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Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the new product from Japanese pens craftsman On the arena is Platinum Procyon! By the way why such a strange name – Procyon? Pen got that name from the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor, one of the 21 first magnitude stars at the night sky. Pretentious name, no doubt Lets look at the pen closer. Aluminum body with matt coating pleased by color and texture. Strong clip with strict form. Cap has the thread. Everything fits perfectly, the cap is screwed very gently. There is Slip&Seal mechanism inside the cap. The nib. It's something in between Preppy and Safari nibs. The nib is quite large and looks solidly. The grip section is made of translucent plastic. Looks cool! An interesting feature is thread. It has a rectangular profile so your fingers don't feel it actually. The designers did a great job, thought out even the little things The pen euipped with a newly-designed feeder for easier ink absorption from a bottle with a small amount of ink. We turn to the most interesting – how the pen writes? The nib write smooth with distinct feedback and an audible rustling. The F nib provides thin line. The pen is quite big and lies in the hand perfectly without cap. It is well balanced. When capped the balance is broken. Capped the pen is 140 mm and uncapped is 119 mm. Diameter of the grip section is 11 mm max and 10 mm min. The pen comes with three cartridges of new ink. Summarizing, what can be said about the novelty? Platinum made very good product of middle range segment. Industrial design with interesting features, good quality – the pen will be a good workhorse. I recommend.

So platinum procyon is quite less used/ considered pen in our little FP households for obvious reasons (spend few dollar more and get a gold nib, wait for time and one might get gold nib for same price as new procyon) but I still feel its a very good steel nib pen for those who want to try it plus it has nice feed design, good nib, light for metal and understated design especially in dark blue (personal liking this one). Now the main aim is to see if these were present among other FPN users or not and Please by all means add Curidas in list cos from what I understand they are same feed design. Observations Pen runs on dry side of spectrum (no skips or sudden starvation or hard starts, just dry side or spectrum), has small platinum-ish feedback and nib does not show any issues while feed design works well for last bottle ink draining. All is fine until ink is wet or wetter side of spectrum, dry and less lubricated inks work OKish in most cases and will have some minor skips when fast writing when filled in convertor (well duh ink is not lubricated properly). Cartridge is problem from what I felt. If dry and less lubricated ink is in cartridge the pen will have significant rise in skipping so much so that it will be difficult to write 6 words without one and that is annoying. This problem is less in convertor as stated above. The fun thing is that a wet ink or balanced inks (say waterman serenity blue) will not show any issue in convertor and very less issue (noticed in sessions of over 6 pages) in cartridge. A wet ink or even inks on wetter side of balanced (say iroshizuku murasaki shikibu) will have no issues in either convertor or cartridge. So why does the cartridge show the issue while convertor shows it less no none in cases ?..... I am thinking that the ball inside (aggregator) can be an issue for this one. I looked at other platinum pen (preppy is only second platinum I have) and feed end seems almost same but size I cant be sure of (no way to measure but I assume same cos...well same thing...). This made me use some other way to see the issue as I knew ball is the issue cos in convertor things are fine, so I filled water in empty cartridge and put it inside preppy to see balls behavior, always in center over the feed entry.....when hands in same position.....now what would happen if saturation is changed in water (add salt and sugar was best I could think) now the ball seems to be in center and stays there for a while same observation pretty much only denser...now what would have happened if ink was dense and ball space..I think the ball might not have enough space to move properly so ink is having harder time reaching the feed section, combine with already dry type feed and the balance of ink might break which I suspect happens here. Now this is only issue in dry inks or less saturated inks...ironically I observed it first in Platinum's gifted aqua Emerald color..(color was not to my liking and performance was subpar in most case) which stated the series of weird tests and observations. Sadly procyon is metal and I cant see the insides to do proper testing and pen is actually too good to open (why bother when I know convertor works perfectly) What have others experience been, has anyone tried curidas or procyon with such inks and had issue in cartridge or convertor or any other issues with these guys. Share your experience and opinions and suggestions welcomed.

Disclosure / disclaimer: I do not work for Dymocks, directly or indirectly, and am not otherwise affiliated with the company or its owners. I just walk past it several times a week when heading uptown or on the way home, so I'm just putting a word in for a local business. Dymocks on George Street in Sydney CBD is offering a selection of fountain pens (of different brands and countries of origin) at 30% off their regular prices, in the name of a ‘Pen Sale’ for which the sign hasn't been taken down since the height of COVID-19 related restrictions on movement in NSW. I didn't take note of them all, because brands like Cross, Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Kaweco and Retro 51 that were also there just don't capture my interest, but I did see six units of the Platinum Procyon (PNS-5000) including one Persimmon Orange (F nib), one Citron Yellow (F nib) and two Deep Sea (M nibs), which are priced lower than the Turquoise Blue ones sitting next to them in the same discounted goods cabinet near the front entrance. There were also: one unit of the Platinum #3776 Century Bourgogne with gold trim (PNS-13000#71) and F nib in the same cabinet. At the 30%-off discounted price, it's roughly comparable to ordering it from overseas, say Cult Pens today (inclusive of 10% Australian GST which it now adds to list prices expressly, the 10%-off discount code in play, and ‘free’ shipping to Australia), or from Japanese sellers on eBay once shipping charges are factored in; one Platinum #3776 Celluloid ‘Calico’ (or ‘Stone Celluloid‘) with F nib; and one Platinum #3776 Celluloid ‘Midnight Ocean’ (or ‘Ocean Blue’) with M nib. There were four Pilot MR Animal (if I'm not mistaken, two White Tiger and two Black Crocodile) pens on the same tray. Having owned more than half a dozen Pilot MR pens (including the oft-recommended Pilot MR Metropolitan), I just don't think they're good ‘beginner’ pens because of the step-down and the ineffective cap seal, and may give someone of little experience with fountain pens the wrong impression; and I'm confident fellow Aussies can order those more cheaply than $48.99-less-30% on Amazon.com.au, so they aren't really worth looking at either way. Also, a Porsche Design Tec Flex fountain pen, and a Visconti travelling inkwell at 30%-off, among other pens I don't recognise. There were two Lamy Scala in black, one Lamy Aion in red and another in silver (talking about fountain pens only; there were some Aion ballpoint pens next to them), in the adjoining cabinet that is also part of the 30%-off clearance campaign. A Cross Peerless 125 Darth Vader edition fountain pen, and the matching rollerball pen, too. All colours that remain in stock of Monteverde Portable Ink Capsules still at 50% off. I saw five different colours in the cabinet yesterday, but notably no more blues.

First of all I want to mention this review by FPN user sova featuring stunning photos of the Turquoise blue Platinum Procyon. In my opinion the Platinum Procyon receives less attention than it deserves, thus I decided to write a review. I want to provide some information, share my experience using it daily and also take a look at why it might be not hugely popular. Introduction This review is meant to depict my personal opinion and valuation, thus I don't want to use points to rate aspects. Surely comparability is an advantage which makes using points worth considering, but neither am I an expert for the standards used nor could I compare a pen to dozens of first hand experiences with other pens. And frankly speaking in my eyes many reviews aren't objective which to me relativises the value of scores. Because of that I will try my best to describe my experience with this Procyon in a way which allows you to contrast it to your experiences and preferences. Platinum introduced this model in the summer of 2018 and named it after Procyon, the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor who in turn got its name from rising before Sirius, the brightest star visible in the night sky. Sirius is also known as dog star. Procyon stands for a distant relatives of dogs, too, the racoon. Hopefully the pictures I took will remind you more of a clear night sky than a racoon however. First Impressions My pen came in a black carboard box along with four cartridges. Platinum specially created three inks called Gold Ochre, Aqua Emerald and Dark Violet which accompanied the Procyon along with a instruction on how to recreate them yourself and a regular blue-black cartridge. Unfortunately this pen doesn't include a converter. The packaging is utilitarian, the unique ink cartridges are nice but I would have prefered a converter. This pen comes in five colours called Deap see, Porcelain white, Turquoise blue, Persimmon orange and Citrus yellow ranging from understated to pretty colourful. The dark blue doesn't attract attention, taking a closer look however reveils its twinkling. According to Platinum this colour is inspired by the deep sea, I link it to the stars. It has about the size of a Lamy Safari and feels solid. Appearance & Construction The Procyon's body and cap are made from laquered aluminium. The Deap See's base layer is of deep blue on which aluminium flake powder was added which gives the blue depth and creates twinkling. In a dark environment the sky-laquer of this pen resembles a starless night, with more light it becomes reminiscent of a clear night which allows one to see thousands of stars. The white one's laquer is smooth and shiny while the colourful versions feature matte laquer. The trim is silver coloured. "Procyon" and "Platinum Made in Japan" are written on the cap in capital latters. Its grip is made from semi-translucent dark grey plastic. Metal threads on both the grip and the body make a stury, long-lasting impression. Furthermore the threads are rectangular making them pleasant to touch. Usually the nib has a good chance to be the most interesting part and I don't want to say this one isn't but it isn't spectacular visually. It looks similar to nib the Preppy, Plaisir and Prefounte use but is larger. It lacks a breather hole and adornment is limited to Platinum's logo and a F or M indicating the nib size. Platinum proudly advertised this pen's new feed as it is able to draw ink from a hole below the nib at about half of the nib's length. This allows you to more easily fill your pen and use up bottled ink because to don't need to insert the entire nib into ink. Cleaning the pen after filling thus also becomes easier. My feed shows signs of Sailor Seiboku. Usually its black and clean. Besides this the Procyon also features the inner cap known from the 3776 Century which is supposed to prevent ink from drying out for up to two years. I didn't test that but notice its effect in comparison to a Waterman Hemisphere for example which lacks a inner cap. In the Hemisphere ink becomes less keen for writing for the first few letters after a day. Thanks to the inner cap this is no problem with the Procyon even with more difficult inks. Two things I don't like: I find the grey material below the semi-translucent plastic of the grip makes this part a bit cheap. I carry my pen in a pencil case in which there is no scissors, only pencils, two ballpoints and markers and treat it carefully but at the end of the barrel the laquer is coming of where the barrel transitions into the end finial as well as in one place on the barrel. That's disappointing to me and makes me apprehensive of the laquers future. Nib and Performance The nib is made from steel. Platinum claims the pentagon shape makes writing feel similar to a gold nib without much explanation of what exactly they imply. It is not soft or flexy but very stiff. As you might expect from a Japanese nib it runs relatively fine. The nib provides some even feedback and is audible when writing. It has medium flow and works very reliably, starts easily every time and feels controlled to me. There is no beautiful adornment but it works. Reverse writing is possible, makes for a very fine line. The flow keeps up well. Filling System and Maintenance Platinum uses a proprietary cartridge/converter system. I find their cartridges and converters to be of high quality and work reliably. While the cartridges contain quite a lot of ink I wished for a bigger converter. As I mentioned above there is no converter included. The converter's mouth is reinforced by a metal collar. Cost and Value The Procyon retails for around 50 US Dollars to 70 Euros. This makes it one of the more expensive steel-nibbed pens and maybe also is the reason it is less often recommended than other competitiors. There is a lot of competition in this price range. Lamy and Pilot for example both offer several pens up to this price range and at least in Europe you are also able to get a Pelikan M200 for this price. Additionally the Procyon will also compete with its new sibling, the Curidas. I think this Platinum has a lot to offer: a very reliable nib, good size and weight generally speaking, a handy feed, an excellent inner cap and a sturdy body. Its features are very reasonable and utilitarian, but maybe not flashy enough to stand out. Conclusion If you are looking for a understated, reliable next-level pen to accompany you in daily life and like its design, you will probably soon appreciate its qualities.

Platinum is releasing a new model - the PROCYON. It has their famous slip & seal as well as a new feature: the ink inlet is further down, allowing for the pen to suck up ink without being fully imerged into the bottle, which means that it is easier to use up a bottle down to the last drop. Imo Sailor kinda can do this already, as their pens fill from the breather hole.... They are supposed to cost 5000 Yen + tax. I saw these news first here https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/90a6db/new_fountain_pen_model_from_platinum_procyon/ https://twitter.com/Ginza_Itoya/status/1019888700514230272 https://twitter.com/Ginza_Itoya/status/1019891259022774272 https://twitter.com/Ginza_Itoya/status/1019896710166802434 https://twitter.com/Ginza_Itoya/status/1020135698773434369