Whilst I still have my usual large number of pens inked (30+…yes, I know!), I feel like I’ve mostly been using a smaller pool of favourites this month. Which probably means I should be cleaning out some lesser used pens!

Two trusty favourites that don’t seem to leave my rotation these days is my Platinum #3776 Nice Lavande, and my Pilot Decimo Violet. My Platinum #3776 gets a lot of use as my journaling pen, and so is now on its second refill of Diamine Tyrian Purple. Although I may switch up the colour again next time I write it dry. 

My Pilot Decimo is freshly inked with my first ever Pilot Iroshizuku ink, Kosumosu. I’ve wanted to try this ink for a while (as I’ve struggled to find good pink inks), and so when I heard it was one of the Iroshizuku line-up that was getting discontinued, I panicked and bought a bottle off Amazon. Thankfully, I love it, and it’s especially nice in this pen! 

Another favourite that’s had a new ink this month is my Sailor Pro Gear Slim Grateful Crane. This month I’ve had it inked with a Cult Pens exclusive Diamine ink, Bashful Blueberry, which is a nice match. I plan on sticking with this combination for a while! 

In terms of newer pens I’ve been using this month, the main one has been my Kaweco Art Sport Hickory Brown, inked with Herbin Lie de Thé. I really like this combination, so this could be another one that sticks around for a while. 

And two other new pens I’ve been using this month are my new Platinum Preppy Wa Modern Maki-e pens. I bought the Yanagi ni Koumori and Koi no Taki-Nobori editions, and they’re such pretty pens, especially for the price. 

However, I am having trouble with the Koi no Taki-Nobori version, and to be honest, this is my general experience with Platinum’s cheaper pens. I’m always a bit confused that so many people rave about the Preppy as a cheap but reliable pen, because of the two I’ve previously owned, only one of them works consistently (and that was after some coaxing) whilst the other has the driest, most inconsistent nib of any pen I’ve used. 

I’ve had the same experience with all the Platinum Meteors I’ve had: half of them have worked fine, and the rest have been scratchy and inconsistent. And now I’m having the exact same experience with my two new Preppys, so I’m not sure if I just have terrible luck with these pens, and everyone else’s are behaving perfectly, or if they’re maybe not all they’re cracked up to be. 

Of course, I can’t complain too much considering how inexpensive these are, but you would hope even an inexpensive pen would be able to fulfil its basic function. So I’ll have to see how I get on with these going forward. 

So what has been your experience with Platinum Preppys? Am I just unlucky? And what have been your most used pens and inks in August?