Platinum Fountain Pen # 3776 Century Chartres Blue MediumPNB-10000#51-3 (Japan Import)

This is a good every day fountain pen. It feels very comfortable and very light and ergonomic. I have regular sized hands and I used it (posted) all day with no fatigue or balance problems. The pen writing is pretty responsive and smooth with generous ink flow when used with the right paper (please note ink and paper type is very important). I started out on some generic 20# paper and it was real smooth, however on some mixed media paper the pen got a bit scratchy and started to skip occasionally. It really came alive when I was writing notes in my TWSBI notepad which I assume was specifically crafted for fountain pen users. The extra attraction was this pen was being sold online (at my favorite Japanese online pen store) for twice what I paid which made this a GREAT bargain buy. I have examined it closely and it does appear to be an authentic Platinum pen so great barging buy. One MAJOR note, most of these pens are really designed for the Japanese market and are mostly imported in the US by specialty retailers, which means you always have to remember the Japanese have a different nib size standards. So this Medium nib is actually a Fine Point compared to my Lamy Safari medium nib or TWSBI 580 medium nib. Keep that in mind as Platinum nibs are almost impossible to find online (at least not cheap ones) so if you prefer the bold lines of a medium, you should look for a Platinum Bold nib. Overall I gave it a 4/5 stars as I would have preferred a more bolder writing line, I have decided to keep this pen however, because it is such a pleasure to use.

The Platinum 3776 Century is a "must-have" among both casual and serious pen collectors, and for good reason. Many purchase this pen as their first gold nib pen due to its affordable price point and stellar reputation. The pen itself is gorgeous - just like it shows in the pictures, it has a wide, gold nib and a deep and slightly transparent blue body. While this pen comes in a Rhodium-plated accent style, I opted for the gold accents as I thought that the gold made the deep blue look very elegant.I purchased a M nib, as I tend to like European F nibs and wet nibs. The nib is not quite as wet as I'd hoped for, but it's still plenty wet. I have been inking the pen with Monteverde Horizon Blue, which is a lubricated ink, and that helps a lot. The nib never skips, and writes the first time, every time thanks to the Slip & Seal mechanism, just like the product description says. The M nib is a very narrow "Japanese" Medium, so keep that in mind when deciding nib sizes. I had read reviews on the SF and F nib that expressed displeasure in the scratchiness of the nib, which is why I went with the M and I'm glad I did. I have a Sailor 1911S with a M nib, and this nib's line is finer than even that. I also have a Platinum Procylon, and that nib has a much wider line than this nib does.The other trait that you will hear in a lot of reviews of this pen is that there is a slight feedback when writing with the nib, similar to the feel of pencil graphite on paper, and I would agree with that assessment. I own other gold nib pens and, true to its reputation, this nib has none of the bounce or "buttery smoothness" that you will find in many European gold nib pens. That being said, using this pen is still an excellent writing experience. My Sailor 1911S (M) and Pilot Falcon (SF) don't even have the same amount of feedback as this pen, but those are wetter writers too.This nib, while definitely a different writing feel, is very similar in both weight and grip size as the 1911S or Falcon. I find the grip to be comfortable for a moderate amount of time, but I hold my pens very close to the nib and there is a bit of an edge on the dropoff from the grip to the nib that can be uncomfortable if I hold my pen too close to the nib for long periods. But that's an easy fix with just a slight adjustment of my grip.Because this had been my "grail pen" for quite some time, I knew what I was getting when I finally took the plunge to purchase this pen. The vendor (Global DaiDai) is based out of Japan, and because of this can sell this pen on Amazon at a much lower price than American distributors. I did have concerns from buying from an unknown vendor, but Platinum is known for their high quality control and my pen arrived promptly with 2-day Prime shipping and was perfect right out of the box.

Out of the box - Pros: comfortable size, large nib, precise writing, good price on Amazon, and the slip-cap seal works VERY well... I cleaned out the pen and weeks later, under a loupe, could still see leftover water in between the tines. That's incredible. This slip-cap makes this pen great for bulletproof/permanent inks (which can be damaging if they dry out).Cons: The actual writing experience was unexciting to me --flat, dry ink flow with little pooling. Feedback akin to a wood pencil on paper. That's not a defect, but it just isn't my style. So I went through the routine of tuning the nib to my liking (which I've done for about half my pens), and found this nib unusually difficult to work with. It's a stubborn nib. With that, a note of caution here to any tinkerer's... proceed with patience and care. I also find the pen body scratches easily, and because of its light weight, does have a tendency to look/feel cheap. But then, I've also had a random onlooker say, "nice pen." YMMV.Overall: Now that I have adjusted it to preference (with less feedback and wetter ink flow), it's a keeper. This is good if like the feel of precise, controlled writing... much less if you prefer a softer feel or juicy lines that show off ink complexities. The nib size may be a factor in that too; the medium nib I ordered was definitely finer than a "Western medium" out of the box.

Platinum es una de las tres grandes marcas japonesas de plumas estilográficas (junto con Sailor y Pilot-Namiki) y sus modelos, en un gran abanico de precios, nunca decepcionan.En concreto la 3776 Century destaca por su plumín de 14k y por su sistema de cierre que evita que se seque la tinta. Y a un precio muy competitivo.