Wow! That lowly Plaisir really is something!

**Price** · 04-22-2012, 07:32 AM

Okay, so waaay back in August, when all you damned enablers convinced me that I needed a fountain pen, I picked up a Platinum Plaisir with my 5 O'Clock Shadow. I kinda liked the snap cap, and it always wrote at the first stroke. Unfortunately, I lost that pen not long after I got it. It proved to be a gateway drug though (of course), and I acquired a modest collection rather quickly.

Anyway, last night my wife strolls in with the Plaisir in her hand. She had been vacuuming out her car, and apparently had found it wedged between the seat and the console - where it had stayed for about eight months. Unbelievably, when I popped the cap off, it wrote smoothly on the first stroke. No skipping, no nuthin'. I know they market this pen as being able to sit for a year and start right up, but like most advertising I hardly believed it could be true.

**luvmysuper** · 04-22-2012, 07:37 AM

That pen is a great gateway pen, and stands very well on its own merits.
I gave mine away to a friends daughter and missed it so much I had to buy a replacement the following week.
It's a regular at work. No muss, no fuss and writes when you need it.
And I don't have nearly the anxiety level as I do when I bring my expensive pens to work.

**The Nid Hog** · 04-22-2012, 07:45 AM

I think it's an excellent daily use pen. Reliable nib and feed system, uses carts or converter, nice solid construction. I've been writing with one for about a year, on and off, and it works great. They like to advertise that you can forget about it for a year, pick it up again and it'll write with no trouble. Seems to be pretty much the case. While it does come in a wide variety of colors, the design is fairly conservative so it doesn't scream "cheap pen!" when you use it. It's a great pen to give to someone who is thinking about getting into FPs.

**nemo** · 04-22-2012, 08:12 AM

Great story! I've never tried one but I guess I'll have to get some for lending out or gifting to a budding writer.

**Etoyoc_Rebmos** · 04-22-2012, 08:18 AM

I was surprised by the Plaisir as well. For a long time I just though of it is as a metal bodied preppy. So I refused to get one. At some point I decided I needed to keep a pen loaded at my desk with bulletproof ink for writing checks and signing documents. However, it wasn't going to be a pen I was going to reach for every day and may have to sit a few days every now and then. I decided to get a Plaisir and have been happily using it for that role ever since. I even picked up another for the dreaded Bay State Blue.

**the_edski** · 04-22-2012, 09:06 AM

Awesome story Price! glad to see the advertising is actually true. The longest i've let mine sit is about 5 days and it flows no problem. i love having it at my desk loaded with red ink, because i dont use it everyday but i know it will work as if I did! i would recommend it to new and veteran FP users alike!

**oc_in_fw** · 04-22-2012, 02:37 PM

Stop it, Price- I have tobacco I have to order. In this instance, it is not James' fault

**Price** · 04-22-2012, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by oc_in_fw

Stop it, Price- I have tobacco I have to order. In this instance, it is not James' fault

Aaahhh...but by the "transitive property of enabling", pretty much all tobacco AD's on this site can be blamed on but a single source. It is, most assuredly, James' fault.

**oc_in_fw** · 04-22-2012, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Price

Aaahhh...but by the "transitive property of enabling", pretty much all tobacco AD's on this site can be blamed on but a single source. It is, most assuredly, James' fault.

Yeah, but he isn't pen enabling (yet). I went to Goulet's to give them a look- and they have a nice green one. I do not own a green pen or ink. Damnit

**brianw** · 04-22-2012, 03:58 PM

In here it's Nemo's fault

**oc_in_fw** · 04-22-2012, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by brianw

In here it's Nemo's fault

Good point, Brian.

**Silky Glide** · 06-10-2012, 07:15 PM

I just ordered one with a F nib from West Coast Shaving, alone with the converter and a bottle of Benevolent Blue ink. I am currently packing a Lamy Safari in glossy black and using cartridges (I have a couple of preppies around as well). This is going to be my first foray into using a converter. I am intrigued.

**Mr5x5** · 06-11-2012, 05:57 AM

Originally Posted by brianw

In here it's Nemo's fault

+1.

When the NIB first opened he wrote something and posted the image and I imagined that a FP would change my scratchings to something legible.

**Doc4** · 06-11-2012, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Etoyoc_Rebmos

For a long time I just though of it is as a metal bodied preppy. So I refused to get one.

As a fan of the lowly Preppy ... I sort of think the opposite ... "why get a metal bodied Preppy that I can't eyedropper?"

So I don't own a Plaisir.

My question to those who own both ... is there an actual improvement in performance with the Plaisir? I know that the Preppies on my desk that have sat for a while will NOT write perfectly on the first stroke ... (just checked ... BBB wrote perfectly ... Heart of Darkness and Nikita wrote well after a second of empty scratch ... Kung Te-cheng wrote okay after two seconds of empty scratch ... Baystate blue and #41 brown didn't write, but did okay after being left to lie horizontal while the other pens were tried. All pens normally stored nib-up.)

IIRC, it's the same nib ... but is it the same feed?

**oc_in_fw** · 06-11-2012, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by Doc4

As a fan of the lowly Preppy ... I sort of think the opposite ... "why get a metal bodied Preppy that I can't eyedropper?"

So I don't own a Plaisir.

My question to those who own both ... is there an actual improvement in performance with the Plaisir? I know that the Preppies on my desk that have sat for a while will NOT write perfectly on the first stroke ... (just checked ... BBB wrote perfectly ... Heart of Darkness and Nikita wrote well after a second of empty scratch ... Kung Te-cheng wrote okay after two seconds of empty scratch ... Baystate blue and #41 brown didn't write, but did okay after being left to lie horizontal while the other pens were tried. All pens normally stored nib-up.)

IIRC, it's the same nib ... but is it the same feed?

Why can't you eye dropper a Plaisir?

**Doc4** · 06-11-2012, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by oc_in_fw

Why can't you eye dropper a Plaisir?

You can't eyedropper a pen if it'll leave the ink in contact with a metal pen body or threads ... so the aluminum-bodied Plaisir is out of the running there.

**The Nid Hog** · 06-11-2012, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Doc4

My question to those who own both ... is there an actual improvement in performance with the Plaisir? I know that the Preppies on my desk that have sat for a while will NOT write perfectly on the first stroke ... (just checked ... BBB wrote perfectly ... Heart of Darkness and Nikita wrote well after a second of empty scratch ... Kung Te-cheng wrote okay after two seconds of empty scratch ... Baystate blue and #41 brown didn't write, but did okay after being left to lie horizontal while the other pens were tried. All pens normally stored nib-up.)

I can answer half of your question. I'm fairly certain that the nib/feed assembly is exactly the same in both the Preppy and the Plaisir. I can't really compare performance between them. I have a couple of Preppies, but my daughter just uses one with invisible ink and I've never inked the other ones. The advertising for the Plaisir in Japan touts that they have developed a feed that specifically allows pens to write after long periods of disuse. I have no idea if that's true or not, but I've picked mine up after sitting in a drawer for a long time (inked with different Pilot and Sailor inks) and they've started up right away. I have one inked with Kung Te-cheng and it works fine too.

**Etoyoc_Rebmos** · 06-11-2012, 11:34 AM

Well... In my experience, they do dry up and stop working when you use bulletproof/waterproof inks. Over time the nib gets more and more buildup and then one day it just won't write. However, if the nib had no buildup and was capped, could it go the year that is advertised? dunno. But what is the point in having a full pen just sitting there for a year unused.

And as far as I can tell, the collector, feed, and nib are identical. Any difference in the ability to last longer without drying out as claimed by the company would have to have something to do with the seal developed by the cap.

**the_edski** · 06-13-2012, 08:00 AM

I like my Preppy way more than my Plaisir...its weird, even though its basically the same pen, I feel the Preppy writes better. Theoretically, if one were to fit a plastic liner inside the body of the Plaisir, would they then be able to eyedropper it? Or would the fact that the threads are still metal botch the whole operation?

**Etoyoc_Rebmos** · 06-13-2012, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by the_edski

I like my Preppy way more than my Plaisir...its weird, even though its basically the same pen, I feel the Preppy writes better. Theoretically, if one were to fit a plastic liner inside the body of the Plaisir, would they then be able to eyedropper it? Or would the fact that the threads are still metal botch the whole operation?

Maybe if you get all the threads coated in enough silicone grease the threads and ink will be protected from each other. However, I am not sure if the very end threads would have enough protection. Maybe if you coated the entire inside of the barrel with a protective sealant of some type all the way up to the threads. But???? will it be enough to protect the ink/metal from each other? Will it prevent the threads from working properly? Dunno, but then again, it isn't that expensive of a pen, so the only way to really know is to experiment and find out.