Platinum #3776 Century Or Pilot Namiki Custom 74

[dzarren]

Im on a quest for a nice super fine fountain pen.

 

Ive narrowed by choices down to these two, they are about the same price, 120 USD.

 

The platinum i can get in Ultra extra fine and the pilot in extra fine.

 

which is finer? but most importantly, which is awesomer.

 

If you have both, please let me know anything you feel about the two, or if you have just one of them, tell me what you like about it, or hate!

 

Im just a student so this will be a major purchase for me, but how else will i do my math..

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

[Brian C]

I prefer the Platinum. Pilot nibs always seem to need some tweeking to get them to write wet enough for my tastes. Both are great choices though.

[kiavonne]

I prefer Pilot nibs; but that said, the nib on my Platinum 3776 Century is decent enough. As for which is finer, I can't really say, as I only have the one Platinum for comparison, and very few really fine nibs. I think the Platinum feels slightly more stiff, but honestly, I like it well enough, and I don't find much in writing difference.

 

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've never had an issue with Pilot nibs out of the box. I don't count the starter pens like Metropolitans or Preppy's and the like, though I will say the Metro was/is a lot better performer for me than the Preppy or Plaisir in the low end pens.

[sangrisano]

I have a Platinum #3776 Balance Maestro in Ultra extra fine, and it's really, really fine !

The 14k nib is somewhat flexible, by adding a little pressure you can increase the width; also, it was a little 'scratchy' at the beginning, but improved a lot after a few days of usage.

The pen is lighter than it looks like, the resin it's made of looks 'cheap' compared to my Sailor 1911, but the overall look is good.

Honestly, I paid abut 100€ for the Platinum and 120€ for a Sailor Profit 1911 with a 21k F nib (the smoother nib you can find), but the Sailor is so much better...

[rutherfordr]

I have both, with medium nibs on each of them.

I'd choose the Pilot Custom 74, because it's nearly the perfect pen for me -- the size, weight, and nib fit me just right.

The Platinum Century 3776 is still an excellent pen, and I use it regularly, but the nib is a little stiffer and drier than the Pilot.

[mbradley]

Perhaps not really helpful. I have a Platinum President with a 21k nib and I can say that the nib is quite stiff. I think that I would try one of the others first.

 

Michael

[maverink]

Get the platinum century UEF as it's finer than a pilot F nib the build quality of platinum is not as good as sailor or pilot but the nib makes up for it.

[andymcc]

I don't have a UEF Platinum nib but my #3776 has the SF which is finer than any of the western EF nibs I have, at first I thought it was a little scratchy but after getting a few other F nibs from Pilot and Sailor I now find the Platinum to be fairly smooth, on good quality paper it's a hard nib to beat.

I'm looking at getting a Custom 74 myself but with the SF nib, I love the classic styling and for £61 I think it's a steal

[dspeers58]

I have both a Platinum fine and a Pilot 74 fine and both a nice pens. For me, even though the plastic seems to feel cheaper (although I do not know what that means when I say it, comparing plastic to plastic, maybe lighter), on the Platinum, the balance on the Platinum posted is just perfect for me, and I enjoy writing with it better than the Pilot. But the difference, in my opinion is small