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Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Unboxing and Review
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- This is a brand new Platinum Prefounte fountain pen. It is slight upgrade to the popular Platinum Preppy. I will unbox it, talk about the parts and features of the pen, provide some size comparisons and measurements and then do a writing sample. After the writing sample, I will talk about what I like and what I don't like about the pen. Please feel free to use the chapters provided to skip to various parts of the review.
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Timestamps:
Start 0:00
Unboxing 4:54
Eyedropper Filling the Prefounte 7:46
Parts and Features 9:41
Preppy and Prefounte Comparison 13:59
Size Comparisons 18:00
Measurements 18:50
Writing Sample 19:05
Likes and Dislikes 21:50
Let’s connect:
Instagram - douglasrathbun
Twitter - @djrathbun
Email - djrathbun@gmail.com
Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, "Spring" by Antonio Vivaldi, in HD quality!
- Classical music piece performed by: John Harrison - Violin / Robert Turizziani - Conductor / Wichita State University Chamber Players
- Music licensed by: John Harrison
- Music license: CC BY-SA 1.0
When you unscrewed the body of the prefounte after eyedroppering it, I panicked a bit and was thoroughly confused when ink didn’t come pouring out haha. Also I agree with you, it’s hard to justify buying an injected moulded plastic pen with an uninspiring #5 nib when I can spend 20$ on a beautiful acrylic resin turned pen, number 6 nib and a converter to boot (though I always eye dropper when possible). Maybe that’s why my PenBBS collection is growing so quickly. A quality writing instrument which will last me a lifetime and costs barely more than a meal? Count me in!
Oh haha you mentioned all of these points in the end of your video.
LOL! Yes I did! Good points!
I think the 308 is the best fountain pen for the money out there.
Hi Dough! Jim from Madrid again (a New Yorker expat living abroad... for Love - to my wife and kids!).
All I can say is... WOW! AND... YEAH!!!
Great intro to inconspicuous and no-value comments!!! I LOVED IT!!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Good reminder to people... if your words do not add any value... it is always better not to say a word... and keep learning!!! 😂😂😂😎👍😁 I've also had my share in this lifetime! There's a saying in Spain that reflects it (like in any culture, language and society, I guess) - "A palabras necias, oídos sordos" (which in English, translated, it would mean: "To foolish comments/words/opinions... Deaf ears"... ('cause they do not add any value whatsoever).
I know this video is older but I am left with not many of yours, since I've been watching most of them already since I joined your channel... Cheers from Sunny Spain! And keep researching for every fountain pen out there that you can grab!!! You are a GREAT help to all of us out there!!!
Cheers from Sunny Spain! (And if you're ever around my side of the pond, let me know! I would love to show you around!).
Thank you so much, Jaime jaime!
Love the intro. Keep the snark. Some folks have strange ideas of quality, and even stranger priorities. Name brands, I’ve learned, mean nothing. So glad your channel is growing!
Thanks, Sam! :)
I love my Prefounte, it's comfortable to hold and writes as smooth as butter. I don't even care that the converter cost almost as much as the pen😆
It is very impressive for the price and so is the Plaisir.
I have quickly grown to look forward to your reviews. I'm thankful you do them. I have a few grail level pens, but it's not in my budget to buy more often. I also get excited over finding a good " bang for your buck" pen (or perhaps loonies instead of bucks). I also watch the reviews to find out YOUR opinion if the pens are crappy. Thanks for the review.
I know right, Sean? My Dad used to get a real kick out of getting his car gas tank filled for a lot less by driving over the border to the US at Niagara Falls. It didn't matter than the savings he realized were burned up in the round trip drive. He just loved the bargain. LOL
Great detailed review. Just keep doing what you do Doug. She will find a channel for her and many more will find THIS channel which gives great details on pens the majority of us can afford. To each there own. Your subscriber count doesnt lie.
Much appreciated! I don't mean to dump on that one comment. It was done without malice. However, I delete a LOT of comments that aren't so polite.
Excellent video! I really enjoy your review on fountain pens. Please keep them coming! Greetings from Indonesia.
I don't understand expensive fountain pens these days. Some of them should be sold for no more than 50 dollars. Keep up the good work and review these affordable and reasonably priced fountain pens.
Thanks, will do!
Great review! I enjoy seeing affordable pens reviewed. Just purchased a Prefounte and really like it.
Great to hear! Thanks, Bob!
I must say, Douglas, that was one well packaged retort. You've now wet my appetite for that BBS 308, which I will certainly be purchasing prior to both my birthday in November and Christmas in... well, you know. Thanks for making me laugh and as always an excellent review.
Glad you enjoyed it Thank you, Jeff! Thanks for your IG posts too!
Great review. Try this re cost of the Platinum vs the PEN BBS…buy the arguably brilliant Platinum ADAPTER which is $4 USD and allows the use of International Standard cartridges and converters. So that makes your Prefonte (I have the Emerald Green) a $14 expenditure that will take any proprietary Platinum cartridge/converter plus any International as well. PS: have you seen the new $7 Preppy Ltd Ed with the Japanese Print design on the barrel? Sweet colors and no bar codes! Use the $4 adapter in THAT and you have an $11 take any ink source Preppy. Better and better.
I loved your "Cross, Parker and Sheaffer" retort!
(...and the Matt Armstrong comment was a real zinger...)
Great video as usual!
LOL Thanks, Alan. Again, I'm not wanting to dump on this one commenter. It is just an accumulation of comments that condemn Chinese products and conveniently ignore that many of the name brands have their pens made in exactly the same factories. Not just similar factories either... the very same ones!
It would be so nice to just walk into a store as you do and pick up fountain pens.
You can't do that where I live and I live in a large city, it is amazing to me how that happens. I have to order something so miniscule off the internet and pay high shipping costs.
Thanks for the review.
Thanks. Quite an accurate review, my experience has been similar. Also I found the line to be quite broad for a M nib which surprised me from a Japanese manufacturer.
I appreciate your reviews, Doug, and I'm grateful that you've introduced me to a whole world of high quality yet economical pens! Quality is quality, whether it's from Germany or China. From an engineering perspective though, the one who produces the same high quality at a reduced price is the better engineer!
Glad you like them! Well there are labor costs as well and China and Asia have some of the lowest costs for labor in the world. But what is worse, buying a Chinese product produced by the Chinese, or buying a US based company's product made with Chinese labor? People forget that Parker GAVE their pen technology (machinery, plans etc) to the Hero pen company along with their blessing to make Chinese Parker 45s which end up being the Hero 100. That happened in 1979 - just about the time many US companies were beginning to move production to China.
Oh, slap. Doug is on snarky-slapping mode 😂. I completely agree with Doug, at the end is a matter of preference and budget for what one decides where to buy pens... of course, one needs to set their expectations at the level of what is buying. It's thanks to people like Chrisrap52, Doug and others that we can scope at what level set our expectations when buying this pens.
Thank you for the video Doug, may you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy, and keep enjoying your pens 🖖.
LOL! I never mean to slam anyone's taste. I always just look at things from my own, subjective, point of view. What turns one person's crank will turn another off and people don't like their beloved products insulted. I get that. In the end, it is just a pen and everyone needs to smile a little now and then.
@@InkquiringMinds Yeah, totally agreed. Different strokes for different folks. Saludos, Doug 👍
A savage Douglas - I'm so here for it 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
THAT was savage!? Don't get me started! LOL
@@InkquiringMinds here's your permission to begin the games!
Very informative, and entertaining, as usual! Love your sense of humor, too!! Like you, I'm still waiting for my (3) Pennbbs 500's ... it appears that "the slow boat from China", is even slower!
Thank you, Dave!
Enjoyed the review Doug, thanks.
I have to wonder how many viewers appreciate the phrase "a little dab'll do ya."
Old guys rock,
--Ed--
I use that term a lot and have previously cutaway to a Brylcream ad from the 50's. I'll put the clip back in. LOL
@@InkquiringMinds That reference to Brylcream was genius lol 😂👏👌
The Prefounte is my second fountain pen. Goulet was selling it with a free converter a few weeks ago (still are I think) so I threw it in with my ink order. My first pen hard starts after being idle for a few minutes so the Platinum is like a dream come true. It's not super fancy but it works, which is what I need. It's a tool at the end of the day.
I'm waiting for my first set of crappy Chinese pens to come in the mail. Fun mail day is on its way (hopefully)!
LOL Thanks, Amy!
Hopefully I'll have a couple of Picassos and some dollar Jinhao fude goodness in my hot little hands by the end of the month. I hope they're good so I can write and sketch in peace!
Hello Sir Doug....Love the quote.....Even at $10, I wouldn't buy for the simple fact that out of 4 Platinum pens of different models not one was decent. The only Platinum pen I have and enjoy is their desk pen....black with a medium nib. Excellent, with carbon black ink is a great writer and a tad nostalgic. Reminds me of trips to the bank with my long gone mother. As always, a lovely review.
At Pen Chalet $9.....and they seem to be the only place to find a medium nib in this model.
Excellent price!
Thanks, Stacy. I know I'll eventually own a 3776 but it might have to be one of those SF nibs.
Some people get high off of complaining. I don't come here for bougie $300+ pen reviews, cause there's no way I would ever convince my wife to let me buy one.
Anyway, there are plenty of other channels that specialize in that. You're a man of the people, Doug. Don't ever change.
Thank you, nib.pickin'! I don't mean to dump on that one commenter, because that was just the last one that kind of sparked my rant. There are many more comments that don't get posted because I excise them.
Douglas Rathbun the best revenge is to keep making great content! Also, it’s a bit weird (maybe discriminatory?) to group all pens from China as “cheap” or “fake. Penbbs is a great example of an innovative group of pen makers that just happen to be based in China. Twsbi also makes beautiful unique pens, from Taiwan (which isn’t exactly China, depending on your political beliefs). But yeah... it’s a big world out there.
Excellent video Doug and a good comparison of a Chinese pen with a branded name being out classed by a Chinese pen 😂. I've owned many pens in my time and found that supposedly quality items have given more trouble and problems compared to the cheap almost throw away items. I can't wait to see how your next Platinum pen compares to its Chinese equally priced competitors.
Right on! Thank you, Eric!
Great video, but better yet is that quote, dead on.
I'm glad you could read it Scott! :)
I really enjoy your reviews of "cheap crappy fountain pens". Since the world has gone mad, I've bought a few expensive pens I have been watching bc I figured I may as well live it up bc who knows? Now, months later, I am still alive and getting bills, so ....yeah, I am back to shopping for Moonman and PenBBS. We all need your reviews to know which "cheap crappy pens" are actually good deals! :)
I did EXACTLY the same thing Liz! LOL... now the Visa bill is due. :(
Boy, the World Banks got that last laugh on us, huh? Next time the world shuts down, I need a more inexpensive alternative :)
Having listened to your endorsements and bought two relatively inexpensive PenBBS fountain pens, I can attest for the fact that your reasoning is more than sound. The performance of these pens are not only good in terms of 'bang-for-the-buck', but even in absolute terms, they hold their own against a number of far more expensive pens from 'established' makers that I own.
Thank you so much! I can only relate how I feel about them. I have 22 Penbbs pens now. They far outnumber all other brands. Either I'm a sucker or they are that good a value. I don't have a lot of high-end pens to compare them with; a vintage Sheaffer, a Visconti. I'll know how well they compare with a Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero and a Waterman Carène soon.
While we all love fountain pens that are jewels, down to earth pens are just the reality. I must say that the gap between cheap and "middle of the road" pens is rapidly closing.
I agree Ittai. The telling point for me will be when I get my $240 Leonardo Momento Zero and put it up against the "copy" Moonman M800 Galaxy ($25) which is currently one of the top three writers I own.
LOL. I have some relatively expensive pens ($
I'm looking forward to the Pilot Explorer because already like the section better than the Metro.
keep your line of reviews man. there are few reviews like yours. but there are a lot of reviews of the main brands
I love tour content. Let the haters hate. Have a nice weekend!
There's no hate here Sicario. I delete the hateful comments. :) And thank you!
Bravo Maestro great vid. Long live cheap and anything but crappy Chinese pens. I did love the prefounte red pen, the colour perfectly matches the whites of my eyes. ✌❤
Right on Robert! Put down the paracord and get some Visine! LOL
@@InkquiringMinds will do Doug 🤣
This review got by me so I just recently watched it. Your intro explained a lot about your modus operandi. I understand your position on Pelikan. However I have 3 Souveran 800s. And had each custom ground by John Mottishaw, Mark Bacas and Gena Solerino. All great. Don’t want until your 70th. Carpe Diem.
‘Don’t wait”
I won't! My Pelikan M800 will arrive next week! :)
@@InkquiringMinds that’s great. Good for you.
Hi. Ok, I have to admit I felt a little pouty after your Lamy dis review, and being early in the viewing I thought I’d make my pro’s on the pen, but reading the first batch of reviews all agreeing with you, well I just went back to my corner, yip yip yip(puppy) for a bit. The first fountain pen I bought after many years was a Lamy safari or all-star, don’t r’member, but seemed a good low price and I love it for drawing. F or EF’s. But, gee wiz, if I hadn’t found your channel here I’d never been introduced to penbbs!!! Waited a few months for my Amber as a Cat 267(?) long skinny like a calligraphy pen. I’m crazy about it! Writes so smooooooth. Keep going to see if any other ambers turn up. These are wonderful pens. Have found out the hard way that buying a $80. or over $100. pen doesn’t mean it’s going to be better than a $20. pen. I even got a pilot petit because I was curious, how does a $3.50 pen write? Well beautifully. Granted, it’s tiny. So anyway, I’m back, missed your funny and great reviews on pens you don’t have to sell your kids off to buy. 😬😊
LOL Thanks Kathy. Sorry I dissed your Safari. I respect everyone who love this very successful line of pens. I just don't like training wheels on my pens. I'm glad you got an Amber is a Cat Penbbs! Isn't that acrylic amazing? Try a 323 you'll love it!
This is the 2nd video of yours I'm watching and I'm already in love with your detailed reviews.
Sir, could you please explain how to know the correct size o ring?
I just used an o-ring from my Penbbs parts kit. It wasn't exactly the right size and the Prefounte leaked. So, it probably isn't a good candidate for being an eyedropper.
@@InkquiringMinds Thanks for the reply Doug, I was planning to get one just to make it an eyedropper. Seems like I'll have to think of another Platinum other than the generic Preppy for this purpose. Or mix and match as per you reviews. That was a really useful point.
Red Barn...lol, we had those!
Yes! A long time ago. My brother and I were doing telephone pranks (Is your refrigerator running? Well you should go catch it!) and we called up the Red Barn and asked how much a "Big Barney" was thinking we were being funny. A dollar they said. Apparently it wasn't that funny as it was on the menu.
@@InkquiringMinds We used to catch the bus to the skating rink in a neighboring town on Friday night's at the Red Barn. I can't skate anymore.... you cant even prank call people anymore because if people don't recognize your number, they won't answer! Maybe this fountain pen thing is a way of hanging onto the past?
You are right Doug. You can finish your fountain pen collection with 100 dollar or just start it with 250 dollar bill.. it's all in the mind
I'm trying to take a balanced approach. For every four $25 pens, I'll get one $100 pen. :)
Well done, Doug.
I want to give you a suggestion for your incoming review about platinum plaisir. Follow my steps and you will understand why i'm saying "Plaisir is a PLATFORM, not yust a pen"
You have to consider:
1 platinum preppies are inexpensive (you can get a lot of 6 for 15€)
2 you can get preppy as fountain pen or as a sharpie
3 the ink cap seal mechanism is very effective
4 plaisir/prefounte body/cap are compatible with preppy sections
5 preppies are quite poor, not the same for the plaisir.
Imagine: you can keep a lot of preppies inked at the same time, with different color/size/tip type; you don't care the ink will dry.
EVERYTIME YOU WANT: you can apply the section you decide to the plaisir body obtaining your preferred "writing choice of the moment" on a decent looking pen.
No hassle for changing ink or pen.
Nice opportunity: don't you?
That's excellent, Antonio! Thank you so much. I haven't unboxed the Plaisir yet but suspected it had the same section. I will talk about all of your points in my video. I like the idea for not just various inks, but various nib sizes, markers, highlighters etc. The Preppy comes in EF where the Prefounte and Plaisir only have F and M.
@@InkquiringMinds i was forgetting: you can use your preferred fountain pen ink in the marker and in the scalpel point. No special ink needed. I'm using parker quink in my sharpie from years
You kinda just blew my mind!! Thanks!
I put the guts of my EF Preppy (a great editing pen but underused because the pen was covered with an unbelievable amount of ugly painted-on graphics) into my crimson Prefounte and have enjoyed using the former much more as a result. Nice to see a cameo by Noodler's excellent Widow Maker, but I mainly want to say *Red Barn*?! We went there often in my distant youth in Rochester, NY, and I haven't thought about it in a long time. Thanks for reminding me of it.
The memory of Red Barn charging to remove pickles just popped into my head at the moment I was shooting that video. My brother and I once were doing crank calls and called the Red Barn to ask the price of their "Big Barney" thinking it was a joke. They had a Big Barney. LOL
Shots fired! Did Figboot really took down his T2 review? Couldn't believe he took it down just because of copying suspicion to the Stipula. I believe the fountain pen community is just too nice and too tolerant and lacks the critical and snarky types to push the people forward and out of their comfort zones. Liking these types of videos, keep them coming!
Oh, no shots here Priya! I admire David's channel and watch everything he produces. He inspired me to start my channel. But I disagree with the cancel culture inherent in this fake/copy/clone issue.
@@InkquiringMinds I was referring to when you recommend the 308 for the same price of the Prefounte when I said shots fired so apologies for any misunderstandings.
Priya Nugraha Ah! No worries Priya!
I face similar issues being in Canada. I got a Prefounte from Wonderpens on sale for 12.00 (beautiful Night Sea colour), and normally they are 15.00 CAD at most places I see. Mine was a 03 F nib, but it is a heck of a good writer. Platinum cartridges are great with the little ball bearing in there, and as soon as that ink runs out, I might consider using a converter. I find the pen a little light in the hand, but the writing is perfect. I love the look and feel of my PenBBS, but the nib still doesn't write as good as my Prefounte did right out of the package. Same as for my Kaküno I got (which was 16.00 CAD). I am going to get a Prefounte in an 05 M nib as well, just because. I face challenges here, though - I imagine that an eyedroppered pen would be great for work becuase it would last so long. But then you end up using the same pen for a long time, wishing it would run out... hahaha
I was impressed by the smoothness of the nib right out of the box. I like the Platinum and the Pilot cartridges. They take a full 1ml of ink and are really sturdy so they last for a long time when you're using a syringe to refill them.
This was a great review. I enjoyed the frankinpen switcheroo. I'm too chicken to do the eyedropper thing. The insights on the economics of pen collecting were, I think, spot on. Is Matt really in debt?? I don't promote gossip, but I have wondered why I haven't been seeing videos from him. I just hoped it was because other things in life had become more important. So, would your son be interested in printing out those ink misers and selling them? What would one cost including shipping to Canada, or am I on the banned to ship to list? I usually try little hacks to make do with something similar, because, you know, Helen sees, Helen wants... I have to try to control that. Stay safe, don't go away. Your RUclips friends enjoy your content.
Thanks, Helen. Matt had retired his channel more than a year before I even started. I watched and read most of his videos and blogs. His farewell blog was pretty clear that he was taking his life back as the channel had pretty much consumed it and his finances. His videos are still up and a treasure trove of information. I will ask him what he'd sell them for and calculate what the shipping might be and get back to you. :) You're in OZ right?
My son says $5.00 Cdn without the shipping.
@@InkquiringMinds, $5CA sounds reasonable. How do I pay him? I could take a chance and slip a $5.00 bill into a card and mail it to him or you? I know there are other ways and we shouldn't really put cash in the mail... Oh yes we still have to figure out what postage will cost, too. I'm in BC not far from Vancouver.
Helen Nelson Send me an email at djrathbun@gmail.com
Thanks, Doug! Red Barn? Is that copying from China? I watch some pen reviews, Urushi, Montblanc, etc., the way I watch the Tour de
France or Giro d'Italia--to see beautiful bicycles I'll never own and places I'll never visit. I like reviews of pens, whoever makes them, that I could consider purchasing. One thing I like about Chinese pens is that you can find some that are made with a sense of humor or fun:
dragon clips, bas relief barrel designs, unusual combinations of material.
Jinhao and Fuliwen seem to have a huge variety of "novelty" pens.
Am i wrong, this pen sells everywhere for $10. But amazing review.
Yes, you can get some pretty good deals on these pens if you shop around. I quote JetPens.com and GoldspotPens.com as standard references. YMMV! :)
I like the cheap pen reviews. I take some of my pens with me almost everywhere. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if one of my x750s walks off like one of my Platinum Preppies did at the gym. I couldn't really afford replacing a much more expensive pen. And while I like the Pilot Custom 74 I tried, it's not enough for me to justify 30 times the price of the x750 or 10 times the price of my PenBBS 308. Keep doing reviews for us cheap bastards.
You got it CB! :) Thanks so much!
My grandfather once told be that opinions are like cow pies, there a lots of ‘em and they are generally stinky. I absolutely LOVE Chinese pens. I love fountain pens, particularly Jinhao, but I will be adding penbbs to that list. My everyday writer is a lovely little Hongdain Silver Birch. She’s a beauty. “Cheap” is mindset as far as I’m concerned. I have had expensive pens that I gave away to family members because the nibs were horrible and I don’t trust my tuning abilities. I have to say that my inexpensive Chinese pens have, for the most part, written like butter out of the box...no fuss no muss. A pen is only as good as its nib anyway. You keep doing you and know that there are a great many people out here that appreciate it. I laud you’re lack of prissy, affected, pretentious reviews of ridiculously and prohibitively priced pens. I wouldn’t swap my Jinhao 159 for a Montblanc 149 for anything. She may be a pretender but she’s a bad bad girl!
I try not to use the word cheap because it denotes shoddy. Some Chinese pens are shoddy. So are some non-Chinese pens. I dislike broad statements as they are inaccurate and simple minded.
OH Paaahhhleeeeeezzze... There has to be something more than 'price out of reach' that excites me about a pen. In fact, great price for the quality is more exciting and rewarding to me than feeling like I just got taken advantage of and paid way too much for something. I also don't like most of the designs anyway.. the LAMY Safari.. bleaahhkk. I'm perfectly happy with many Chinese pen companies, but especially PENBBS. I'm currently loving the Smog 308/266, in gold trim. I got 6 of them for $15.99 each and love each and every one of them. You wanna know why? Most any ink I put in the pen as an eye dropper matches the pen. I had just ordered some custom TreColori inks by Kiwi inks and wanted to use them all, now. I like to play with the glitter when it settles and I see it move around in the body. I am more than happy to turn away from any pen that does not excite me, regardless of the brand.
In the end it is all personal taste. Some love metal pens. I have discovered, over the last year, I do not like the feel of a metal section so most Lamy pens are a non-starter for me. The non-metal sections have training wheels on them (triangle grips) that I dislike.
@@InkquiringMinds Yup, I completely agree. It is personal taste for sure! :)
Have you tried the hongdian i have one extra fine totally love it and it's a sleeper hit
I have seen them and some of my colleagues reviews, but the metal sections leave me cold.
Douglas Rathbun i get that think it was the matte black and i bought 2 of the blue the black all the way to the nib as well as the blue plain clean fine writing that's all i wanted
@@neptunepisces3794 Cool. That was the one that Alan (What I Ink) reviewed I think.
The preppy pens I have had have cracked at the top of the barrel. The Plaisir pens are solid. Is the Prefounte the same quality of plastic as the preppy?
Hey, tom. The barrels are identical save the printing. I noticed in watching my video (didn't notice by eye), that the barrel on my Preppy has hairline fractures in it. I haven't used the pen since the first review!
Douglas Rathbun The Plaisir is a daily use for me with Baystate Blue. But the preppy I don't use anymore. Love your videos.
Where do you buy the silicone O rings???
I got mine in the Penbbs parts bag. They are out of stock at the Penbbs Esty shop right now but you can get them by searching both Aliexpress and eBay.
all the markings are already gone from my prefounte...all the moving around in the pen case together with other pens.
I wish that would happen with the Preppy too!
Wife says, "why would you want to buy expensive fountain pens?" Translation: no more expensive fountain pens
Grrr...Thanks, Doug. ;-)
Reminds me of when my daughter asked my son why he needed so many guitars. Without hesitation he retorted "Why do you need so many shoes?" LOL
Monitize your channel!! You may not become a RUclips billionaire, but you might make some cash to fund your pen madness. ;-) Also with 1.6k subscribers, companies should be sending you pens for free to review.
Thanks, Tom. I've been monetized since March 11. Since March 11, I've made enough RUclips revenue to pay for 2/3rds of a Leonardo Momento Zero. LOL
It should be noted that "injection molded plastic" is kind of meaningless in terms of a statement of quality without talking about the actual polymer being used. Unfortunately almost no information is generally available regarding the actual material a pen is made out of beyond plastic/metal (personally, I think consumer products should include repair manuals and spec sheets of all parts etc... but I guess that makes trade secrets harder to keep). Anyway there is a world of difference between polystyrene (which is very brittle but cheap, and is probably what the Platinum pens are made of, as well as PenBBS 268 I think, and other non-acrylic cheaper pens), polycarbonate (a more expensive material than acrylic, higher impact resistance, lower scratch resistence, and faster UV degradation, used by TWSBI and the Lamy 2k), ABS plastics (very high impact resistence, used in Lamy Safari, Legos, luggage, instrument cases, etc.), and acrylic (fantastic optical properties, high hardness). The only point being that the word "plastic" is so general that's it's kind of useless. In fact the exotic material "Makrolon" which is much beloved by fans of the Lamy 2000 is simply a brand name of polycarbonate polymer.
My personal hypothesis is that if you charge >$100 for something and it is reasonably well made, people will treat it carefully enough that it will last a long time. If you were to charge ~$30 for something of identical durability people end up abusing it more and dropping it etc. and thinking it's not as well made as a result. I'm new to the fountain pen world, so maybe that's a naïve statement, but that's what I've seen so far.
Sorry posting a literal wall of text, but I guess the snark on this video was actually very thought provoking. Cheers.
Thanks for the wall of text, Ian! :) Of course, there is a huge range of materials commonly refered to as "plastic". My distinction is between injection molded material and material (acrylic) that is turned either by hand or by CNC. Injection molded pens usually have remnants of the process, like gates and seams. The 3776, even though it is a beautiful pen with (I'm guessing) higher quality plastic, the section has seams and the plastic is thinner and feels lighter and more fragile than a Penbbs 308 that has turned acrylic. The TWSBI 580 is made from a high quality acrylic as well but is injection molded but they've done a good job of hiding seams and gates.
I will admit, I had a few bad experiences with “Chinese bad quality pens” and vowed to never waste a dollar on a cheap pen again. Since then, I’ve bounced back a bit but still have only spent on moon man and PenBBS. Surprisingly the pen which has given me the most trouble has been a Lamy 2000 nonetheless, one of my grails. I completely took apart the pen and found something clogging up the feed, mould? Dried up ink? Some weird fibrous particles? We may never know. After some grief, I’ve gotten it to write but still haven’t decided if the experience warrants I return it after this whole COVID-19 thing passes.
I've heard this a lot. Not about the Lamy 2000 specifically, but about higher end, name brand pens like Visconti and Faber Castell. You pay $100+ US for a pen and have nib issues or other issues. I've had some pretty awful experiences with some Chinese pens like Wing Sung (not that Wing Sung, the other Wing Sung) but at most I'm out $25. But after five years and a lot of tinkering, I still can't get my Faber Castell Loom to write as well as my $20 Penbbs 308.
@@InkquiringMinds That's really weird. I thought the FC nibs were pretty dang reliable. Lucky for me I (also) have a 308 on the way.
@@ichirofakename Yeah I'm pretty sure my Loom is an anomaly. But I dislike the section so much it isn't worth getting a new nib.
@@InkquiringMinds Hopefully you have another fountain pen to fall back on.
Ichiro Fakename A couple! Lol
If we start eating Matt's juniper berries, will he speak up?
I don't think you could get your hands on Matt's berries! LOL
Italian German and Japanese have hundreds of good pens stick with quality.
I agree, James. But the entry level pens from Italy (are there any?), German and Japan are either made in China or they overpriced for what they are. That's what I was trying to say by putting the Prefounte next to a Penbbs 308. Same price, huge difference in what you get for your $25.
Who’s Matt Armstrong sir?
Agree with all the reasons you give for reviewing Chinese pens. It’s rather depressing how fountain pen users seem to have unlimited budgets to spend hundreds on fountain pens. £150 is nothing to them.
A former fountain pen reviewer who stopped everything rather abruptly. To this day he had, in my opinion, the best video production standards of anyone.
@@ginopagnani7286 check out Inky.Rocks.
As Gino says, Matt had probably the highest production values and best content of any RUclips fountain pen reviewer. I poured over all of his reviews long after he had stopped doing them. They are still up, with comments off, and are still extremely useful.
One last comment: don't use logic! don't you realize that logic and reason have been outlawed in these new trying times? ;)
LOL That sounds logical.
Honestly if you're spending more than $15 for a pen, you're getting ripped off. Yea more expensive pens look nice but they write the exact same as cheaper pens. Also I straight up said out loud didn't you eye dropper that thing. I had to go back and watch you do it again. I thought I clicked ahead or something
I could never keep it from leaking when I tried to eyedropper that thing.
You got to be kidding me.. the Pilot Explorer is made in China???
I don't have definitive proof but there is plenty of circumstantial evidence. I'll discuss it in the review next week. :)
Thank you Sir Douglas. Everything you do and say helps
Honestly, the Japanese are at the top when it comes to consistent pens. The germans and chinese are the same when it comes to quality (and are both slightly below the japanese). My first fountain pen was a safari and it sat around for years because it was so crappy. It delayed my fountain pen journey for years.
Its stupid to regard all Chinese pens as being crap. And no, the germans are not better at engineering than any other country that manufactures goods. As asian countries take more and more business away it makes the europeans nervous.
I agree. Pilot seems to have excellent quality right across the board. Broad generalization are usually just simplistic thinking.
i dont like the fact you cant take the fins out of the grip section for prope cleaning what if you want to use a shimmer ink or an iron gall ink its perminantly fixed it cant be taken out and what if it has clogging issue its basically a brick pen
You clean it the same way you clean any pen; with a bulb syringe. It isn't hard, nor does not pulling the nib and feed for cleaning make it a brick.
If you are using ink with non-standard properties you should know this.
I've been using a Platinum Plaisir for iron gall ink (Scabiosa) for over a year. I do flush it with water when I refill it every couple of months, and I pull out the nib unit and let it and the section soak in water with some vitamin C powder (to acidify) once or twice a year. No problems as long as it gets that minimal care. You can't get all the staining out of the section, but it works fine. You would have the same problem with many traditional pens which can't be disassembled.
The nice thing about the Plaisir is that it's a sturdy metal pen, but if something does go wrong with the nib or section, or you want a different sized nib, you can easily replace those with parts from a cheap Preppy.
Excellent points and tips Meh. I'm looking forward to unboxing my Plaisir.
I think I know what Marilyn is talking about, Jacquie. Something like Emerald de Chivor has such fine particulate that you can't get it all out of the feed channels. The bulb doesn't seem to get at it all. Not getting at the feed makes it more difficult. I'm interested in Meh's soaking in water with vitamin C powder.
I agree but doubt Platinum would add the extra cost to their manufacturing as this section is common across a number of models.
I am reluctant to purchase Communist Chinese lens with the knowledge that they are made by workers who are being paid that are borderline starvation. I have bought a few, but each time it is a struggle with my conscience.
That is certainly your perogative, Joseph. But you will have to be diligent, because many of those western or Japanese brands use the very same factories in China that make Jinhao, Wing Sung and Hero. The Amazon Basics fountain pen is made by Jinhao. The Pilot Explorer is made in China. Cross, Sheaffer and some Parker pens are made in China. For that matter, your toaster, refrigerator, microwave and television as well as you iPhone and computer components are made in China.