A little bit of history  Those unfamiliar with British cuisine (stop sniggering at the back!) may not have come across the strange substance that is Marmite – a ‘yeast extract’, (a brewing by-product, in other words) with a pungent flavour when spread on toast which divides opinion straight down the line; people either love it or hate it.  Platinum, a Japanese brand whose attempts to bring affordable quality to the market have already met with our attention a couple of times, tried to produce a budget gold nibbed-pen, and it’s fair to say that the result is, well, a Marmite proposition.

How it looks  This is built down to a price, and the impression given is that looks were not a high priority.  It’s boring and black, frankly – although those unassuming looks do mean that no-one’s likely to think there’s a gold nib worth pilfering hidden in there.

How it feels  Light and small.  Again, making a gold nib affordable was the overriding consideration so no more material has been expended on the body than the minimum required to make a functional pen.  This is something of a disappointment when you’ve picked up a Plaisir and know that Platinum can make good metal bodies on a budget too, but if you like a slender pen which doesn’t take much effort to wield it should be ideal.

How it fills  Platinum cartridges or their sturdy converter – no problems there.

Crucially, how it writes…  Now this all depends on whether you like Marmite!  If you’re an enthusiast for all things gold in the nib department and like a bit of tooth with a just a touch of springiness, you’ll love it.  But if you’re used to the smoothness of a ‘premium’ Platinum nib and prefer nibs to be either definitely stiff or definitely flexy, you’ll possibly hate it.  There really is no in-between; Scribble likes his so much that it’s become one of this ‘everyday carry’ pens, and Ian was so unimpressed that he tried to send it back whence it came.

Pen! What is it good for?  Obviously this too depends upon your stance vis-a-vis the aforementioned yeast extract, but if you like it, it’s great for jotting notes when out and about. If you don’t like it, it’s probably not a lot of use for anything in particular, to be honest.

VFM  As this was the point of the exercise, value for money is rather good; there are, let’s be fair, no other ready-to-write pens with a gold nib which can be bought new for as little as £45. Whether it presents good value to you personally depends… well, we’re back to the Marmite thing again here.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  If you just want to experience a really good gold nib from Platinum, our advice is to save up a bit more cash and go for a #3776.  If you desire a new Japanese pen with a gold nib and can stretch the budget to just £10 more, some of Pilot’s Capless and Custom 74 models can usually be picked up for about that sum via ‘grey import’ channels (you know the ones we mean).

Our overall recommendation  We think this has been designed and finished to fit a tight budget, and while that’s a fine example of what Japanese lean production methods can achieve, the limitations of the design (and perhaps some inconsistent quality control) mean that it won’t be everyone’s dream choice. So if you can, try one before you commit to  buying it; there is just a chance, of course, that you’ll love it!

Where to get hold of one  There are relatively few UK purveyors of this particular delicacy, and the only fountain pen specialist retailer we know who stocks it is Cult Pens; because of the risk of you loving it or hating it, we’d recommend a retailer with their good customer service if you do want to take the plunge.

This meta-review references:

• Scribble Monboddo’s hand-written review 
• Ian Hedley’s text-and-photos review
• Ruth Hanson’s video review

Thanks to  Cult Pens for getting some review samples to us – and sharing our varied tastes in toast-topping condiments.

A little bit of history  It’s Winter Solstice today, so Happy Saturnalia/Yule/etcetera to all our readers.  One of the traditions on both solstices is to climb a tall hill in order to watch the sun come up, and if you were doing this in Japan the tallest available would be Mount Fuji, standing at 3776 metres high, which seems a perfectly reasonable excuse to review the Japanese pen named after it.   They’ve been making a whole series of models named the #3776 since 1978, so it’s about time we got around to it!

How it looks  That all depends upon what edition you opt for!  The original version had one of those sci-fi style ribbed bodies supposedly intended to avoid sweat building up on your hand as you write, but we haven’t managed to bag one of those yet.  More recent versions, labelled as part of the ‘Century’ series, have an inner slip cap to prevent the feed drying out but also have much more visible differences in the colour and transparency of the plastic (and, more recently the trim).  But all of them look professionally-executed and are certainly not going to shame a posh fountain pen collection – we’re a bit split over which looks most gorgeous, but one of the Francophone Chartres or Bourgogne numbers is probably going to claim the prize.

How it feels  Not enormous, but not too small either- this is just about the right size of pen for everyday writing, for most of us.  As a mostly plastic pen it’s not too heavy, and what weight there is pulls down where you want it to, at the business end.

How it fills  Either Platinum’s own cartridges (also available with pigment ink, which you can use fairly safely in the Century versions), or a simple and reliable converter.

Crucially, how it writes…  That all depends on which nib you aim for – and there’s quite a range.  The standard F, M and B gold nibs are all pretty good as long as your luck holds; it is not completely unknown for a scratchy one to get past quality control, but as long as you buy from a Platinum-recognised dealer replacements are usually handled swiftly.  If you have a taste for the more exotic, the SF and SM nibs are nicely springy (and offer a little bit of line variation too), and the #3776 offers what is by common consent the best Music nib there is, its three tines supplying enough ink to scribble all over the place with – or even compose that symphony you’ve been meaning to get around to if only you could find the right pen, presumably.

Pen! What is it good for?  The nib and trim options are so extensive that the uses range all the way from artistic accoutrements to business-friendly ‘daily drivers’.  Despite looking positively dainty in some guises, the #3776 is quite robust and will survive the travails of popping in and out of the briefcase if you want something a bit fun at work.

VFM  Reasonable, given the interesting range of nibs and thoughtful execution of the cap and body.  These are not the cheapest pens out there, and declining to provide any non-gold nib options does limit the potential to provide a more affordable way in – but then again, at least one major Japanese manufacturer will try to charge you twice as much for a pen of the same quality when it comes to putting nib to paper.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  Then it may be worth a look at the #3776’s slightly bigger sibling, the President, which offers the same robust quality, even if the nib range appears more limited at present.  Or, if you like this size and just want to consider other Japanese pens, you could do a lot worse to consider the Pilot Custom 74.

Our overall recommendation  If you’re a fairly serious fountain pen enthusiast, your collection is arguably incomplete without one of these (although four is a bit excessive, naming no names!).  Explore the range of nib options carefully and then go for it; we’ve got seven or eight of them between us… that ought to give you a clue.

Where to get hold of one  There are some decent discounts from Japanese direct sellers, but if you’re unlucky and get one of the scratchy nibs you may not have much recourse. The Platinum officially-recognised retailer in the UK is Cult Pens, and on this occasion we’d honestly advise starting your search with them.

This meta-review references:

• Scribble Monboddo’s hand-written reviews of the SM and that Music nib
• Ian Hedley’s text-and-photos review of the Sai #3776
• Ruth Hanson’s video review of the Chartres #3776

Thanks to  Cult Pens for providing some of these pens at a discount (and swapping a few nibs around) to allow us to cover the full range.

A little bit of history By now most of us have come across or used a Platinum Preppy – it has that smooth nib and a well-earned reputation for great value for money.  There is, however, no getting away from the cheap feel that the pen has, particularly due to the printed barrel.  The Plaisir is the natural next step up, and it’s been recently updated by removing the matching coloured nibs, giving it a more professional look.

How it looks  There is a wide choice of colours available and we were each sent a different one to take a look at.  The cap and barrel has a nice sheen to it, and the grip section is translucent allowing you to see the ink flowing through to the nib.  Whether you like this combination or not is a matter of taste, but there are definitely members of each of our households that have a keen eye on this pen.

How it feels  For an inexpensive pen we all felt it was well built.  It’s a very lightweight pen with a secure seal on the cap.

How it fills  This can either be used with dedicated Platinum cartridges or with a Platinum converter which needs to be purchased separately.

Crucially, how it writes…  The Plaisir is available with either a 0.5mm or 0.3mm nib. Great writing experiences were had by us all with both nib sizes.  It wrote very, very smoothly. This pen costs less than £10 … for this price we haven’t had a better writing experience.

Pen! What is it good for?  A great starter fountain pen which will give users a pleasurable experience, and an everyday workhorse for daily duties.

VFM  Well … the question almost doesn’t need answering.  It’s fantastic value for money.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  You won’t find better for the bucks!  If it’s a little too ‘sparkly’ for your tastes you could look at the Lamy Safari range or the Faber Castell Basic, but you will have to part with a few more Pounds for these two.  It is Christmas soon,  however, and for that reason sparkle should always be welcomed!

Our overall recommendation  Go for it.  Whether you are looking to buy a gift for a friend at Christmas who is starting out, or just looking for a good writing experience in a pen you wouldn’t worry too much about if it was ‘accidentally’ picked up by a colleague or family member.

Where to get hold of one  We got our models from Cult Pens, who are one of a few on-line retailers here in the UK offering this model.

This meta-review references:

• Scribble Monboddo’s hand-written review
• Ian Hedley’s text-and-photos review
• Ruth Hanson’s video review
• Stuart Hazley’s text-and-photos review

Thanks to  Cult Pens for providing us with samples and ink for this review.

A little bit of history One day in the 1920s, Hungarian journalist László József Bíró was musing on the strange properties of newspaper printing ink, which could adhere to any sort of paper and dried quickly. Naturally enough, he tried putting some in a fountain pen, but it gummed up the feed and he got nowhere. So, he tinkered and tweaked and redesigned the old ink pencil with a rotating sphere applicator, and thus the ballpoint was born… and generations of children didn’t learn to write properly. Hey ho, these things happen. Now though, thanks to a bit of a breakthrough from Platinum, we know that Bíró just exercised his admirable creativity in the wrong direction, opting for mechanical engineering when chemical engineering would have done just fine. The Carbon Ink is permanent, fast-drying and writes on almost anything, and Platinum have produced a pen to go with it – which can supposedly withstand any propensity to carboniferously pigmentoid agglomerations (or ‘sticky stuff’ as we call it technically). Three of us decided to put the Carbon Pen to the test.How it looks It’s long; very, very, long. ‘Slim, too. It looks classy with its shiny black barrel and gold accents. Sat in the desk holder (an optional extra) it looks very sophisticated and is, perhaps intentionally, reminiscent of a quill. The included temporary cap, though, is an ugly hexagonal thing which is best disposed of quickly – the best thing that can be said about it is that it’s very functional.

How it feels The Carbon Pen is light and the length makes it sit nicely in the hand. It’s easy enough to hold for long periods of time.  You can often feel the nib tackling the texture of the paper too – which can be a mixed blessing, depending upon the purpose you acquire the pen for.

How it fills It’s a proprietary cartridge/converter filler. Although designed with Platinum’s Carbon Ink in mind, get a syringe and there’s nothing to prevent you from using any ink you like.

Crucially, how it writes… We found it a little tricky to actually write with as the extremely fine and very stiff steel nib does provide a lot of ‘feedback’ – which some people like, but wasn’t so much to our tastes. It was a different matter when it came to drawing, though, as the ultra thin line it gives, using waterproof ink, is perfect for ink and watercolour sketching.

Pen! What is it good for? The Platinum Carbon Pen is very good for drawing, but probably not so good for writing a novel. It would be useful for making notes, maybe working out some maths, or other tasks where small writing or precision is important (such as designing fonts, we’ve discovered!). Because it writes on just about anything it can also come in handy in situations where submitting to Mr. Biro’s invention would otherwise be necessary; for example, it writes on glossy wall calendars and can even handle a newspaper crossword.

VFM Oddly, the stand costs more than the pen itself – perhaps on the understanding that the pen unit can be affordably replaced if it does ‘gum up’. But to buy both together shouldn’t set you back much more than £20, and for a pen this unique (and useful) we think that’s quite decent value.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost… There is not much to compete with this really, at least at this price point. Some of Platinum’s gold-nibbed fountain pens like the #3776 can handle permanent inks, but these cost ten times as much and need very thorough rinsing-through afterwards. If it’s an affordable ultra-fine nib you’re after, the Pilot Penmanship is also worth a look.

Our overall recommendation We feel this is a pen that’s absolutely great for one purpose (sketching and drawing) but not so good for another (writing). It’s a fantastic price, though, and definitely worth considering if you’re after something a little different to add to your artistic arsenal.

Where to get hold of one Cult Pens sent us these review samples and they are one of just a few places in the UK where they can be found. They’re much more commonly available overseas.

This meta-review references:

• Scribble Monboddo’s hand-written review 
• Ian Hedley’s text-and-sketches review
• Stuart Hazley’s text-and-photos review

Thanks to Cult Pens for supplying us with three test units. At the time of writing they are offering 20% off all Platinum products, making this pen even more of a bargain.