Platinum 3776 Uef

[AL01]

Hi all!

 

I purchased a Platinum 3776 UEF about a year ago. I like very fine nibs (I own one medium and one broad and I barely use those), but this one was unusable. It ripped my paper when I tried to write with it. I sold it the same day I got it. Has anyone else had this experience? For those who have had good experiences with this pen/nib, tell me about it. Im looking into trying again.

 

Edit: these posts keep removing my apostrophes! They work for me in comments, but not in posts.

 

 

I bought a used 3776 with an UEF nib, and it scraped into the page.

 

Since I bought it for a good price, (and will probably receive a partial refund for the issues), I will send it off for nibwork.

 

Occasionally there are lemons from any pen company, but I was never interested in buying from official dealers anyway, so I have to deal with no warranty...

[Bounce792]

Here is a quick thing I did. Minimal pressure. Sorry, it's a bit late in the day but some DIY things came up. So my handwriting is rather sloppy and inconsistent since my arms are aching from the workout. But I think you get the gist of the line variation depending on paper.

 

Not much difference on the copy paper but on something like Rhodia, you'll see the slight difference. I added the Pelikan mainly because it was on my desk, I knew it had a thin line, and I couldn't tell if it was inked. All the black ink is Pilot Black, not any Iroshizuku.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Bounce792

[peroride]

Just got a brand spanking new UEF with the 3d etching from 2019 to test against my current modern fav Pilot 912 PO.

 

I really cannot compare as the inks are different but my initial take is UEF is the ultimate for the most thrifty frugality desert island pen if you're left with boxes of cheap thick absorbent paper like stuff you get at Costco.

 

It basically pays for itself.

 

The UEF had tines spaced apart and the tip looked like it had baby bottom that was a concern. I was thinking of not even inking it.

But when I inked it up with Monteverde Blue Black ITF and wrote, expectations were exceeded

No digs, drags, scratchiness that I had read about. I got the thin dry pencil feeling. It almost feels like my Aurora 88 Fine had an ultra fine sibling. I guess I got the lucky batch or maybe Platinum is improving.

 

As comparisons go for UEF alternatives, my favorite single purpose fines are

• Wahl Eversharp Skyline Needlepoint Wet Noodle by Greg Minuskin - most scratch evar but has variation at the lightest touch I bought a slew of pens recently to try to recreate thinness and feel but alas, there can be only 1
• Pilot 912 Heritage PO - Wow what a great pen! I started on concords not realizing PO is where it's at. Yes it writes on cheap post card stock, cardboard or anything for that matter, smoother than UEF but will bleed through the cheep cheap. Almost as thin if not the same as UEF ?!! I guess Ultra is a good marketing term
• Greg's Pelikan 140 Needlepoints - officially bought for the missus but she lets me borrow if I'm good. The finest line almost too fine, gotta press then you get variation which defeats thin.
• Platinum 3776 UEF - circa 2019/2020 surprisingly smooth (as compared to vintage needlepoint scratch). The superlatives goes to its dryness but yet no skipping/hard starts at least with the Monteverde ink. Because of that dryness, it was the only nib that did not bleed through the cheep cheap. (did not test Pelikan 140) The classic MB 146 looks (i got black in black gold) make for a sexy look too.
• Pilot Extra fine 18K Rhodium - really scratchy and squeaky but really fine I almost want to say UEF thinner but it depends on the ink. The magic happens with body swapping.
• Prefounte with the Preppy 0.2 mm Extra fine swap - this pen will make you weep because it is so good and you wonder why the bleep you bought all these other pens. We are talking $5 USD, people. It is the supreme highness coupon queen that cannot be toppled for value, oh, that is skip the Prefounte body for more savings. #1 in value.
• Platinum Curidas Fine/Pilot Explorer (M) - crazy smooth cracked feed and all. Does not make any sense as it feels smoother than a regular steel Preppy 0.3 mm Fine and as smooth as a Procyon (M); yes i said Medium. Fun fact, Procyon body took in the 3776 UEF with cap clearance and no smashed nib (whew). Pilot Explorer M for medium is nuts - smooth fine and affordable almost like best value buddies with Preppy 0.2 mm. I can only guess what Fine is like.
• Sheaffer 1925 Black flat top Fine/Kaweco Dia2 (Dan Smith tuned) - kinda of a tie here. Taught me that if you buy a pen from a nib specialist or just send a pen to a nib specialist, they can set your nibs right. And also there's gold in past vintage. On looks they beat any above.
• There's probably a few others, but gots too many penz

[A Smug Dill]

If the PO is the same width as a true Japanese EF, I may not be interested in it after all. I am looking for a very fine line. I dont care all that much about line variation, but I do want the finest line possible.

OK, but how fine objectively? If there's a fountain pen that can (only) produce 0.1mm-thick lines, you might not find "finest line possible" to be fit for your purposes after all. I normally like to write with a finer line than most other fountain pen users would, but when I tried Sailor kiwaguro in a Pilot Capless black ion-plated 18K gold EF nib, I found the lines just too narrow; that was a first for me.

[aimi]

One more very fine nib is the Sailor Saibi-Togi if you can get your hands on one. From all Ive seen this is *the* fine nib, far finer than both the PO and UEF. Reviews say it can be scratchy if used improperly.

[XYZZY]

My understanding of posting nibs is their target audience was bookkeepers, accountants and such who need to regularly post numbers to a ledger. Small print, needs to be legible not artistic. Flex nibs need not apply, and +1 for nails that can press down through multiple layers of carbon paper when filling out forms (without flexing). Those attributes might also make them useful for writing on feather-prone paper, as you said.

 

The Japanese posting nib was definitely invented for postcards and their crappy paper, at least that's the story I've come across countless times from various sources.

Well I don't know where I got my misunderstanding from. Might have been something I read, or might have been a bogus assumption on my part. But yeah, what I can find about posting nibs is that they're for postcards.

[BaaadSheepie]

Hiya!

 

I have a Platinum UEF that I found pretty usable and smooth on even cheap paper... I did find that it's a bit hard to take notes quickly with it in meetings and such because it's sort of

 

I also have a Sailor Saibi-togi that... ... I actually find really hard to use. The line it writes is indeed finer than any other modern pen I have, I think. But unless your paper has a tight weave I find it'll pick up fibers and get smudgy over time. But that might be because my writing (aka 'printing') is horribly ugly.

 

As a side note, if you write with a MF Sailor Naginata-togi with the nib flipped over, so you're writing with the 'top' of the nib, the line is also very, very fine.

[minddance]

Great and well made pen (except for the gold plating on the cap). Therefore should I say great and well made nib? But not for everyone. It will reward a steady and light hand and a reasonable choice of inks (usually darker inks work well to produce legible lines). A keeper, for me, and an acquired taste.

 

If you want to play with inks, see how diluted inks shade out dramatically, you would have to adjust the nib and flow. One would be happier with broader nibs for that purpose.

[Tseg]

My UEF experience was not good and partially self-inflicted. I got the 3776 from overseas and could not get it to write. The tines truly were like a surgical pin at the point. My bad that I decide to try to insert a brass shim to open the tines... in 2 seconds a millimeter of one of the tines broke off. After some micro-meshing to square things up on the point my 3776 is now a Fine writer.

[Jarod]

As a side note, if you write with a MF Sailor Naginata-togi with the nib flipped over, so you're writing with the 'top' of the nib, the line is also very, very fine.

Is the line very fine and dry or very fine and legible; does it write smoothly in reverse side?

[arcfide]

I have a UEF filled with Platinum Blue Black that writes very well. However, there is plenty of feedback and you feel the nib. However, it certainly doesn't destroy paper. It's extremely consistent, well tuned, and writes very well, but it won't win any awards for "glass like smoothness."

 

One thing I have seen personally is that people often say that they write with a "light touch," but in practice, they don't. That's something relatively subjective, so my way of making it more objective is to hand them a Zebra G dip pen that is reasonably broken in (thus giving it more flex) and see if they can write with that nib without any line variation at all in their natural stroke. If they write without flexing the tines of the Zebra G at all during their normal writing, and they can write with a reasonable speed doing so, without catching the nib on paper or causing any scratching, then they have a light hand and proper nib control and orientation. In my experience, almost no one I have ever met actually writes this way or can do so out of the gate. The UEF nib is more forgiving than the Zebra G, but not by nearly as significant a margin as people are used to.

 

The Zebra G nibs are very cheap and a cheap pen holder will suffice with some standard india/calligraphy ink from a big box store will serve as a perfect test for this. If writing with the Zebra G is fairly easy to do without getting any line variation or having trouble with the nib digging in, and your UEF *still* behaves poorly relative to that, then I'd definitely say that there's something wrong with it, but if one cannot control the flex nib of the Zebra G well enough, then that could be indicative of a technique adjustment that could be made to make the UEF more usable.

[minddance]

without tuning and adjustment, out of the box, it can feel a tad scrapey to some people, myself included. the lines created are very fine indeed and the amount of ink laid onto paper extremely controlled.

 

But after about 2 to 3 months of writing (I do not use this pen everyday), the pen writes rather broad, feels alot smoother and puts down more ink onto paper than before. Now inked with Verdigris (RK) on absorbent papers, it is no longer the UEF nib I once knew.

 

While your experience may or may not be the same, what I am trying to say is that the nib will change, and will write broader and wetter and smoother with usage.

 

It is not the easiest nib to adjust for some people and for me, I do not see a need to. Afterall, I wanted UEF lines, that is why I purchased this pen in the first place. I do not want it to write like a western EF or be something it is not meant to be.

[ENewton]

I have a UEF filled with Platinum Blue Black that writes very well. However, there is plenty of feedback and you feel the nib. However, it certainly doesn't destroy paper. It's extremely consistent, well tuned, and writes very well, but it won't win any awards for "glass like smoothness."

 

One thing I have seen personally is that people often say that they write with a "light touch," but in practice, they don't. That's something relatively subjective, so my way of making it more objective is to hand them a Zebra G dip pen that is reasonably broken in (thus giving it more flex) and see if they can write with that nib without any line variation at all in their natural stroke. If they write without flexing the tines of the Zebra G at all during their normal writing, and they can write with a reasonable speed doing so, without catching the nib on paper or causing any scratching, then they have a light hand and proper nib control and orientation. In my experience, almost no one I have ever met actually writes this way or can do so out of the gate. The UEF nib is more forgiving than the Zebra G, but not by nearly as significant a margin as people are used to.

 

The Zebra G nibs are very cheap and a cheap pen holder will suffice with some standard india/calligraphy ink from a big box store will serve as a perfect test for this. If writing with the Zebra G is fairly easy to do without getting any line variation or having trouble with the nib digging in, and your UEF *still* behaves poorly relative to that, then I'd definitely say that there's something wrong with it, but if one cannot control the flex nib of the Zebra G well enough, then that could be indicative of a technique adjustment that could be made to make the UEF more usable.

 

This is an interesting perspective. I bought some Zebra G nibs expecting them to be flexible but do not see line variation unless I apply more pressure than I ever would on a fountain pen.

[arcfide]

 

This is an interesting perspective. I bought some Zebra G nibs expecting them to be flexible but do not see line variation unless I apply more pressure than I ever would on a fountain pen.

 

Zebra G's start off somewhat stiffer than they end up. Doing a bit of swirls with them and a bit of "warming up" on the nib will cause the nibs to gain quite a bit more flexibility and responsiveness. Obviously, overdoing it will wear them out prematurely. But the Zebra G's are also not the most flexible nibs on the planet in terms of how easy they flex. They're a bit more forgiving than some of the other dip nibs out there, which can be extremely unforgiving (but equally rewarding in a skilled hand), which is why I think the Zebra G's make a good "testing ground" for pressure when they are broken in, as they are sensitive enough to show "bad form" relating to angle and pressure, but not so much as to be unusable in any but the most expert of hands.

[mke]

> I purchased a Platinum 3776 UEF about a year ago. I like very fine nibs (I own one medium and one broad and I barely use those), but this one was unusable. It ripped my paper when I tried to write with it. I sold it the same day I got it. Has anyone else had this experience? For those who have had good experiences with this pen/nib, tell me about it. Im looking into trying again.

 

I just stumbled over this thread today.

 

You didn't write which "very fine nibs" you like and of which brand your medium and broad nibs are. That would have helped to give you an advice.

 

Perhaps you overshoot when you bought that nib. Needle-point nibs tend to be rippers (independent of brands), you need a different way to write. And perhaps you sold it too quickly.

I use e.g. Sailor EF (no needlepoint, ca 0.25mm) and Jowo XXXF (0.1mm). With both nibs, I can rip papers if I would like to - easily.

 

I think Platinum UEF is ca 0.2mm, so actually this is no needlepoint, just a very fine nib.

Pilot doesn't have such fine nibs, nothing below 0.3mm, AFAIR.

Edited August 29, 2020 by mke

[arcfide]

I agree that it would be helpful to know what nibs you are familiar with for a comparison. The UEF is a fairly unique nib among stock nib options available from major manufacturers. I was curious, so I did a test between one of my Zebra G nibs and the UEF nib. I have the UEF nib inked with Platinum Blue Black, and I used some Platinum Carbon Black with the Zebra G nib. with no pressure in each, the UEF nib wrote a finer line than the Zebra nib. While I am sure that the ink had something to do with this, it just goes to show that the UEF nib, at least my sample, while a good writer, is exceptionally fine, even by standards like dip pen nibs (though the Zebra G is far from the finest possible dip nib).

[A Smug Dill]

One thing I have seen personally is that people often say that they write with a "light touch," but in practice, they don't. That's something relatively subjective, so my way of making it more objective is to hand them a Zebra G dip pen that is reasonably broken in (thus giving it more flex) and see if they can write with that nib without any line variation at all in their natural stroke. If they write without flexing the tines of the Zebra G at all...

Alternatively, if they can 'write', in whatever style and speed they consider to be handwriting, a 50-word paragraph on the top of a sheet of 60g/m² Maruman — or if you prefer, 52g/m² Tomoe River — paper backed by a sheet of carbon paper with the carbon side facing up, without leaving a mark on the back of the top sheet from the writing, then I think one can reasonably conclude that they can indeed write with a light hand when they so choose. Or are there any nibs that takes less pressure to 'flex' the tines elastically then what is required to deform sheet of lightweight paper sufficiently and press pointedly into the carbon sheet beneath it?

 

during their normal writing, and they can write with a reasonable speed doing so, without catching the nib on paper or causing any scratching, then they have a light hand and proper nib control and orientation.

 

This is the part I don't agree with. Joe Pen-user has "a light hand and proper nib control" if he can demonstrate the above at will and/or on demand, irrespective of what his normal or regular handwriting technique of choice. Just because I have a very sharp knife, it doesn't follow that I carry it with me and/or use it "normally"; and I'd like to think I still have enough skill (inclusive of power, speed, accuracy and control) to deliver four hits with a (kali or escrima) fighting stick to cause concussion to an opponent or target from a hit to the temple, then break his nose, smash his (front) teeth and crush his trachea within the span of one second, but having that at my disposal does not mean I use it "normally".

 

If a pen user tells me she has a light hand, then I'll assume it means she can exercise that control when she wants to, irrespective of what is "normal" for her writing style which may (or may not) be adjusted to deal with the nuances of the pen and/or nib she's using on any particular occasion.

 

In my experience, almost no one I have ever met actually writes this way or can do so out of the gate.

 

In my experience (as a former martial arts practitioner and instructor), almost no-one can throw a "proper" roundhouse kick or use a bo staff with skill "out of the gate" without guidance, instruction and/or practice. That doesn't mean no-one you meet on the street or in an online forum can do it; you (and I) don't know their background; and I daresay there is a higher likelihood, in the 'Western' world, that Joe Average is "taught" or given instruction on how to use a pen to write, compared to throwing a kick with destructive force to debilitate or wield a six-foot long pole of solid wood.

 

However, if you're in the business of teaching people how to write and have taught/encountered hundreds and thousands of learners, then I'll gladly defer to your informed conclusions about what the average pen user does or doesn't do.

 

...

 

I've just unboxed my new/first Platinum #3776 pen with an 14K gold UEF pen, and dipped it in Platinum Blue-Black ink to test it. It certainly writes within the parameters given by Platinum in terms of expected line width, but for now I'm not convinced that it writes more finely than the 14K gold EF nib on my Platinum Vicoh PTL-5000A (the very pen that produced this writing sample here). I'll swap the converter that's currently in the Vicoh over into the new #3776 Century pen later to do a proper comparison.

 

Edit:

OK, so the Platinum #3776 UEF nib does indeed put down finer lines than the EF nib on my PTL-5000A, not the least because the latter is rather softer than the former. I can't reasonably complain that the UEF nib I have is not fit for purpose; it's one of very few nibs I have (out of roughly 300) that allows me to put down 20 parallel horizontal lines that don't touch or bleed into each other within a 5mm-tall area. I do think it could be smoother, not in terms of feel when the user is writing with it, but (the smoothness of) the edges of the lines it puts down. Incidentally, when I 'reverse-write' with my PTL-5000A, I can put down 23 parallel horizontal lines with smoother edges inside a 5mm-tall space. So, I'm a little disappointed, I must say.

Edited August 31, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[Jarod]

Alternatively, if they can 'write', in whatever style and speed they consider to be handwriting, a 50-word paragraph on the top of a sheet of 60g/m² Maruman

 

 

60 gsm weight for Maruman? Would that be the croquis notebooks made of cotton paper?

[A Smug Dill]

60 gsm weight for Maruman?

I was thinking of this and these. (The white-covered Report Pads used to have 68g/m² paper but lost weight some time in the past few years, unfortunately.)

 

Would that be the croquis notebooks made of cotton paper?

I haven't come across those in any local bricks-and-mortar store (e.g. Kinokuniya) before, so I haven't looked into that product family, but yes, I see the paper in the cream-coloured Croquis pads is also 60g/m² (but the paper in the white Croquis pads isn't).

[arcfide]

This is the part I don't agree with. Joe Pen-user has "a light hand and proper nib control" if he can demonstrate the above at will and/or on demand, irrespective of what his normal or regular handwriting technique of choice. Just because I have a very sharp knife, it doesn't follow that I carry it with me and/or use it "normally"; and I'd like to think I still have enough skill (inclusive of power, speed, accuracy and control) to deliver four hits with a (kali or escrima) fighting stick to cause concussion to an opponent or target from a hit to the temple, then break his nose, smash his (front) teeth and crush his trachea within the span of one second, but having that at my disposal does not mean I use it "normally".

If a pen user tells me she has a light hand, then I'll assume it means she can exercise that control when she wants to, irrespective of what is "normal" for her writing style which may (or may not) be adjusted to deal with the nuances of the pen and/or nib she's using on any particular occasion.

 

In my experience (as a former martial arts practitioner and instructor), almost no-one can throw a "proper" roundhouse kick or use a bo staff with skill "out of the gate" without guidance, instruction and/or practice. That doesn't mean no-one you meet on the street or in an online forum can do it; you (and I) don't know their background; and I daresay there is a higher likelihood, in the 'Western' world, that Joe Average is "taught" or given instruction on how to use a pen to write, compared to throwing a kick with destructive force to debilitate or wield a six-foot long pole of solid wood.

 

However, if you're in the business of teaching people how to write and have taught/encountered hundreds and thousands of learners, then I'll gladly defer to your informed conclusions about what the average pen user does or doesn't do.

...

 

I've just unboxed my new/first Platinum #3776 pen with an 14K gold UEF pen, and dipped it in Platinum Blue-Black ink to test it. It certainly writes within the parameters given by Platinum in terms of expected line width, but for now I'm not convinced that it writes more finely than the 14K gold EF nib on my Platinum Vicoh PTL-5000A (the very pen that produced this writing sample here). I'll swap the converter that's currently in the Vicoh over into the new #3776 Century pen later to do a proper comparison.

 

Edit:

OK, so the Platinum #3776 UEF nib does indeed put down finer lines than the EF nib on my PTL-5000A, not the least because the latter is rather softer than the former. I can't reasonably complain that the UEF nib I have is not fit for purpose; it's one of very few nibs I have (out of roughly 300) that allows me to put down 20 parallel horizontal lines that don't touch or bleed into each other within a 5mm-tall area. I do think it could be smoother, not in terms of feel when the user is writing with it, but (the smoothness of) the edges of the lines it puts down. Incidentally, when I 'reverse-write' with my PTL-5000A, I can put down 23 parallel horizontal lines with smoother edges inside a 5mm-tall space. So, I'm a little disappointed, I must say.

 

I think your definition of light hand is fair enough, though I generally define "having a light hand" as referencing the standard way a writer will normally write by default, versus saying something like "they can write with a light hand." I find that many people can relatively quickly "write lightly" when given the appropriate prompt, but also see them struggling to do so with any degree of competence. Therefore, while I agree that we could assess based on what they can do without additional training, I find it personally more useful to start by what they will do versus what they might do when prompted. I find this more useful because most of the people I have engaged with personally around pens have a tendency not to be conscious enough of their writing process to be able to maintain an intentionally light or heavy hand without defaulting back to their typical hand during use. I often note them doing this without explicitly realizing this (and it's a common issue to need to address in teaching children as well, though less attention than before is paid to that nowadays).