Review: Platinum 3776 Century Sf (Soft-Fine) Versus A Field Of Flex Comparison

[IWantThat]

Excellent review! I remember when you bought your Pendleton Bad Boy, and I remember seeing the Lemoncello when it was still new to you I'm glad you've discovered vintage flex. You're right. There's no comparison. Thank you for taking the time to provide this excellent review, and thank you for reminding me that I really need a bottle of Iroshizuku Syo-Ro. It's one of the first Iro inks that caught my eye, and one I still don't have. As for flex...I can only agree that Waterman vintage nibs are incredible. I have just one, and it's amazing. So amazing that I think someone else should own it, because they can really use it to its full potential. My vintage Wahl #2 nibs are also very nice. That's a flex nib you might want to check out...for comparisons only...I don't want to make you buy more pens

Edited July 20, 2013 by IWantThat

[terminal]

Excellent review! I remember when you bought your Pendleton Bad Boy, and I remember seeing the Lemoncello when it was still new to you I'm glad you've discovered vintage flex. You're right. There's no comparison. Thank you for taking the time to provide this excellent review, and thank you for reminding me that I really need a bottle of Iroshizuku Syo-Ro. It's one of the first Iro inks that caught my eye, and one I still don't have. As for flex...I can only agree that Waterman vintage nibs are incredible. I have just one, and it's amazing. So amazing that I think someone else should own it, because they can really use it to its full potential. My vintage Wahl #2 nibs are also very nice. That's a flex nib you might want to check out...for comparisons only...I don't want to make you buy more pens

I know exactly what you mean about feeling someone else should own it! It makes me so sad that my Waterman has to be written with by me instead of being featured by someone over in the penmanship forums! Oh well, I respect it at least! I do have a skyline here that I thought about adding... but it still has the cardboard nib size band on it and I couldn't bring myself to (once again) risk getting it wet... oy! One of these days I'll get my hands on a Doric adjustable, then.... watch out!

 

Thanks so much for reading this and taking the time to reply!

[hari317]

Thanks for sharing, i can see that you have put in a lot of efforts to make this review, very well done. Maybe a M1000 could have been included in the mix, many call that a flex nib.

 

Nice closeup pics, The Titanium nib looks sprung, do you face any startup issues with it?

 

Best

Hari

[ravantra]

Brilliant! Great selection of pens.

[andymcc]

Thank you for posting such an in depth review and comparison
I've been looking at the Platinum #3776 with an sf nib as a treat for myself, I thought about the falcon but read quite a few bad reviews and as I want a soft nib the Platinum #3776 seems like the best option.
I plan on using the pen for sketches, how do you think the nib would hold up to drawing? Do you think it's a writing only type pen?

Edited July 20, 2013 by andymcc

[IWantThat]

I know exactly what you mean about feeling someone else should own it! It makes me so sad that my Waterman has to be written with by me instead of being featured by someone over in the penmanship forums! Oh well, I respect it at least! I do have a skyline here that I thought about adding... but it still has the cardboard nib size band on it and I couldn't bring myself to (once again) risk getting it wet... oy! One of these days I'll get my hands on a Doric adjustable, then.... watch out!

 

Thanks so much for reading this and taking the time to reply!

 

Oh, I'm with you on the Doric! It's my current grail pen

[Lince]

Perfect review, comparison and pictures, you did a great job.

I now think that the charm of a flex pen are the fine lines.

And in that camp the Century is great.

 

I had one modified and although it dos not flexes to BBBB like some Waterman and other vintage do it does has nice variation thanks to the fine lines.

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/9250565143_41994fa025_b.jpg

Spencerian nib por fipi2000, en Flickr

[mongrelnomad]

What a great review!

 

I'm not a huge flex fan (though I have a few moderns and an old pink Waterman 7) - mostly because my handwriting is so dire. Your hand is AMAZING. I am very very jealous!

 

That said, it might be worth-while trying a Mottishaw or Binder moden flex pen (I have an Omas Milord from the former, a Pelikan M600 from the latter) as comparing any ootb moderns to anything vintage is going to end in tears. Might make for a fairer fight

Edited July 21, 2013 by mongrelnomad

[terminal]

Thanks for sharing, i can see that you have put in a lot of efforts to make this review, very well done. Maybe a M1000 could have been included in the mix, many call that a flex nib.

 

Nice closeup pics, The Titanium nib looks sprung, do you face any startup issues with it?

 

Best

Hari

Thank you! Thanks for the feedback too!

 

An M1000 is a great idea. I've had my eye on the m1005 for quite a while but I've never been completely clear on the Pelikan line and whether that nib is different from the 800 etc (obviously a topic that has been answered in many other threads). In any case, thanks for the suggestion -- both a Wahl and a M1000 would be useful I think.

 

YOu know, it's so funny you'd mentioned the Stipula -- I didn't notice until I posted that picture that it looks sprung. It doesn't behave strangely at all. I wish I had owned a macro lens when I originally reviewed it so I could compare. In any case, I started a thread about it because I'd like to find out too.

[terminal]

Brilliant! Great selection of pens.

Thanks! I'm always looking to add more and this is a great way to get suggestions, and then I can tell the family, "well, I really NEED one of these or my work will never be complete..."

[terminal]

Thank you for posting such an in depth review and comparison

I've been looking at the Platinum #3776 with an sf nib as a treat for myself, I thought about the falcon but read quite a few bad reviews and as I want a soft nib the Platinum #3776 seems like the best option.

I plan on using the pen for sketches, how do you think the nib would hold up to drawing? Do you think it's a writing only type pen?

Thanks for reading it! Well, it's hard to say for sure that it would be a good drawing pen, but what I can tell you is that, out of all the pens in this review, the only two that I would use for drawing would be the Platinum SF and the Ahab. It may be possible to use the Victory or the Falcon but the others wouldn't work as well (of course, a TWSBI with a different nib would work too, but not the PB one here).

 

It's a good point actually; it illustrates the difference between a more versatile modern pen with a 'little flex' versus a 1900s - 1930s flex pen.

[terminal]

Perfect review, comparison and pictures, you did a great job.

I now think that the charm of a flex pen are the fine lines.

And in that camp the Century is great.

 

I had one modified and although it dos not flexes to BBBB like some Waterman and other vintage do it does has nice variation thanks to the fine lines.

Thank you! I agree with you... although I guess I would broaden what you say to include that the charm is that it starts fine, has a lot of variation, and that the variation is readily available to the user

 

Your writing is beautiful! It looks to me like your modified Century yields a little more than mine (which is about .3mm to .9mm) but not much. Do you have a measuring device handy?

[terminal]

What a great review!

 

I'm not a huge flex fan (though I have a few moderns and an old pink Waterman 7) - mostly because my handwriting is so dire. Your hand is AMAZING. I am very very jealous!

 

That said, it might be worth-while trying a Mottishaw or Binder moden flex pen (I have an Omas Milord from the former, a Pelikan M600 from the latter) as comparing any ootb moderns to anything vintage is going to end in tears. Might make for a fairer fight

I'm sure you're talking about Lince's handwriting... which is an example of what I aspire too. Handwriting is SO FRUSTRATING.

 

Well, I may try a Binder at some point, but I wonder how different it would really be from the Pendleton Brown... although it would be on a gold nib I guess. I do not especially want to compare nibmeisters here, but I guess if you have a more expensive pen, you can expect more out of it.

[mongrelnomad]

I'm sure you're talking about Lince's handwriting... which is an example of what I aspire too. Handwriting is SO FRUSTRATING.

 

Well, I may try a Binder at some point, but I wonder how different it would really be from the Pendleton Brown... although it would be on a gold nib I guess. I do not especially want to compare nibmeisters here, but I guess if you have a more expensive pen, you can expect more out of it.

It may be a product of the gold nib, but the 14k nibs I have from Binder and Mottishaw (the Mottishaw especially) are far more dramatic than the Pendleton sample you posted...

[zhryj]

Very very Excellent review.

[rudyhou]

awesome pics and penmanship. thank you for sharing

[terminal]

Very very Excellent review.

awesome pics and penmanship. thank you for sharing

 

Thanks very much! Thanks for reading!

[cybaea]

Super review, thanks! I have had no luck with the SF nib and had to send mine back. Leigh - who started this thing for you - said 'try before you buy' on the nibs.

[terminal]

Super review, thanks! I have had no luck with the SF nib and had to send mine back. Leigh - who started this thing for you - said 'try before you buy' on the nibs.

Thank you!

 

I absolutely couldn't agree with you and Leigh more! It's a shame it's so hard for some to try out these pens without buying them first.

[andymcc]

Thanks for reading it! Well, it's hard to say for sure that it would be a good drawing pen, but what I can tell you is that, out of all the pens in this review, the only two that I would use for drawing would be the Platinum SF and the Ahab. It may be possible to use the Victory or the Falcon but the others wouldn't work as well (of course, a TWSBI with a different nib would work too, but not the PB one here).

 

It's a good point actually; it illustrates the difference between a more versatile modern pen with a 'little flex' versus a 1900s - 1930s flex pen.

 

 

Thanks for the reply, I took the plunge and bought a #3776 with an sf nib.

My initial impression of the pen is that I'm a bit disappointed, for a pen of this price the construction is good but the material is plastic and feels a little cheap, my Parson's essential feels better made to me. The nib is smooth and has a nice spring that makes writing feel cushioned, the flex gives a tiny bit of line variation but nothing major, the line is very thin and thinner than my Twsbi mini EF nib. My Conway Stewart 84 gives far more line variation but the #3776 feels a nicer nib on paper as it's smoother.

I'm hoping the pen will grow on me as I don't fancy spending twice the money on a falcon as I think I'd be afraid to use a £200 pen for drawing