Platinum Preppy Rainbow Fountain Pen Set, Fine Point - Pack of 7

This is a fantastic value, and as a fountain pen fanatic, I also love having a variety of colors at a moment's notice, and these are the best pens in the world for that, at any price.Firstly, I didn't get the version with the colored nibs that match the cap. I think that's an old design that platinum has phased out. But I did get the exact color pens that were shown. They each have a specific color ink cartridge that matches the color of the cap. But I didn't buy them for that, so I just set the cartridges aside and converted every one of them into eyedroppers.You can fit a standard platinum converter on these, but they literally cost more than the pens themselves, and these are the best eyedropper pens out there for many reasons.To convert a preppy to eyedropper, you need at the minimum, some silicon grease. just look around at your local hardware store for some pure silicon grease (usually in the plumbing aisle) or on amazon, or at jetpens or goulet pens. One tiny container of that grease is a lifetime supply. Coat the threads lightly and it should seal well enough, but for added security, Buy O rings.You have two options. Buy some O rings from Goulet pens (best option) as they have found a hard to find, hair-thin O ring that fits these flawlessly. Less perfect, but what I did because I wanted to make these work immediately, was buy some #5 O rings, 1/4 ID, 3/8 OD, 1/16W. They seal the pen perfectly, but stick out a good .3mm past the body, which annoyed me, so after filling and assembling, I took a sharp double sided razor blade and shaved the O rings down flush with the barrel. It was quick, easy, and since the O rings, cost less than $0.05 each, I didn't care. But if you have the time or forethought, order two 4 packs of the O rings from Goulet, as they really are the perfect size for the job.Now I have (in order on the picture) sailor jentle souten, waterman harmonious green, pilot yama-budo, noodlers dark matter, platinum carbon black, noodlers black swan in australian roses, and J. Herbin 1670 rouge hematite (which actually works great and doesn't plug up, same for the carbon black)The fine nib is a great writer, the EF can be a little too hairline to be clearly visible, and the medium can be a little too broad and dry for my tastes, but the F is perfect. Build quality is fine, I've had an eyedropper converted platinum preppy marker in my uniform pocket for six months now and it has been hit pretty hard several times without cracking or leaking. The nibs are consistent and never skip or hard start, and they have a party piece that makes having seven inked pens ready to go at all times a viable option: the slip-n-seal mechanism in the cap. Basically, it's an inner cap like other pens, but it's on a spring at the tip, which means that as you press the pen into the cap, the cap is tightly sealed by the inner cap and doesn't dry out. I can let them sit for weeks or months and they INSTANTLY start writing. The other benefit is that they NEVER burp. Most eyedropper pens will leak as the ink gets below about 1/3. These don't leak ever. EVER. I've run them from full to dry, about 3.5ML of ink (the converter holds about 0.5ml) and never had them burp.So, even if you're a seasoned pen owner with a huge collection, the platinum preppy makes a lot of sense, and having quite a few colors on hand at all times is a great thing for us students who do a lot of sketching and note taking.Alternatively, you could get these and then hand out the black, blue, and red ones to your friends that are fountain pen skeptics. Dirt cheap way to convert people to the hobby!

I have several fountain pens that cost hundreds of dollars. I have many pens that range from $25 to $100. Many of those are 5 star pens (but not all). These won't compete with those (thats why the 4 stars). These are the same kind of plastic that cheap ball points are made out of. The nibs are all steel color. For the price, if you just want a fun cheap fountain pen that you can actually replace the cartridge in (amazing at this price), and also like to write with a very fine line, I haven't found anything better. I get fountain pens that are disposable, and they cost more than these. These are better quality. The nib does not flex (as is expected for all cheap fountain pens). I think calling these pens inexpensive is more accurate than calling them cheap. For anything under 5 dollars apiece this are as good as everything out there - and I got 7 of them for $14. Deal!

A nice pen set, usable but you also get what you pay for.For the following, you might want a good pen and ink cleaner, and some Q-tips for cleaning.Pens will arrive with a cartridge that requires you to a) remove it from the barrel, and b) jam into the pen head. Ugly, but works. No instructions came with the pens. Upon arrival, 2 of the cartridges had leaked into the barrel/head of their pens. Solution: a q-tip dipped in some cleaner to swap out the head and barrel. Dip the nib (head end) in some cleaner for a bit, flush with (distilled) water.Most of the pens wrote well after getting their cartridges flowing, or after replacing the cartridges with an ink filled by a dropper (Noodler's, my fave). If your ink does not flow at first, dip it into some cleaner, swirl the nib on some paper and be patient. But don't wait forever.The blue pen never did get the cartridge ink to flow, so I used an ink bottle with dropper to load up the pen's barrel, threaded the head back on and after coaxing the pen to write, gave up. Discarded.Yellow? You can barely see it, so plan on replacing the ink, I used Noodler's Apache Sunset, looks good, but the pen scratches. Discarded.The ink flow is not consistent between the pens, but workable. Most seem to be a fine point, the rest release more ink and thus are more of a medium point.I recommend Noodler's inks when your cartridges run dry, and a good pen cleaner and q-tips to keep it all flowing (I use an airbrush cleaner by Creative, available here on Amazon; effective and economical). I also use a supply of eye-droppers for dispensing ink into pen barrels. Caution: not all barrels seal tightly, so be careful of leaking!Bottom line, this 7-pen set is a bargain, most pens will write well, but you will need to earn it.