Platinum Preppy

Overview

The Platinum Preppy is Garry's quintessential cheap-and-cheerful pen -- a Japanese, fully plastic pen that he repeatedly describes as a pen he overlooks and underuses despite genuinely loving it every time he picks it up. He owns multiple, usually eyedroppered (modified to hold ink directly in the body rather than via cartridge or converter), and uses them as flexible 'special colour' pens kept in reserve rather than in his core monthly rotation. The Preppy punches well above its modest cost in nearly every review, regularly scoring as well as or better than pens many times its price, and it features in his beginner/starter-pen recommendation videos as a genuine entry point into the hobby.

Design & Appearance

The Nib

Filling Mechanism

A genuinely flexible design. It ships with a cartridge or two, but Garry almost universally eyedroppers his Preppies -- removing the cartridge/converter system and filling the sealed barrel directly with bottled ink via the threads, using silicone grease to prevent leakage. He's tried this on multiple Preppies with no leakage issues in normal use, though one Tournament appearance (Heat 4) did show a leak, which he attributes to having dropped the pen at some point. A converter is also available but must be purchased separately, and in the Fountain Pen Focus review he notes that he actually paid more for the converter than for the pen itself.

Measurements

Measurement Value
Total length (capped) 13.8 cm
Length unposted 12.2 cm
Length posted 15.3-15.4 cm
Body width 1.2 cm
Cap width 1.3 cm
Section width 1.0-1.07 cm
Full pen weight 11-15 g (varies by review/measurement method)
Body weight alone 8.9-11 g
Cap weight 4-4.2 g

One of the lightest pens in his collection -- he notes the cap is so light that posting barely changes the balance, which is part of why he prefers writing with it posted.

Writing Experience (Ink Flow & Comfort)

Inks Used (as referenced across reviews and monthly uses)

Ink Context / Notes
Lamy Crystal Benitoite Fountain Pen Focus review -- an unusually low-saturation ink for his taste, but one he says he enjoyed regardless
Robert Oster Terracotta Showdown vs Pilot Metropolitan and Sailor 1911 Junior -- a dry-leaning ink he felt suited the pen's fine nib well
Diamine Bah Humbug Tournament Heat 1 (2025)
(Cartridge ink, unidentified -- possibly blue/purple) Tournament Heat 4 -- used directly from a supplied cartridge rather than eyedroppered, leading to the leak incident

Comparisons and Rankings

vs Pilot Metropolitan and Sailor 1911 Junior (dedicated showdown, 'Affordable Japanese Fountain Pens')

A direct three-tier price comparison spanning roughly an 8-to-1 price range between cheapest and most expensive. Garry rated the Preppy's looks lowest of the three (7/10, vs 9/10 for both the Metropolitan and the Sailor) but gave it the same writing-experience and ink-flow scores as the Metropolitan (8/10 each), and -- notably -- gave it a perfect 10/10 for value for money, reasoning that at its price it 'keeps up with the other two pens' on actual performance. Final overall scores: Preppy and Metropolitan tied at 8.25/10, Sailor 1911 Junior ahead at 8.5/10.
Platinum Preppy = 8.25/10, Pilot Metropolitan = 8.25/10, Sailor 1911 Junior = 8.5/10

Fountain Pen Tournament -- Heat 4 (vs a handmade Tasmanian Golden Sassafras pen and a Fountain Pen Revolution Darjeeling, audience-decided)

Garry praised the comfortable, appropriately-sized section relative to the other two pens in the heat, and noted the pen posts well due to its light weight. The leak issue here was attributed to a previous drop rather than the eyedropper conversion itself. Left to audience vote.

Fountain Pen Showdown -- Heat 1 of the 2025 Tournament (vs Fuliwen 017 and Jinhao 9013, audience-decided)

Garry rated the Preppy's looks at 9/10 in this comparison group -- notably higher than in the dedicated Japanese-pens showdown, reflecting how its score shifts depending on what it's being compared against. He specifically praised enjoying the writing experience 'when you consider the price.' Left to audience vote.

Fountain Pen Tournament -- Grand Final (vs Majohn P139 and Lamy 2000, audience-decided)

Reached the Grand Final -- a genuinely notable achievement for an eight-dollar pen, going up directly against a roughly forty-times-more-expensive Lamy 2000. Garry highlighted that it 'writes really well' and was eager to see whether the audience would let the cheapest pen of the three win. Left to audience vote, with no personal winner declared.

Starter pen recommendation videos

Appears repeatedly across his beginner-focused content ('The Ultimate Starter Fountain Pens for 2025,' 'My Starter Fountain Pens for 2023,' 'Starter Fountain Pens -- 2024 Edition,' 'Affordable Elegance: 5 Fountain Pens Under $10 AUD') as one of his go-to recommendations for people just starting in the hobby, consistently praised for its low barrier to entry, eyedropper potential, and good writing performance for the price.

Overall Scores Summary

Review Score
Fountain Pen Focus 8/10
vs Pilot Metropolitan / Sailor 1911 Junior 8.25/10
Average ~8.1/10

(Tournament heats and the Grand Final were audience-decided rather than personally scored.)

By category (averaged across explicitly scored reviews)

Category Average
Pen Looks ~7.7/10
Build Quality 8/10
Writing Experience 8/10
Ink Flow 8/10
Comfort 8/10
Value for Money ~9.5/10

Build Quality

Solid for the price -- 8/10 in the one review where it was explicitly scored. Garry has had no parts failures or threading issues despite repeated eyedropper conversions across multiple pens, though one Tournament appearance showed a leak he attributes to having dropped the pen previously. He notes the lack of an included O-ring for eyedroppering is a minor downside, requiring him to source one separately if he wants a cleaner seal (he currently relies on silicone grease alone).

Value for Money

Consistently rated as outstanding -- 9/10 to a perfect 10/10 across multiple reviews. Garry repeatedly frames this as the pen's defining characteristic: it performs on par with pens many times its price in writing experience, ink flow, and comfort, while costing a fraction as much. This is the central reason it appears so often in his starter-pen recommendation content.

Key Recurring Themes

  1. A pen he loves but consistently overlooks -- repeatedly describes finding it sitting unused in a drawer and being surprised, every time he picks it up, by how much he enjoys it.
  2. Outstanding value for money -- the single most consistent score across every review, regularly hitting 9 or 10 out of 10.
  3. Transparent body as a genuine practical advantage -- being able to see the nib, feed, and ink level is repeatedly praised, especially compared to opaque pens at similar or higher price points.
  4. Comfortable, lip-free section -- a standout feature he holds up favourably against pricier pens that do have an uncomfortable lip digging into his finger.
  5. A flexible, modifiable platform -- the ability to eyedropper, swap nibs, and use marker-style nib variants makes it more versatile than most budget pens in his collection.
  6. Punches above its price bracket in tournaments -- reached his Fountain Pen Tournament Grand Final, going head-to-head with pens dramatically more expensive.
  7. A recurring starter-pen recommendation -- appears across nearly every beginner-focused video in his channel.

Source Files

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