Platinum Plaisir - Are The Nibs Interchangable?

[SheWrites]

I very recently purchased a new Platinum Plaisir on eBay that was advertised as having a fine nib, however when it arrived it was a medium. After some conversation with the seller it was obvious that it was listed that way in error, and not to deceive anyone, and that sending it back would really do me no good as he did not have another with a fine nib to ship to me, and even if he had, the shipping back and forth would NOT be cost effective for either of us. Having purchased from him in the past, I decided to keep the pen and not make a huge deal out of it, but after using it off and on for the past couple of weeks, I find that I am just not happy or comfortable with the medium nib. I'm curious, can the nib be changed to a fine point? Or is it just more sensible to simply purchase another pen with the fine nib already installed? Anybody know the answer? Thanks in advance for your input.

[studiohead]

Buy a Platinum Preppy with a 0.3 mm (Fine) of the same colour. The whole section is interchangeable. The both are considered semi-disposal pens so it is not worth to worry so much.

[Harlequin]

That intrigues me... what makes you say the are semi-disposable? Their price, or the fact that they are meant to be thrown away? I'd like to hear your reasoning, so that I can understand if I am ignorant of something I should know or if it does indeed sound like you are implying a less expensive pen is a "throw away" pen.

[studiohead]

The way that I would place them would be their price point and their accessories. The price of a Platinum Preppy is 210 Yen. The price of a Platinum Plaisir is 1,050 Yen. The prices for a set of ink cartridge for both of them is 105 Yen while the convertor is 525 yen. These pens are priced so that once you finish the initial cartridge, you would then either go out and buy another pen or get the disposable cartridge. Both the Preppy are sold in bulk by most stationary stores in Japan and Asia where many Preppys will be placed in a slot and you select which pen you want. To the effect of trying them. Similar in sale with the disposal ballpoint pens. The Plaisir will be displayed on the counter top or one the shelf with their own display stand. No box. Only for export where countries that 1,050 yen means something more expensive or mail-order, you will see the Plaisir in a box.

 

What I am saying is because of the price and market positioning they are marketed very similar to the disposal ballpoint pen market. The Plaisir is a transition pen as in someone which is looking for a school pen or similar but have not spend so much, similar pens in this range will be Sailor Neo Hi-ace (1,050 Yen), Sailor Skull Candy (1,050 Yen) and Pilot Vortex (1,575 Yen). Lower than similar pricing to that of the Preppy will be Pilot's Petit (210 Yen), Pilot V-Pen/Varsity (Non-refillable) (210 Yen), Pilot's Penmanship (525 Yen) & Sailor's ink Pen (Non-refillable).

[Harlequin]

I think you may have a different definition of "disposable"- one, it seems, based entirely on price and has nothing to do with re-usability or quality. To me, if a pen is designed to be re-used (meaning with a new cartridge, etc.) then it is by definition not meant to be disposable. A cheap ballpoint is exactly that- it is designed specifically to be thrown away when the ink runs out.

 

But far be it from me or anyone else to insist that quality or purposefully designed reusability should account into one's decision regarding whether less expensive pens are disposable or not. It just seems to me that there are more things to factor in aside from which pen costs more or which pen people will think costs more when they observe someone else writing with it.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Harlequin

[studiohead]

I think you may have a different definition of "disposable"- one, it seems, based entirely on price and has nothing to do with re-usability or quality. To me, if a pen is designed to be re-used (meaning with a new cartridge, etc.) then it is by definition not meant to be disposable. A cheap ballpoint is exactly that- it is designed specifically to be thrown away when the ink runs out.

 

But far be it from me or anyone else to insist that quality or purposefully designed reusability should account into one's decision regarding whether less expensive pens are disposable or not. It just seems to me that there are more things to factor in aside from which pen costs more or which pen people will think costs more when they observe someone else writing with it.

 

I cannot disagree, the reason as I state why I consider them "semi-disposal" is the market positioning. They are designed and priced to use "disposal" cartridges and are low enough to not worry about losing them. I for one use the Platinum Convertor with them. If I want to go on to talk about price and so on, I can start comparing them to my Chinese Pens which are much cheaper (Far less than 210 Yen) and are not position and designed as disposal or semi-disposal products.

[Harlequin]

But where in this discussion do TRULY disposable FPs land? I know there are two main competitors out there right now- the Pilot Varsity and the Bic Disposable. Either one is seriously inexpensive (for good reason, being disposable), coming in two or three to a pack options. They write (from the reviews I've seen) about as well as a Platinum Preppy, but cannot be refilled (well, I think there actually is a way to refill the Varsity, but it wasn't designed for that specific use I'm sure). If that is true about the quality being about equivalent between the Preppy and the Varsity/Bic, would you draw a line saying one is actually disposable and one isn't, taking the Preppy's designed purpose of re-usability and nib choice into account?

[mAnuscript69]

I find disposable fountain pens counter productive. Part of the reason I enjoy using fountain pens is that they are refillable (with a variety of inks of course!). I don't treat the Preppy as a disposable pen, I treat it as an eyedropper pen. If I do end up buying a Varsity, I'll be refilling it.

[Harlequin]

I wouldn't mind doing that with a Preppy either. But if it is true that you can refill a Pilot Varsity, I wonder how the two would actually compare to each other. I would think that one BIG advantage the Preppy has over the Varsity is the fact that it is refillable while the Varsity is not supposed to be. I haven't used either, but I have to wonder if there are any other points- quality wise, etc.- that the Preppy would still have the edge on once the re-usabiility due to being able to refill it is taken away.

[SheWrites]

Well, first I want to thank studiohead for the information about the interchangeable nibs and sections. However, i would like to also add that where I live in the US, I do not have access to either the Plaisir or the Preppy for the prices you are quoting. Having said that, I'd like to also say that I don't really consider any of my pens disposable OR semi-disposable. I consider it a tragedy every time I lose one of them, or break them or they are "taken" from my desk. Each one of them has some trait or another that makes them special to me for some particular task. And now, armed with the information that the nibs for my Plaisir are interchangable with the Preppy, I think I will have to invest in at least 4 or 5 of the Preppys, maybe even make them into eyedroppers. Thanks everyone.

[studiohead]

If you are in Seattle, there is a NBC counter (Called Maido in the US) in Kinokuniya Chinatown. They have them off the shelf.

 

Seattle Store (Inside Kinokuniya Bookstores)

 

525 South Wellar St., Seattle WA, 98104

 

phone: (206)-587-2477

 

[Harlequin]

And now, armed with the information that the nibs for my Plaisir are interchangable with the Preppy, I think I will have to invest in at least 4 or 5 of the Preppys, maybe even make them into eyedroppers. Thanks everyone.

 

If you do that conversion, definitely post on how it turns out! I'd be interested in doing that myself, as I plan on getting a Plaisir too.

[gsalazar]

Well, first I want to thank studiohead for the information about the interchangeable nibs and sections. However, i would like to also add that where I live in the US, I do not have access to either the Plaisir or the Preppy for the prices you are quoting. Having said that, I'd like to also say that I don't really consider any of my pens disposable OR semi-disposable. I consider it a tragedy every time I lose one of them, or break them or they are "taken" from my desk. Each one of them has some trait or another that makes them special to me for some particular task. And now, armed with the information that the nibs for my Plaisir are interchangable with the Preppy, I think I will have to invest in at least 4 or 5 of the Preppys, maybe even make them into eyedroppers. Thanks everyone.

JetPens sells the Preppy for just a dollar more than than what they go for in Japan. They ship free if your order is at least 25USD.

If you are going to get 5 Preppy pens, you just have to find 8 dollars to spend on something else, which is pretty easy to do IMO, since their store is quite addicting.

[SheWrites]

Again, thanks studiohead for the shop name and address. I'm not in Seattle, but just the other side of the mountain (actually, not all the way over the other side, more like perched at the top of the other side) and I do get over there a couple times every year. Alas, now it will have to wait till spring when the snow is gone and I can drive again, but it is something to look forward to.

 

And to gsalazar: Yes, I know that JetPens has them at a good price, and so does ISellPens.com, but I probably won't be buying them all at once even so. I live on a fixed income in a fluctuating outgo world and that more or less dictates what my purchase limits are, darn it. Every time I go to some of the sites to see something in particular I can find thousands of dollars worth of pens, etc. that I drool over. Circumstances can change though, and then I will be a super-shopper!

 

And to Harlequin: It is the Preppy I would be willing to convert, and if I do I will post. The Plaisir I will only be changing the nib, the rest is fine, and very comfortable for me.

[Harlequin]

I just got my Plaisir (gold/ or gold pearlish) and I was curious if you have had any problems with the nib? It says 05 on the nib, which to my knowledge is a medium, but it just doesn't feel right... it's hart to describe. I don't think it's a flow problem, more like it's writing on a very thing layer above the surface of the paper. Almost the feeling you might get trying to write on a piece of paper covered in plastic wrap. No snags or anything, nothing like that though. IS the 05 a medium, btw? Also, I wondered if you have anything stamped on the top of the cap. Mine has "03" stamped there.

[studiohead]

I just got my Plaisir (gold/ or gold pearlish) and I was curious if you have had any problems with the nib? It says 05 on the nib, which to my knowledge is a medium, but it just doesn't feel right... it's hart to describe. I don't think it's a flow problem, more like it's writing on a very thing layer above the surface of the paper. Almost the feeling you might get trying to write on a piece of paper covered in plastic wrap. No snags or anything, nothing like that though. IS the 05 a medium, btw? Also, I wondered if you have anything stamped on the top of the cap. Mine has "03" stamped there.

 

The pen will write abit drier than other pens, it is a flow issue than a nib issue. The .03 is for the smaller size while the .05 is the larger size.

[Harlequin]

 

The pen will write abit drier than other pens, it is a flow issue than a nib issue. The .03 is for the smaller size while the .05 is the larger size.

 

Well, that's what I thought too, but the nib actually has 05 on it, only the cap has the 03 stamped on it, at the literal top of the cap (not on a side or anything).