Platignum 1930s Fountain Pen Review

There must have been a day in history when pen companies decided to phase out flexible nibs. What induced them to dispense with this marvel of writing technology I cannot begin to fathom but a sad day that was, dear Readers, in fountain pen chronicles when the flexible nib was no more. 21st century penthusiasts can only turn to the fountain pens of old to experience a nib that yields to pressure, that springs back, that converses with the letters. Such a nib is fitted in the fine Platignum specimen which has recently found a temporary home at Palimpsest.

Platignum traces its beginnings in 1919 when the English pen company changed “the world of pens with the self-filling gold-plated nib.” This pen was purchased in 1935 and had fallen in a state of disrepair over the years until it was restored to its former glory by pen wizard Henry Simpole. It features a button filler mechanism and a 14CT broad flexible nib. It writes like a dream.

Marbled effect barrel with a black top which unscrews to reveal the button mechanism, gold decorative filigree band on the screw-on cap, and gold clip, this Platignum measures 11.5 cm unposted and 14.5 posted. It’s lightweight, comfortable to hold and the nib glides on the paper. It was inked with Mont Blanc Mystery Black and it went on with the business of writing straight away - no skips, no hiccups - without minding that it hadn't been put to use for decades.

Platignum 1930s fountain pen button filling mechanism

Platignum 1930s fountain pen: 14 CT gold broad flexible nib

Its owner was barely 9 years old when he was given it - a school boy who didn’t yet know that he would be drafted to the German army at the final stages of the war. The pen found its way back to England and it will travel back to Germany to serve its owner once more in times of peace.