the Riviere--the styling looks cooler, they are more comfortable, and the cartridges seem to be easier to install--in a way, I prefer my Daiso pen to my Sheaffers; I definitely prefer it to the Sailor mini-fountain pen that I found at Goodwill for $1.00. Daiso is amazing!

I picked up one today and used it to practice grinding to XF. I'm contemplating on plugging the end and greasing the threads to turn it into an eyedropper when the cartridge runs out...

[guilhermejf]

I've got a Daiso Pen with another brand. Very nice. Needed some tweaking, but for the price, if it writes, that's just cool.

[lovemy51]

thx for the review. i have the Daiso pen. wrote perfectly right out of the box plastic pack .

[rwilsonedn]

I have both, and I agree with the OP: I like the feel of the Daiso pen better. It feels like a real fountain pen, while the Riviere somehow feels like a disposable ballpoint that someone had managed to fit with a nib. But on the other hand, my Riviere wrote perfectly out of the bubblepack, while my Diaso pen became an exercise in nib adjustment and smoothing. It wrote well enough after some work, though.

ron

[shea2812]

This is year 2015. The Daiso fountain pen version that I found is pretty interesting. Writes very well and the nib has some flex too. If only the build is a bit more sturdy. As is its not a FP that I will put in my pants pocket.

[rwilsonedn]

That's quite a nice-looking pen! Are they still priced at about $2?

ron

[Algester]

yes daiso pen is still 2USD after all they are a 2USD store but that depends on where you live

[shea2812]

The pen is pretty slim. Reminds me of Pilot Birdie that I had used years ago. To me it writes better with drier ink. Pic was taken with scribble sample with Pelikan 4001 Brillian Blank. It runs too wet with Pilot's Unica cartridge that I had tried initially. Never used the cartridge that came with it, not knowing the brand or make. There is a little flex in the nib too. For something at Daiso's price it writes pretty well. The clip is solid and so it the snap to close.

Edited November 24, 2015 by shea2812

[OCArt]

Daiso just opened a store in San Diego. I picked up one of the silver-colored pens photographed by Shea2812 above for $1.50. About the size of a Parker 51 the nib needed no alignment and wrote well out of the package. I was pleased and a bit surprised. Daiso also had some notebooks with fp friendly paper along with unusual items like banana slicers!

[bluebellrose]

Daiso is actually owned by A chinese radio station in north America. They own the exclusive Franchise rights. Would explain why there are so many rebranded chinese pens instead of rebranded preppies.