Older Platinum 3776 Nib Inscription?

[tmenyc]

I'm working on an older Platinum 3776 for a friend, the model issued starting in 1979, and am curious about the nib inscription. Does anyone know or can read the symbol to the right of the "14K" inscription, and the symbol below that, on the bottom?

 

Also, does anyone know the production dates of this model?

Please forgive the crappy cell phone photos. I'm at work, avoiding everything on my desk except the pen.

 

Many thanks,

 

Tim

 

[Notgatherox]

The Chinese character is 太 (tai), which I'm guessing means broad (I may be wrong, wait for more knowledgeable people to chime in!)

 

No idea on the symbol though.

 

 

~Epic

[tmenyc]

Epic,

Exactly what I was hoping for, but am surprised that it's Chinese! It is a broad nib.

Platinum experts, was there a Chinese connection? The Platinum history site shows that a factory was established in Taiwan in 1974 -- could this nib have been Taiwan-made? Was the pen made in Taiwan?

 

best,

Tim

[Notgatherox]

Epic,

Exactly what I was hoping for, but am surprised that it's Chinese! It is a broad nib.

Platinum experts, was there a Chinese connection? The Platinum history site shows that a factory was established in Taiwan in 1974 -- could this nib have been Taiwan-made? Was the pen made in Taiwan?

 

best,

Tim

 

Well, Japanese characters (Kanji) includes many Chinese characters - the product of many years of influence from the Chinese... Let's see, Japan has had contact with China since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)...

 

 

~Epic

[zchen]

The kanji 太 indicate the tipping is broad. Platinum used to use Kanji instead of alphabet to indicate tipping width on their nib.

The symbol is the Japanese Industry Standards (JIS) symbol

[tmenyc]

Clearly, Asian languages are not in my toolbag...wish they were. Any ideas abut the bottom symbol?

 

Tim

[jde]

The symbol is JIS (Japan Industry Standards) as zchen told you in post #5.

 

A resource for you, Tim, near the bottom you'll see the kanji for nib sizes: http://www.nibs.com/NakayaNibsPage.htm

 

Nice Platinum pen.

Edited August 24, 2016 by jde

[grainweevil]

Bottom symbol is, I believe "JIS" or Japan Industry Standard.

[tmenyc]

jde, zchen -- thanks! Mystery solved.

 

Tim

[SNAK]

The Gathered #3776 pens are my favourite 3776! They were called "The Fountain Pen" (ザ・万年筆) when they were first put on the market, and IIRC the Gathered model was the first of the #3776 pens by Platinum.

 

I have three generations of them starting with the old round nib with plain ebonite feed. The ones with ebonite feed with fins cut in them are second generation Gathered pens. What does your pen's feed look like Tim? And then the third generation pens are the current ones with flatter shaped nibs on the top, and plastic feeds. There were some changes in the pen's barrel as well over the generations, namely the number of gathers (or bumps) on the body.

As everyone said, the 太 means Broad nib. FYI 中 is Medium and 細 is Fine. There could be 中細 Medium Fine and 細軟 Fine Soft, although I am not sure if those nib sizes were available for this model.

[zchen]

The Gathered #3776 pens are my favourite 3776! They were called "The Fountain Pen" (ザ・万年筆) when they were first put on the market, and IIRC the Gathered model was the first of the #3776 pens by Platinum.

 

I have three generations of them starting with the old round nib with plain ebonite feed. The ones with ebonite feed with fins cut in them are second generation Gathered pens. What does your pen's feed look like Tim? And then the third generation pens are the current ones with flatter shaped nibs on the top, and plastic feeds. There were some changes in the pen's barrel as well over the generations, namely the number of gathers (or bumps) on the body.

As everyone said, the 太 means Broad nib. FYI 中 is Medium and 細 is Fine. There could be 中細 Medium Fine and 細軟 Fine Soft, although I am not sure if those nib sizes were available for this model.

 

I can confirm 中細 Medium Fine was available for the Gathered, I bought a lot of two 3776 Gathered from a Japanese seller and one came with the Medium Fine nib (Nib Date 253 [February, Showa 53 - 1978]), unfortunately the pen itself was broken (a clean break of the section from the threads to the barrel). It's in the parts bin right now, but I did discover it was a perfect fit on a Visconti Rebecca Moss pen that I had around with no nib so I may frankenpen-it.

Edited August 26, 2016 by zchen

[tmenyc]

The Gathered #3776 pens are my favourite 3776! They were called "The Fountain Pen" (ザ・万年筆) when they were first put on the market, and IIRC the Gathered model was the first of the #3776 pens by Platinum.

 

I have three generations of them starting with the old round nib with plain ebonite feed. The ones with ebonite feed with fins cut in them are second generation Gathered pens. What does your pen's feed look like Tim? And then the third generation pens are the current ones with flatter shaped nibs on the top, and plastic feeds. There were some changes in the pen's barrel as well over the generations, namely the number of gathers (or bumps) on the body.

As everyone said, the 太 means Broad nib. FYI 中 is Medium and 細 is Fine. There could be 中細 Medium Fine and 細軟 Fine Soft, although I am not sure if those nib sizes were available for this model.

Snak,

 

From your description, this, with the rounded nib pictured above, looks like 2nd Generation. Do you know the years of the generations? Also, is the nib friction fit separately from the feed, or is there a nib unit? If nib unit, is it screwed in or friction fit? The one I'm working on is pretty tight in there and I didn't want to apply pressure without knowing the structure.

 

thanks!

 

Tim

[SNAK]

Hi Tim,

 

You're right, yours is the second generation Gathered #3776.

 

The nib/feed are friction fit definitely. But there is an internal, cylindrical ring inside of the plastic section tube that hugs the nib and feed pretty snugly so I think a long soak in ultrasonic bath will help your nib and feed come out safely. I am not home at the moment but from memory, there was a thin tube attached to the back end of the feed as well, so when you do pull the feed and nib out you should be careful not to break that. You can dunk the whole section into the bath safely, with the metal screw threads at the back and all.

 

I don't have them with me at the moment but I can take some photos when I can get them on Sunday to show you.

 

Just from memory, the differences over the generations:

• 1st and 2nd generations have the same shaped nib.
• 1st gen feed is plain ebonite without fins cut on the sides. Nib has rounded top surface.
• 2nd gen feed is ebonite with fins cut on the sides. Nib has rounded top surface.
• 3rd gen feed is plastic, same as current model Platinum pens. Nib has flat top surface.
• **I have heard of another variant, but have not seen it in person, a version in between 2nd and 3rd gens, where the feed is a finned ebonite feed and the nib is modern flat top nib. So there could in fact have been 4 generations of this pen.**
• Older nibs have manufacture date stamped on them.
• Metal threads at the back of the section to screw on the barrel, is silver colour in 1st and 2nd gens. 3rd gen has gold colour metal threads. (Platinum sells a silver trim converter to match them, at least when I bought them a few years ago, but I had to search for them. Regular Platinum converter comes with gold colour trim.)
• The number of gathers (bumps/ridges) on the barrel is different. (But I can't remember which generation had how many gathers. I have to look at them physically and get back to you).

Also there is/was a red version of Gathered pens which i really really wanted but they are hard to come by.

There was a short and fat lookalike pen made by Platinum, called Glamour, that was so cute and tiny (and fat), that strangely used international cartridges rather than regular Platinum cartridges. Glamour came in different finishes and trims (like stealth matte black, regular gold trim, Pink, White, Powder Blue). I am tempted but I haven't fallen down that rabbit hole yet.

 

I'll come back with some photos in a day or two, but in the meantime don't try to force the nib and feed to come out if they are tightly stuck in there, Tim, let the section have a nice long bath to loosen up a bit.

 

Have a great weekend.

[SNAK]

 

I can confirm 中細 Medium Fine was available for the Gathered, I bought a lot of two 3776 Gathered from a Japanese seller and one came with the Medium Fine nib (Nib Date 253 [February, Showa 53 - 1978]), unfortunately the pen itself was broken (a clean break of the section from the threads to the barrel). It's in the parts bin right now, but I did discover it was a perfect fit on a Visconti Rebecca Moss pen that I had around with no nib so I may frankenpen-it.

Thanks for the confirmation zchen, it's good to know. My Gathered pens are Broad or Medium nibbed so I wasn't 100% sure.

[tmenyc]

perfect, many thanks, Snak.

 

Tim

[ink-syringe]

That is an awesome pen (ribbed for pleasure. haha)... the tooling marks make the feed look like it is Ebonite. Looks like an OB nib or is that just the angle of the shot? I want one of those "Gathered" 3776. I like the look of them.

[tmenyc]

I don't believe it's OB..you're seeing inexactly aligned cell phone pictures. To my eye, there's a little wear on one tine but it's a straight B. It is a really nice pen, for sure...sadly not mine.

 

Tim

[Jaco10017]

Hey all, I'm the owner of this pen and I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge. It's my first vintage Japanese pen and I don't think it will be my last. I'll be hunting the red version, for sure!

[tmenyc]

Jaco,

possession is still 90% of the law, and last I saw it's on my desk...it may need a couple of more fills before it's released.

 

Tim

Edited August 28, 2016 by tmenyc

[sugna]

I am a big fan of the older 3776 pens, maybe even too much of a fan.

 

 

Admittedly, the briar pens are not technically 3776s (marked Tiffany & Co. with a Diplomat imprint) but everything about them leaves little doubt as to their true origin. The only flaw I can spot with the design is the tendency for the plastic cap packing to become loose or damaged, so that ones you find in the wild might only cap loosely (or not at all). I've yet to source replacement cap packing, but haven't yet given up hope because Platinum still uses them in the push-to-close caps, like those on the briar pens and higo zogan.

 

I have one more on the way, a maki-e / raden design:

 

I can't wait to see this one in person!