2 Platinum Soft Fine Nibs, With Different Levels Of Softness

[adamvanwinden]

I recently purchased two brand new platinum 3776's with 14K soft fine nibs. One in the rhodium finish and the other in the gold. Out of the box the one with the rhodium finish was remarkably softer than the gold. Is this a case of natural levels of variance within nib manufacturing or does is the rhodium one known to have greater softness? I did not read anything to that effect before purchasing.

[Gasquolet]

I've always found Platinum nibs to be very consistent within a size and across a model range.

I also recall that rhodium plating a nib was thought to harden the alloy a little. That from a speculative discussion about Sailor King of Pen nibs I think.

 

Both the 3776 soft fines I've used were unplated gold and very similar though I do think my daily driven SF is different, if anything softer now it's done several years of almost daily work. I'd like to try a new one to see how it compares.

[Gasquolet]

Didn't actually answer your question...

 

I've never heard or read of the rhodium plated nibs being more soft, or there being any other difference generally unless you compare the modern 3776 century nibs with the early 3776 nibs.

 

I always believed if I lost my 'work' 3776 SF I would replace it like for like without another thought. Maybe I should get another for insurance instead.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Gasquolet

[Sakura FP Gallery]

In my opnion they all should have the same softness.

[Margana]

My collection includes only one Platinum Century SF, but my Pilot/Namiki Falcon SFs are not identical in terms of flexibility. No visible difference, so I cannot tell which is which without putting them to paper. It takes such a tiny variation to make pens write differently, that I've come to expect two pens of the same model to be kindred spirits rather than duplicates.

[adamvanwinden]

Thankyou for everyone's responses. Yeah I thought that they should be the same. The gold one is comparable to the SEF falcon I have, but the rhodium one makes them feel like nails. I'm just trying to figure out which one's the outlier, in case I wanted another