Review: Platinum Plaisir fountain pen

I actually bought this a while ago, along with a second Tombow Object pen (in a different colour from the first one). I won’t review the Tombow, because my review of the first one I bought (you can read it here) still stands! It’s a great pen and I love it.

But, I’ve still to review the Platinum Plaisir, so here goes.
It’s actually the second version, as the first one refused to write so was returned. I bought from The Journal Shop (no affiliation, just regular, happy customer) and there was absolutely no fuss or bother about returning it and getting a replacement and the replacement works just fine.

I bought it in a pale lilac colour (on the site it is just described as ‘purple’ – listing is here).

The length (capped) is 143 mm and uncapped (but not posted) is 123 mm, Uncapped and posted, it is 153 mm (but I never post my pens – the weight always seems too far back in my hand). The cap closes with a very firm and satisfying click. You can get adaptors to use bottled ink with it, but I haven’t. There is a small plastic insert to allow standard cartridges to be used with it (which is what I have in it). The small downside is that you can’t pop a second cartridge into the barrel, ready for when the cartridge runs out, although as I tend to use my pens at home, at my desk, with all my inks to hand this isn’t a problem.

The cartridge slots in to the insert, which is connected to the nib through a plastic barrel (nib feed). The main downside with the pen (for me) is that the ink bleeds into the nib feed and is sitting in the space between the outer barrel and the inner part. I can’t see a way of getting it cleaned out and even if I did, I presume it would leak into it again. It’s not a major issue as I will probably only use poussier de lune in it (an ink I adore) so there won’t be any mixing of ink there, but it’s a shame it leaks into the space there at all.

Pen uncapped and unscrewed - you can see the ink leakage if you look closely

 The rest of the pen is aluminium, so the pen is incredibly light in my hand. There are a variety of colours available for the barrel. The clip is a darker purple than the barrel (in a very pleasant, complementary colour). The silver bit has Platimun Plaisir Japan on it.

The writing experience:
The nib is described as medium but is a finer nib than all my other medium nibs – maybe not quite a ‘fine’ but a ‘medium-fine’ I would say. The nib is smooth and the pen is light and comfortable in my hand. For £12, it would be hard to beat this as a pen! I have written a few long letters with it now and it has left my hand un-cramped. I think the combination of a reasonable sized barrel with a light pen works well for me.

Overall, I would recommend it as a good, lightweight, cheap pen. The only niggle is the leakage into the nib feed.