Platinum #3776 Century Vs Ptl-5000

[Tom Traubert]

Today's the day I take advantage of Cult Pens awesome 20% off Platinum offer.

 

My question is a simple one - how much better is the the #3776 than the PTL-5000? I'd be getting either with a medium nib. Aesthetics isn't really an issue - I'm interested in nib smoothness, flow and maybe weight. I know the #3776 is a classic pen and one that should last me a lifetime, but I'm intrigued by its cheaper brother.

 

Any opinions will be helpful!

[laserlight]

I have been using a PTL-5000A with medium nib as my daily writer. It was purchased from Engeika in July and has not seen any nibmeister tweaking. It is a smooth writer, but far from the smoothest that I have tried. I am not sure if it should be considered a wet or dry writer, but I have not had any hard starts or skipping with it. Being plastic (AS resin), it is fairly lightweight, and it is long enough that I normally use it without posting.

On Sunday, I bought a #3776 Century with medium nib from a local store, likewise without any nibmeister tweaking. Although the nib is different from the PTL-5000A, the "medium" designation is consistent: the line thickness is indeed the same. The flow seems to be the same to me thus far, but the #3776 Century's nib feels a little smoother. However, the difference appears small enough that it could well be the effect of me wanting the nib on the more expensive pen to be smoother It is also fairly lightweight, but while its effective length uncapped is almost the same as the PTL-5000, it has a longer nib so if you have large hands it might be uncomfortable to use without posting (I have no problems though).

I prefer the #3776 Century to the PTL-5000A mainly because of the slip & seal mechanism and aesthetics (the Bourgogne is gorgeous; the wider nib looks more classy to me), but if neither of these are important to you then perhaps the cheaper PTL-5000 will be more worthwhile, unless you are really willing to pay more for the (possibly) slightly smoother nib.

[Tom Traubert]

That's really useful, thanks. Anyone else?

[KBeezie]

I have both, and previous had a Century 3776 with a 14K Soft Fine nib. Currently I have a PTL-5000A with a 14K EF Nib and a Century 3776 (in burgundy) with a 14K Medium nib.

 

The PTL-5000A is certainly smaller/lighter with just a snap cap but I find that with certain inks it can dry out very easily, and was quite a bit on the scratchy side even as I double checked to make sure the tines were aligned. Course it is also one of the finest line producing pen I currently have aside from the accounting nib on my vintage sheaffer touchdown admiral, so scratch was to be expected.

 

It did decently well with Iroshizuku Tsutsuji, but even that can dry to a hard starter after a couple of days.

 

I got this one in an auction for $52 shipped off Engeika Ebay, though that shop is now selling these aftermarket paint jobs for $45 shipped. (or around $52-56 on Rakuten for the straight black or red one).

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wancher_makie/tsutsuji.jpg

 

The Platinum Century 3776 on the other hand was a bit more comfortable to use, still "feels" about as light, but it's actually just shy of twice the weight of the PTL-5000A. The black 3776 with the soft fine was purchased from the Bunkidou shop on Rakuten for $90 shipped, and that one was pretty comfortable to hold. The soft fine had some tooth to it, but it wasn't too bad, and it produced a finer line than the Soft fine on my Pilot Falcon, but it didn't give quite as much line variation, but felt more controlled than the Falcon.

 

The Bourgogne one with the Medium was just as comfortable but much more attractive, and the medium nib is quite smooth. Produces a line pretty close to the middle of a Pilot Fine and Medium. I got that one from the same Rakuten shop for $72 shipped (had 2,000 bonus points to apply, giving me roughly $20 off).

 

Both Century 3776 were excellent on flow and did not dry up or have hard starts due to the slip-and-seal cap. They both felt more comfortable for longer writing sessions and the 3776 nibs seemed to be smoother and more controlled (though I have not tried a PTL-5000A with a medium or larger)

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/3776/bourgogne/uncapped.jpg

 

I have a red PTL-10000 on the way with a 18K Medium (maybe by next week I'll have it), it's nearly the same in appearance to the PTL-5000, except it's around 17g instead of 12g in weight (the Century 3776 is 20g total), about the same height (136mm vs 135.5mm), and is 13mm thick instead of 12mm. Also it has a 18K nib instead of a 14K. Both the PTL-5000 and PTL-10000 go by the same name of "Standard".

Edited September 16, 2014 by KBeezie

[laserlight]

I have both, and previous had a Century 3776 with a 14K Soft Fine nib. Currently I have a PTL-5000A with a 14K EF Nib and a Century 3776 (in burgundy) with a 14K Medium nib.

 

The PTL-5000A is certainly smaller/lighter with just a snap cap but I find that with certain inks it can dry out very easily, and was quite a bit on the scratchy side even as I double checked to make sure the tines were aligned. Course it is also one of the finest line producing pen I currently have aside from the accounting nib on my vintage sheaffer touchdown admiral, so scratch was to be expected.

 

(...)

 

Both Century 3776 were excellent on flow and did not dry up or have hard starts due to the slip-and-seal cap. They both felt more comfortable for longer writing sessions and the 3776 nibs seemed to be smoother and more controlled (though I have not tried a PTL-5000A with a medium or larger)

 

My PTL-5000A with fine nib feels scratchy, quite a contrast to the medium.

[KBeezie]

 

My PTL-5000A with fine nib feels scratchy, quite a contrast to the medium.

 

The tipping size/shape seems to jump a gap when platinum goes from fine to medium, not quite as gradual as I've seen in other companies.

[KBeezie]

Just got my PTL-10000 earlier and I must say I'm impressed. Posted pics and info on this thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/274653-my-new-platinum-ptl-10000-very-nice/

 

In case you want to consider it compared to something like the Century 3776 (directly from Japan they seem to be close to the same price, just seems easier to find a Century 3776 on Rakuten).

[hari317]

I have several of these pens, 3776, PTL-5000 etc. The PTL-5000A is a lovely pen and if you like or prefer a slim pen, then look no further and use the saved money to buy some wonderful Platinum Blue-black ink. in fact I dare say that at the same price point of 5000JPY; between the Pilot Celemo and The PTL-5000A, I prefer the latter purely from the writing point of view.

[Tom Traubert]

3776 broad. Classic black and gold on it'd way to me. Excited!