The Platinum Pen is identical in size to the ordinary Platinum music pen, but the look is vastly different. There is nothing ordinary about this one! This is the type of pen that will draw a gasp from pen collectors and novices alike when they first lay eyes on it.
The color is a rich textured gold, ornate but not too flashy -- a pen to impress. The gold background seems to have depth to it. I found myself slowly turning the pen in my hands staring at it, as if this were some sort of meditative process. Mountains, clouds trees, and yes, the risen sun are depicted with minuscule detail, with a clear Urushi lacquer over all. Birds are soaring. There is a sail in the distance on the water. Extraordinary and meticulous artistic detail!
There are 3 Japanese symbols at the base of the pen that mean Kamakura Pens.
The nib is not the "ordinary" music nib, but the huge 14K three tined (#3776) style, with just a hint of flex. I inked it up immediately with J. Herbin Cafe des Iles and it wrote on the first stroke, no skipping, no waiting period, a full, rich flow of ink. I tested the line variation with figure eights, and zig zag strokes. I played, I scribbled, I sketched with it. I drew lines sideways, up and down. I wrote with the nib upside down. I angled my hand to the side, and it still wrote on the edge of the nib. The only way it did not write was if I held the nib completely sideways (90 degrees). There was no grabbing on the paper, no scratchiness, no skips. I let the pen sit unused for a week in its case. I took it out, and began to sign my name -- the ink flow was perfect, not a skip, no hesitation -- as if I had used the pen the day before. The pen writes with a nice balance both posted and not, although when I posted the cap I did so with caution, afraid to damage the finish. The weight is in the medium range, not too light, but just heavy enough to give good control. I usually prefer a heavy pen, but this one caused me no problems.
This is my first maki-e pen, and I for one am pleased with its appearance, design, and performance. As the pen's originator likes to say, "Faults? Not a single one."
- Rhonda Foster.
