Platinum President Review

Here is the Platinum President in black with rhodium trim (purchased on Massdrop.com for $189, which was a good price. This model sells at penchalet.com for $260). I generally favor a "European medium" nib, so I bought this one with a bold nib thinking that this would approximate my preferred nib size.

Platinum is a pen brand that has flown under the radar for me, and when it's crossed my attention I've had the impression (whether fairly or not) that they are the weakest of Japanese "Big Three". The only Platinum pen I'd ever used was a Preppy that came free with a bottle of Noodler's ink, which actually wrote well enough for a dirt-cheap pen. It was fun to see and try Platinum's flagship pen, and overall, I'm favorably impressed with it. My initial impression is that this is an art deco inspired MB 146-lite.

The packaging is unremarkable. A simple outer package, a brown and fuzzy inner box. The contents include an instruction sheet and warranty card (written mostly in Japanese), a cartridge of black ink, and a converter. There was no cartridge converter included.

Outer box

Funky inner box

Box contents

Box contents II

Instructions

Instructions II

Warranty card

Included cartridge

Tag

Art deco clip

Clip profile

I really do like the step detail on this pen clip.

Band "President"

Band "Japan"

Band "Platinum"

Nib 18K Bold

Nib/feed profile

Feed

Nib and Section

Platinum President (top) Montblanc 146 (bottom)

As you can see, the President and the Montblanc 146 are very similar. I don't know who originally designed this iconic pen style, but I would consider the President as a Montblanc Meisterstück inspired design. While they do look very similar, there are a number of differences. The President is a C/C filler (not piston), has more rounded ends, and lacks the iconic white peak. There is also a different feel to the pen. The President simply feels less substantial that the 146. I don't know enough about manufacturing or "precious resin" grades to know why. There is a noticeable difference between the pens when screwing on the caps. While the MB screws on smoothly and assuredly, the President can feel like the threads are in danger of being stripped if the cap is not centered exactly over the pen.

Taken apart

Taken apart II

Writing sample

How does it write? Very well. As can be seen in the writing sample, the President bold nib is slightly wider than the medium-nibbed Montblanc. I had seen reviews stating that Platinum pens tended towards "feedback" on the page, and was afraid that may be code for a poorly polished, rough feeling nib. On the contrary, this pen writes quite smoothly, reliably, and with a nice, wet line. Additionally, I really like the size, weight, and balance of this pen. A winner!

Sheaffer 2001m Desk Pen Review. A pen from the mid 1950's, almost NOS.

I wasn't looking for another desk pen, but saw this in October 2015 an antique store. The pen is still in its box, has the original instructions, and (best of all), it doesn't appear to have ever been inked up! Usually the "in the wild" finds I've experienced are not as interesting and complete as this.

Frankly, I wasn't even planning on keeping it. After spending a day with it, however, I'm starting to change my mind. I consider myself a user, not just a collector, but I almost hate to ink it up (and yes, the Snorkel filler does seem to work!) and remove the stickers from the pen!

Follow along and get ready for a lot of pictures...

From from Armstrong Jewelers in Waco, Texas. Fun to imagine that this was a gift given to someone who kept it in the box and threw it in a drawer for 60 years or so.

On to the pen...

Like I said, it doesn't appear to have ever been inked, though I would guess that it had been dipped before. There was just a hint of ink around the feeder on the nib, but after taking it apart (the barrel easily unscrewed from the barrel allowing access to the inner workings of the Snorkel system), everything looked pristine. "Dry filling" the pen (with air), resulted in a robust filling sound--more so than my restored PFM and other Snorkels (!). I decided to see what would happen if I filled it with water, and it worked beautifully pulling up a surprising large amount of water.

In this picture, I wasn't shooting for the nib (14K "5") as much as the sticker indicating that it's a fine nib.

The next picture shows a price of $7.50. I'm not sure if that would be for the pen or the set.

Biggest "problem" is a small chip in the plastic edge of the trumpet. Not sure if this happened in the pen's original home, in the antique store, or....

...the store owner told me that this pen had been stolen (with several other items) from their store. Fortunately, the thief was caught on camera, and--even better--this individual had previously given the owner his contact information because he had brought in a clock to be repaired by them! Thankfully, he wasn't a mastermind criminal. The police paid him a visit and found this pen, along with a bunch of stolen items from several stores, and everything was recovered.

Here's a picture of the bottom of the base.

So, though I considered keeping it in its pristine condition and selling it because:

1. I already have more desk pens than I have desks.

2. It's not even a "white dot" pen.

3. It's not even a two-toned nib.

4. It's so close to being a new pen (I hate to casually just pull the stickers off and fill it up).

4. The pen can screw into the trumpet of the base. That's great, but as I indicated above, the pen easily unscrews allowing access to the "inner workings". Unfortunately, when I put it in, the pen got stuck (screwed into the trumpet), and the barrel easily unscrewed. It scared me that after all these years the pen was stuck in its base after a half hour at my house! I eventually was able to get it out without any damage, whew! 

However, and I dipped it and tried writing with it--wow! One of the nicer pens I've used. Smooth and perfect ink flow (especially for a fine tipped pen). So this one's staying in the stable.

Oh, and I'm sure at least someone would wonder how much I paid. The sticker on the base says $65, but the owner gave it to me for $45. Probably not the deal of the century, but with the box and instructions and the great condition of the pen, and as an avid collector, it would have almost felt irresponsible to not have snatched it up!