It's not always about the perfect pen...
No, really, it's not...
Alright, who am I kidding...?
The thing about any quest for perfection is the many things you have to try before you manage to attain that lofty perch, and in this case, while in no way perfect, the Platinum Carbon was a significant stepping stone on the way to knowing what I wanted.
This has one of the hardest nibs that I've ever encountered, hardly any give in it at all, which I did think at first was going to be a negative, but it turns out that it suits my style of writing very well. The nib is also one of the only nibs to withstand Iron Gall ink for any amount of time, as can be seen from the discolouration at the front of the nib.
The length of the pen is both a positive and a negative, it's very light, so moving it around the page is effortless, but because this is so light, you feel more inclined to press harder on the page to make sure you've got the ink flowing, and because the nib is so rigid, you don't do any damage to the nib.
The other interesting part of the design is the top of the pen, it's shaped in the way a desk pen is, meaning that you can't post the cap and you'll always, always, have some of the pen protruding from the back of your hand, no matter the size of your hands. Also no clip, and no facility for putting a clip on there, so putting it in your pocket is a problem because it's too large for trousers and keeps falling over on shirts.
Construction is solid throughout, it won't stand up to serious abuse (but what pen really does), a little fragile towards the end of the pen where it's very thin, but the base is well constructed and fits together very nicely. The ink flow is excellent, writes first time every time, and holds a good size reservoir at the back, I haven't seen a convertor for it, but a syringe is good every time and the size of the nib means you won't be refilling it too often.
The writing sample...
I really enjoy writing with this, and if it had more utility to it (the aforementioned clip and perhaps if it wasn't a hundred metres long...), then it would be one of my every day carry. As it is, I use it in my study often, and it's an interesting addition to anyone's collection. As noted on the sample, I used up the original carbon ink some time back (and even that didn't gum the nib up), and switched it out for something a little less dark, but refills are easily obtainable.
