Curious Case Of Curidas

[TSherbs]

I received the smokey grey Curidas (medium nib) yesterday. I inked it with Noodler's Bernake Red. The instructions are easy to follow, and as others above stated, once you've gone through a filling and reassembly once, you don't need the instructions thereafter; one experience makes obvious what you need to do. The pen wrote right away very readily and smoothly. I also have no problem from the clip or under-side nub when writing. One hand is all I need to operate, and I have average size male hands and fingers. Based on my experience with this one, I have ordered the other four colors, one with a medium nib and three with fine nibs. As indicated by others, the nib units are interchangeable between the Curidas pens. For me, this is a fun pen that looks great and writes well.

 

You hear about the cracking issues? You ask for them to be checked?

[donnweinberg]

 

You hear about the cracking issues? You ask for them to be checked?

 

I didn't hear about cracking issues, but this one appears to be fine, at least so far. Thanks for bringing this issue to my attention, though. I'll keep an eye out.

[TSherbs]

 

I didn't hear about cracking issues, but this one appears to be fine, at least so far. Thanks for bringing this issue to my attention, though. I'll keep an eye out.

 

It's in the feed. If you watch waskisquirrels' first impression video, he examines his and uses an inserted arrow to show the location of his cracking. He said he was not sure he would not have noticed it if he weren't prompted to look.

 

https://youtu.be/sz_99bPQEkM The cracking issue is raised at the 4:00 minute mark.

Edited May 19, 2020 by TSherbs

[donnweinberg]

That video is very helpful in knowing where to look on the feed for the crack. I examined mine in good lighting with a very good magnifier and do not see any cracking. There is no leaking from the nib or feed either. So, I'm lucky so far. I'll take a look at the other four Curidases when they arrived, to determine whether any have cracked feeds. Thank you again for your very helpful information.

[TSherbs]

roger roger

 

good luck with them

 

hope they all work out ok

[donnweinberg]

I received the other four Curidas FPs today and immediately, under good lighting and magnification, checked their nib feeds for cracks. No cracks were found.

[TSherbs]

awesome! Have fun with them.

[whichwatch]

Just received mine. The feed is noticeably cracked

[donnweinberg]

Just received mine. The feed is noticeably cracked

If it's not too much trouble, could you take some good photos of the cracks so we can see what you are seeing? This type of feed has symmetrical ridges on the sides and bottom, without combing, and these are not cracks, of course. It would help to see whether all the cracks are in approximately the same location or in different locations.

[whichwatch]

If it's not too much trouble, could you take some good photos of the cracks so we can see what you are seeing? This type of feed has symmetrical ridges on the sides and bottom, without combing, and these are not cracks, of course. It would help to see whether all the cracks are in approximately the same location or in different locations.

 

 

Pictures I have seen elsewhere as well as in the video show the cracks on the right side as you look at the bottom of the feed. Mine is on the left, just above the metal clip. I believe FPN software reduces the size of the photo below, but if you click on it, it will enlarge to full size.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B45CE6B56-ADBE-4022-8489-3268789F223F%7D/origpict/IMG_2811.jpg

Edited May 21, 2020 by whichwatch

[donnweinberg]

Thank you, whichwatch, for that very clear and large photo. The crack is very clear. We should hope that Platinum and/or its distributors (in each country or region), or our retailers from whom we purchased the Curidas, send a formal letter or email to known buyers about this issue. Such a letter should offer to take back the defective pen (when it's feed is cracked) and offer either a full refund or a replacement of the defective pen with a new Curidas sans feed-cracks. That would be the proper thing to do.

[dapprman]

Think every photo I've seen makes it look like the nib wing might be too tight on one side and that's caused the feed to crack. Mine is fine, but in the UK the ones now on sale are a new manufacturing batch so hopefully it's just one lot - not sure if I've heard of cracked feeds outside of the USA. Perhaps a rush to get them out for the US market (where they were late) was the cause ?

[whichwatch]

The retailer on mine is Pen Chalet. I notified them and they immediately offered a refund or exchange at my option. They also offered to inspect the new unit (I chose exchange) prior to its shipment. Finally, they are immediately sending the replacement, along with a prepaid return label for the return.

 

Kudos to Pen Chalet!

Edited May 21, 2020 by whichwatch

[markh]

I have 2 of them - and after looking at the photo - sure enough one is cracked.

But to be honest, both are in regular (if not intensive) use, and I never would have noticed without the picture and posting.

I don't see any functional problem - both work fine, no leaks, etc....

 

Given that, it might make sense for me to wait until there is more information from Platinum. Replace the unit when there is an understanding of what the problem is to make sure it won't reappear - its not clear to me (yet) if they leave the factory that way, or crack over some time.

 

.

[dapprman]

Just looked an mine is cracked - not visible to the naked eye, bur under a loupe, or here a USB microscope

http://i.imgur.com/0gkcCTR.jpg

To be honest I'm with Markh on not being too concerned, however I will let the shop I got it from, Cult Pens, know for reference and in case there's a recall.

(btw cross posting this to another cracks in curidas/curious case post in case it seems familiar)

[TSherbs]

I wonder how the nib and feed are assembled at the factory....

[MSA]

So I drove 50 miles on this Saturday to Dromgoole's in the Rice University area for my monthly visit. Except that this visit was the first one after the lock down...so I was reasonably excited.

 

I asked about buying the Curidas....and was told that they were out. The international mail from Japan is disrupted again plus, Dromgoole's sent back atleast 30 odd pens in their stock back to the factory due to nib issues.

 

I was advised that now is not a good time to buy a Curidas.

[Calabria]

OP - I like your review! Fun to read!

 

At some point I might pick one up - but it does look funky and cheap.

[donnweinberg]

OP - I like your review! Fun to read!

 

At some point I might pick one up - but it does look funky and cheap.

 

 

As I said earlier, I now have all five of them and have been using the smokey grey version for a few weeks now (with Noodler's Bernake Red ink). No feed cracks so far. I'm really enjoying this pen. I don't believe that the pen looks or feels "cheap," especially for the $80 SRP. The acrylic feels solid to me. I like demonstrators, so this model fits the bill. I find that initially I need two hands to get the nib engaged comfortably, as the pen is on the long side when the nib is inside.

[Paul-in-SF]

The retailer on mine is Pen Chalet. I notified them and they immediately offered a refund or exchange at my option. They also offered to inspect the new unit (I chose exchange) prior to its shipment. Finally, they are immediately sending the replacement, along with a prepaid return label for the return.

 

Kudos to Pen Chalet!

 

Yes, kudos to Pen Chalet. I sort of got the same service from another retailer who I shall not name, because I had to ask a) for them to pay for the return postage and 2) for them to inspect the replacement before it was sent out (although to be fair they might have done that anyway, but they did not say so).

 

I have had mine since June 1 (the replacement), and so far I am disappointed. I think it feels fine in my hand, although I did remove the clip just because I don't need it and it was distracting. But I have not had much success with the nib. At first it would not write at all, or only a very faint and scratchy line (it's a Fine nib) so I worked on it and got it wetter and smoother, and wrote for a day with it. But the next time I took it out, after 13 days of not being used, the nib was completely dry and would not write, not just a hard start but no start. I had to advance the converter piston a little ways to force the ink into the feed before it was back to writing like a decent pen.

 

The hoped-for success of that vaunted mechanism to keep the nib from drying out was my only reason for buying this pen, since I have had bad luck with two Pilot VPs and middling luck with a Lamy Dialog 3 in keeping the pens writeable over time. I will give this pen some more chances but it has not made a good first impression on me. The ink I am using is Levenger Cobalt, which I have always thought of as a fairly wet ink. I will probably try something I know to be lubricated before consigning it to the For Sale file.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Paul-in-SF