[Pen/Pencil Review] The Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen — Rerun
Because I’m hitting conventions hard this month (SoonerCon is over, ApolloCon Looms), I’m going to rerun a couple of early pen reviews – yes, the ones from way before I came up with a system. Also… a challenge has been thrown by author, Lou Antonelli, to find The BIC BRIO fine point (orange/yellow) barrel GREEN INK pen. He’s managed to find (and share with me) the Black, Blue, and Red (I’ll be playing with those the next couple of weeks), but the green remains elusive. The BIC Biro fine points are not available in the US. I need an international connection. Volunteers???? And if anyone can find me THESE – The Cristal Fine Points, bonus points.
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My husband reminded me that I haven’t done a pen/pencil review since basically the first one – though I did incorporate a review of the TUL pens by Office Max in one of my writing blogs (Tools of the Trade). I am going to try to be better about this – aiming for Mondays to get a review of a writing instrument up. Starting…now with the Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen series.
You see, my husband really is an enabler when it comes to my love of all thing ink and graphite – and even though we’ve been together for almost 5 years, I’ve only recently discovered his well-hidden love of mechanical pencils. Hence, the enabling. Our artist friend, Allen Williams, introduced my husband to several blogs and websites, and that’s been passed on to me. We found the Platinum Preppy fountain pens on JetPens.com. And as far as I can tell, they’re available in import only since the labels (except for a few key words) are all in Japanese.
So, nuts and bolts – these are inexpensive “beginner” fountain pens. They seem to run in the $3-$5 US range online. The Preppy fountain pen is a medium-sized, clear plastic barrel (which I like to see the amount of ink used) and come color-coded in seven different colors – cap and stainless steel nib dyed to match the ink. The nibs come in .03mm and .05mm widths and the ink cartridges are proprietary to the Platinum Preppy – though they do have a converter option. Refills come two cartridges to a pack for around $1.50.
I like these little guys. I like knowing by looking what color the ink is going to be (my husband bought me 5 of the available 7 colors as a gift – I’m not that fond of pink and yellow ink). I like seeing how much ink is left in the cartridge. I REALLY like the fact these seem sturdy and well-crafted for their price point so if one is lost, broken, or “Borrowed” by a co-worker and never returned, I don’t have to hunt anyone down because my awesome fountain pen is gone. Nor have I had the slightest issue with leakage.
The ink is bold – or as bold as a .03mm nib can be, but I like extra fine point pens. The ink stays pretty dark, and I’ve had little issue with feathering. It just seems like a solid pen for the price for me. I’ll definitely be getting refills for these guys when I finally use up all the inks. The colors are cheerful and bright for days when I need that, and the black and blue/black ink are solid for business purposes. It’s comfortable in my hand, especially for its price. The only reason I’m docking it a half-pencil is because you have to order it and wait – you can’t indulge a whim and get it from Office Max.
3.5 bronze pencils.
