Curious Case Of Curidas

[ParkerBeta]

I think Pen Chalet replaced the nibs and feeds on the affected pens that were returned, then sold the pens as "used" at a steep discount, since I found three for sale on their website, with original packaging, box and papers, for only $52 each. I would have preferred the gray/smoke model but had to settle for the clear body as that was what they had with an M nib.

• The good: the M nib writes very well and wet, like a European M, and the girth of the section gives me an excellent grip that is not affected by the presence of the clip or the nub at the bottom that is part of the trapdoor mechanism. I ultimately sold off my Pilot VP (the old faceted model) because the clip bothered me so much, so I do appreciate the unencumbered grip here.
• The bad: the transparent injection-molded plastic body that resembles that of a hundred cheap Pentel ballpoints or gel pens just screams "cheap."
• The ugly: the shiny metal components visible through the clear plastic body look like they are not actually metal but metal-colored plastic, yet another connotation of cheapness. I believe they really are made of metal, but I wish the plating did not make them appear this way.
• The wild and weird: the surprisingly byzantine complexity of the nib-retracting mechanism, as well as the contortions one must go through in order to fill the pen. If the goal was to target first-time pen users, this filling process will turn them off fountain pens for good. Only hardcore pen-geeks will enjoy the steps involved in partially disassembling the pen, then filling it, then reassembling the fiddly bits.

Coupled with the strange lack of the customary 20% online discount at launch and the cracked-feed issue with the early batches, I see this pen as a giant fail, not only when it comes to marketing but (unfortunately) even when it comes to engineering design. There is no excuse for such a complicated filling process when Platinum's own 1960s design is cleaner and simpler. I can only conclude that Platinum was intent on not infringing on any of Pilot's patents, leading to this Rube Goldberg mechanism.

 

And yet, I admire the sheer demented wackiness of the nib-retraction mechanism and the filling process! I think the pen could have done better if it were given a gold nib, a non-transparent body of "precious resin" with the same fiddly mechanism but priced at $500 and pitched to pen geeks as a "limited anniversary edition" of "only" 2020 made.

Edited June 26, 2020 by ParkerBeta

[bongo47]

I received my Curidas (F, green) yesterday. Inked it with Lamy Peridot. Ive got to say, this thing is a monstrosity... and I love it. It is way over engineered, an awkward size and shape with strange bumps and bulges, but somehow it works in a wonky way. I also like that taking it apart and inking is way overly complicated. I mean even with its transparent body, its hard to find where the ink window is cause theres so much stuff in there. But I like that its goofy especially since it at least writes well, and even in my small hands its comfortable for the jotting I do.

 

The only major real annoyance Ive found is at the opening for the nib. There are 8 bits of plastic on the inside (probably to prevent cracking, see picture). These things are really rough. If you put your finger on the opening (not inside) youll feel a really rough, almost unfinished opening. Dont like that.

 

But otherwise, Im happy to have one and I fully expect it wont last long on the market because its a goofy, awkward monstrosity.

[peroride]

The only major real annoyance Ive found is at the opening for the nib. There are 8 bits of plastic on the inside (probably to prevent cracking, see picture). These things are really rough. If you put your finger on the opening (not inside) youll feel a really rough, almost unfinished opening. Dont like that.

 

But otherwise, Im happy to have one and I fully expect it wont last long on the market because its a goofy, awkward monstrosity.

Yes! I forgot that good point. That flimsy section end feels like the cheap plastic from free fast food cutlery; makes one wonder if they melted some KFC sporks!

[TSherbs]

Yes! I forgot that good point. That flimsy section end feels like the cheap plastic from free fast food cutlery; makes one wonder if they melted some KFC sporks!

 

Ouch! That is a damning description!

[minddance]

is this a retractable preppy - and sold at a much higher price?

[TSherbs]

is this a retractable preppy - and sold at a much higher price?

Not the same nib or feed. But still basically a no-nonsense steel nib (smaller than the Preppy nib).

[donnweinberg]

I wanted to alert folks about a difficulty I encountered in reassembling the Curidas after cleaning it, and this also could be a problem when trying to fill the pen and get it back together. Let's start with the initial page of instructions, which has drawings to explain assembly and disassembly:

 

 

Notice the area I highlighted in yellow. Focus on the light grey plastic piece that surrounds a portion of the metal cylinder (the "Cartridge Hood") that goes on the back of a cartridge or a converter). I'm using the converter. After I disassembled, cleaned, and dried (exposure to ambient air for a day) the pen, I correctly reinserted the large spring into the front outer portion of the pen, but I had difficulty getting the nib assembly-converter-hood to get seated properly. After screwing the outer bottom section with the long push button onto the outer front portion of the pen, the nib partially stuck out too much, not allowing the plastic hinge to close over it near the top of the pen, and the nib felt stuck, along with the bottom button.

 

The problem turned out to be that on the Cartridge Hood, the above-pictured, highlighted grey plastic piece (seen over and perpendicular to the thin open rectangle) had moved toward the rear of the thin open rectangle, behind the slight metal hump, which is not shown in the drawings. After I (carefully) pushed the grey plastic piece forward over the hump, it all fit just right.

 

This presents a subtle, tricky problem if one is not careful. It confirms one of the list of problems mentioned by another member -- essentially that the inside mechanism of the pen may be too complicated for those who value relative simplicity. It reminds me of the potential issues that the Sheaffer Intrigue's unique, two-turn-screw filling system has, but I think that the Curidas is more complicated. I happen to enjoy a bit of complexity, but this issue was unexpected. The solution was not at all obvious without looking very closely at the above instructions and comparing them to what was in front of my eyes. I think this fix easily could be missed by many folks not looking at the instructions carefully and not realizing that the positioning of the grey plastic piece relative to the slight metal hump is all-important.

 

I hope this explanation is helpful to those of you facing this issue. Other than this problem, the pen wrote beautifully and comfortably for me.

 

 

[donnweinberg]

I also wanted to credit ParkerBeta with making the point about the complexity of the internals of the Curdias:

• The wild and weird: the surprisingly byzantine complexity of the nib-retracting mechanism, as well as the contortions one must go through in order to fill the pen. If the goal was to target first-time pen users, this filling process will turn them off fountain pens for good. Only hardcore pen-geeks will enjoy the steps involved in partially disassembling the pen, then filling it, then reassembling the fiddly bits.

[PAKMAN]

It did seem overly complicated when I first put ink in mine!

[TSherbs]

@Don

Is your feed not cracked (as it is for many others)?

[donnweinberg]

None of my five Curidas feeds is cracked. I checked carefully.

[TSherbs]

None of my five Curidas feeds is cracked. I checked carefully.

 

good to hear