Platinum Fountain Pen, Preppy, Medium Nib, Yellow (PPQ-200-#30-05)

I absolutely love this pen. I'll probably even name it. I'm no fountain pen expert by any means, but I have used quite a few on the cheap end. This one here blows all of them out of the water. It is incredibly smooth. I like the look of it for an everyday pen, and even though I won't be purchasing anymore cartridges (as I plan to refill it with my own ink from here on) I do like this violet colored ink quite a lot. I will definitely recommend it to all of my acquaintances and every random hobo I happen to meet.

I'm a fountain pen addict. I've owned quite a few. I've spent up to, but never over 100$ on a fountain pen. So I've never used the really high end pens. But I've used many many styles and brands under that mark. I've fixed up a few that I've found at garage sales and flea markets with mixed results. And I take good care of the bevy of pens I currently own. That's where I'm coming from. I'm not a "leading authority" by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm comfortable with my opinions and confident in my recommendations regarding fountain pens.Shortly before buying this pen I decided to treat myself with a nice fountain pen (the a fore mentioned 100$ pen). Then I saw this one mentioned in a blog (the Mythbusters offshoot "Tested" blog did a pen test and gave a shout-out to the preppy pen). Even though I had a more expensive pen on the way, when I saw the price on this one I couldn't resist.I love my "Sheaffer Silk Screened Bamboo Design Fountain Pen", and comparing it to the "Preppy, Platinum Fountain Pen," is a bit of apples and oranges. But since I got them so near each other, it's hard to resist. This pen - the Preppy - is the one that is always with me. I won't say it writes as well as the Bamboo Shaeffer pen, but it's very very close. Especially when it comes to flow. And when a 5$ pen comes that close to a 100$ pen, I'd say it's a pretty good deal.Here are the downsides. It's light. Very light. Absurdly light.Writing shouldn't be the equivalent to weight lifting, but as I hold it right now and try to find something on my desk that's about the same weight, the beer bottle cap is the only thing that comes close. That might be too light for some.The cartridges can be hard to find. I've always been able to order them here on Amazon, but even with Prime they take a while to get here. I'd recommend getting the "Platinum CONVERTER" if you want to keep using it down the road. I used mine once, it works fine. I prefer the refills, but I keep the converter as a back up.It's not sturdy. That is to say, it might be metaphorically mightier than the sword, but it is literally as brittle as a twig. I had it in my pocket during our recent cold weather, and when I took it out at the bank the clip on the cap snapped off just from pulling it out of my pocket.The things I like:Price, price, price.... Five bucks for a very nice writing pen. You can't really beat that. I'm ordering another as soon as I finish this review.It writes well. If has a smooth feel to it. It is even, and consistent. You don't feel like you're carving into the paper as much as gliding across it. It has a nice line, though the "Fine Nib" seems more like a medium to me. Compared to the disposable Varsity fountain pens, I'd say this one comes out on top, by a good bit.Maintenance. Most of my fountain pens are like needy children. They demand a little attention every day, and they'll act up if they don't get it. The only two that can go a long time without use, and still not need any cleaning, are this one and my "LAMY Al-Star Model" (about 50$).In the end, if you want a fountain pen that's going to dazzle the ladies (or gentlemen - either way) when you pull it out of your pocket, this probably isn't going to be the one. If you're using a fountain pen so that people can see you using a fountain pen, then there are flashier choices out there.If you want a fountain pen because you love the way they write and you are going to splash ink across untold reams of blank pages - 'scribing your story someplace solitary (preferably an isolated cabin, or a cave if you can find one), then I'd highly recommend picking one of these up.Also, it's five bucks.

I started using the preppy fountain pen today. I learned that it takes firm pressure to insert the ink cartridge properly so that the ink will flow, so don't be afraid to press slowly and firmly until the cartridge is punctured, after which you can hear the little silver ball rattling around in the ink. It writes like a dream, very smoothly, and so far does not leak. It came with a large paper sticker on the barrel that was a hassle to remove, see photo.

I have long been unhappy with my penmanship. My handwriting is very easy to read, but lacks grace and beauty.I'm envious of people with legible handwriting that is at the same time, elegant and artistically gorgeous. Determined to make my handwriting better, I did some Google research on "Beautiful Handwriting". Sure enough, there was quite a lot of material. I soon learned that the most expressive tool for better handwriting is the old-fashioned fountain pen.I also discovered a web site called; "The Pen Addict". It's a great place to start. I was quickly astonished at how huge a following pens have. It's a whole world all it's own. It even has it's own vocabulary. For example, putting the cap on the front of the pen is Capping the pen, but putting the cap on the rear of the pen is Posting it. Who knew?Some people spend thousands of dollars on designer pens. I found one Japanese company that makes hand painted fountain pens that start at about $1200, and go up to $12,000 for a pen. No, these are not diamond encrusted pens like something Cartier or Faberge might make. These are production pens! Yikes. For the record, the Platinum Preppy has established itself as the only GOOD fountain pen, under $14.So far, I have three fountain pens in my collection, two bought here at Amazon.First, I bought the Pilot Metropolitan. Highly rated and often recommended as a great first pen. I got mine at Amazon a few weeks back.Next, I discovered a great pen site called: JetPens. This site is a gold mine of information with guides and tutorials. It's also one of those rare siteswhich are actually easy to navigate. JetPens provides free shipping on orders over $25. This is good. What's bad is that if you want just a $1 pen, they will hit you with something like a $5 minimum on shipping. I'm not happy about that. Not one bit.At JetPens I got two more classics in the field. The Platinum Preppy, and the TWSBI Eco. I was baffled by the name until I learned that it's pronounced Twiss-Bee.I ordered my first pen, a Platinum Preppy here at Amazon and selected free shipping. Free yes, but fantastically slow. I ordered the pen from Amazon on October 14th and received it today, November 14th. More than a month. My second Preppy, bought later from JetPens, was here weeks earlier! If you want a Preppy from Amazon, make sure Amazon is shipping and not an overseas seller.I don't know if my handwriting will ever satisfy me, but I am fascinated by this phenomenon of pen collection. It's right up there with collectingstamps, coins, and baseball cards. By all means, check out the major pen sites. There's fascinating stuff out there.Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that the pen came with a red ink cartridge. Almost a hot pink. Also keep in mind that some pen makers, including Platinum, use proprietary ink cartridges that only fit there own pens. Other companies use "International Standard Cartridges", which come in two sizes; short and long. I have read that a typical ink cartridge is good for about 3 pages of writing. Some pens, including the Preppy, have an accessory device called a piston-converter. These are small pumps which insert just like an ink cartridge but allow you to draw liquid ink from a bottle. The advantages here are that bottled inks come in far greater variety than cartridge inks and are much cheaper. I believe the Preppy's converter costs 5 to 8 dollars, depending on the store.I'll conclude by saying that if you want a good, yet affordable fountain pen, I suggest the Pilot Metropolitan here at Amazon.As I said earlier, many pen experts regard it as a great first fountain pen. I find it a little smoother than the Preppy, though the Preppy does have a finer line.

I love this pen. It flows easily over the page without any skipping or scratching, the lines are all perfectly consistent, and it seems like anyone could use it without needing any experience with fountain pens. It is better than I was expecting, and it also appears to be refillable. I believe it could easily be converted to an eyedropper fill for increased capacity. This gets my enthusiastic approval.I am including a picture I drew with it so you can see how smooth it is.

I got the pink one with the pink nib and why it cost more than the blue and other colors I don't know but I can guess they know women like pink!!

Not a fan of how it writes. Just another cheap pen.

Got it because in the picture the nib was purple but when I got it the nib was sliver. Other than that the writing experience is smooth

People love this pen, but I've had a myriad of flow issues with it.

Not waterproof.

Leaked everywhere.

This pen brings joy to my son's life.

For the price you can't beat these fountain pens.

It took me awhile to pierce the capsule of ink. The ink was very vibrant, unfortunately the tines of the pen were bent and so could not write at all beyond that initial burst of...

The plastic broke on the main shaft the first day I used it.