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EDC, EDC Fountain Pen, fountain pen, japanese, platinum, Platinum curidas, retractable, Review Revisted
It is now close on a year since I joined the masses and put in my order for a Platinum Curidas in Urban Green. It should be noted I was not caught up in the initial hype but rather garnered interest over time as I started to hear feedback from friends who’d been early adopters. As with so many the feed on mine cracked around one of the nib securing wings and while Cult Pens were happy to swap it for another pen or give me a refund I decided to keep it as the crack did not affect the writing nor ownership experiences and there was no guarantees Platinum had fixed the issue with newer pens, in fact I still do not know if this design flaw is still in place.
Back last June, after a month of use, I gave this pen a favourable review, even with the cracked feed. Thing is while sitting on my desk for much of the time since, it has not seen the greatest amount of use as new pens have come in and reviews gone out. One of the selling points of the pen was prevention of ink evaporation. Whilst not matching the 2+ years of the CLICK+SEAL capped pens (3776 Century, Procyon, Plaisir, Prefounte, and Preppy) (according the the 2021 Platinum catalogue), Platinum still claimed it would retain 25% of it’s ink after being left alone for 12 months. Question is did I see evidence of this. Also over time does this pen hold up as well as the Pilot Vanishing Point/Capless and Lamy Dialog 3?
So the good news is the cracking on the feed has not got any worse and when inked the pen still writes well. Additionally it still fits the role of a quick note taker and for me the clip and inner cap trap do not get in the way.
Just two lines and alas I’m on to those areas where the pen no longer work quite as well as when new. Before I get on to an issue that also beset the Lamy in it’s early days and the Vanishing Point for years, I must cover the mechanism. Any complexity is at the front where there is an additional weaker spring which is used to keep pressure on the inner cap and thus preserve the seal. Now as a whole this always works, however not smoothly. Opening is fine, but on closing the inner cap seems to stick for a couple of seconds before audibly completing it’s closure. Watching closely with a back light it appears the nib does not retract quickly enough and this is trapping the lid momentarily (video clip near the bottom of this article). I can only think that the main spring may have lost some of it’s strength, not enough to stop opening/closing functionality, but just enough to lose a little efficiency. Thing is, if I am correct, then I do not see a way round this aside from replacing the spring. After all when little used it means the spring is under minimal pressure for longer than when the pen is in regular use. This also leads to ink splatters within the opening of the Curidas, though only cosmetic in nature and never enough to cause dripping on to the paper.
Some reviewers have commented about the pen being fiddly to re-assemble after refilling. There’s been a few times where I have found the knock to drop and become stuck in the barrel, requiring some shaking and fiddling to pop it back out again. Note when this happens, simply trying to screw the back section on to the barrel does not result in the button being pushed back out as the part is too short to reach the threads (see photo just below). From what I can tell it is the mechanism for locking the pen open or closed that is getting caught on the start of it’s guides. If these tracks were just a few mm longer the problem would not exist. I have also once put the pen back together to find it would not open. I’m not sure why this happened and removing the inner unit then reassembling the pen fixed the issue.
And now for the bad. The sealing mechanism does not work. I find the nib will dry out within just two to three days if left unused, and as for the quoted 75% ink loss over twelve months, well forget that. I’m lucky if I can leave the pen for 30-40 days without all the ink evaporating away. I’ve asked around and it seems I’m far from the only person to be in this situation. Thing is the Curidas is not the only retractable fountain pen to have this issue. The original Lamy Dialog 3 was so bad that Lamy not only withdrew the pen from sale but they completely redesigned the opening/sealing mechanism and replaced the original pens for free. Pilot, if anything, were far far worse. There are plenty of reports of people finding their Vanishing Points to hard start, having a dried out nib, and the ink to evaporate away quickly. It was as if this was a design flaw, not a rare occurrence, and while this now does seem to have been resolved, it took them about 25 years to do so.
So what we have here is a flawed pen, one which shows signs it was rushed out to satisfy senior management as most/all of the issues should be fixable. Question is will Platinum be willing to spend the effort for a low end pen. When you look at their catalogue it does not exactly stand out and I suspect the range will quietly dropped within a few years, which is a shame as I think the Curidas has the potential to be a better pen than it’s Pilot rival.
Thing is after a year am I happy or do I regret buying this pen. As some one who seems to regularly add and occasionally remove pens from his collection this Curidas suffers from the problem that it’s not a ‘must grab’ pen, but rather a nice to have, and as a result it is not often used and when it is there is normally the frustration of having to refill the pen. I think if I had just a few then it would get used a lot more. The fact that the vast majority of my comments have been negative actually give a slightly false impression of this pen. I do not regret getting it and even if the feed had not cracked it would not be on my list of pens to sell, however at the same time the issues do make it hard for me to recommend this pen to others. I should add that, while happy enough with it, if I did not already own a Curidas and knew the common issues then I doubt I would add one to my collection.
While still available in the UK for £75 (the launch price) I noticed while writing this article that Luxury Brands Of America have dropped the Curidas from their Platinum USA website.
Edit 22nd August 2024 – as a result of comments below, please see this video on how to take apart your Curidas (I take no responsibility for any damage):
dapprman 
Excellent review. Thankyou
Thanks, Gary, really useful, although too late to stop me buying two (got fed up waiting for the initial order, which was waiting for replacement feeds from Japan …) The older medium nib one I’ve got is holding up for drying out – starts first time. The fine nib, not so good (but the medium was stored flat, the fine upright…)
As an aside, one of the worst pen makes I’ve had for ink evaporation is Leonardo, but I’ve never seen that as a criticism of the pens …. that’s over several models too, consistently.
My curidas was stored sideways as well. Good to hear though that not all of us have had the drying out problems with the nibs.
Oddly enough my Leonardo (II have just the one) has proven to be very good at retaining ink. Worst pen I’ve had for ink evaporation was my first VP, though a number of my Italian pens are not that great.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Curidas. I was fortunate that mine did not suffer from feed cracking. Also once I had removed the clip and filed off the clip-locating keel, I found it really enjoyable to use, long and girthy with a fabulous stubby medium nib.
Mine did become sluggish to retract, sometimes needing two or three brisk attempts. No such problems with my Pilot Capless.
I haven’t noticed ink evaporation problems so long as the nib is retracted fully but it does sometimes need a few moments to start.
I have used mine exclusively with the Platinum blue black cartridges, which I like too.
Thanks for the great review. I must admit that I pre-ordered one as it seemed fascinating but within a couple of days I just couldn’t use it any more, The nubby hinge component on the underneath is exactly where I hold the pen and no amount of moving fingers into a different position just made it uncomfortable. the pen is not worth the money, feels cheap and is over-engineered. I gave the pen away. I but Platinum pens pretty often so I know that the quality and price is typically excellent. But, the Curidas is a disaster, at least for me.
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I have had the Curidas for a while now, and the biggest issue I have is the pen not closing all the way, even after multiple attempts. I may try dismantling the front part to see if there’s something impeding it.
Sounds like one of the springs might be stuck – I assume you’ve tried removing the nib/converter unit.
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I bought my Curidas within a year of its initial release and up until about a year ago, it sat uninked in its box. I carry a Field Notes in my pocket and note each change of task/mental focus throughout the day in it. The constant pulling/replacing of the cap on the Preppy that I clipped to the notebook cover had quite worn the snap-fit off and it could no longer seal properly. I decided to give Curidas a try as a replacement.
WOW!
The ability to click it open and closed like a retractable RB was a BIG convenience. It was long enough that I could slip the Curidas through self-sticking pen loops to hold everything closed (Midori notebook style) when I nested multiple Field Notes inside a notebook cover. It served as a writing instrument and a notebook latch, living in my cargo pocket for a year and getting clicked into action 20 – 50 times at work.
All day. Every day.
It came through this past year like a CHAMP. Two days ago, I fumbled it and it fell from my desk to a concrete warehouse floor–a slow roll/slow fall that I *just couldn’t* catch in time. It didn’t break or crack and it STILL works fine.
(I will need to adjust the tip, though–the tip is bent ever so slightly off kilter to the left, but everything’s still aligned for writing.)
Because it’s in my cargo pocket as my EDC and I jot notes 50+ times a day across several notebooks, I feel confident that I’ve put this pen through an endurance course for its inner workings: spring, ink hatch, cartridge, knock.
Everything works. Nothing sticks.
Every other week or so, I swab out the opening of the pen to remove ink residue that’s accumulated and made things sluggish. A moistened q-tip does the trick. The factory-provided cartridge is in fine shape and hasn’t gotten worn out, fits tight, and takes a syringe-fill very well. The barrel spring is still strong, even after 1000+ clicks. The threads on the barrel and the inner assembly are clean and work smoothly.
The one thing I noticed early on was the delay in the hatch closure. It does take a second or two in an almost two-step process. At first, I noticed hard starts and I attributed the problem to the sluggish close.
I hit upon the solution by accident: When releasing the knock to retract the nib into the barrel again, depress **and let the knock fly!**
SNAP!
Being unimpeded by thumb or finger transfers enough force to snap the hatch shut in one go.
No more hard starts. I was assured of a tight fit every time until ink build-up required a cleaning off. My nib stayed wet and ready to go, even for reverse writing (which I prefer with this particular nib).
I’ve been using this method for over 6 months and haven’t encountered a hard start since. Given the sheer number of times I click and use this pen, I consider it a decent field test and until I dropped my pen 2 days ago, I haven’t had a problem with it.
Another possible factor in its great performance is the ink doesn’t have a chance to linger in the pen for long.
I go through ink fairly quickly due to the sheer amount of writing I do with it on any given day. Even though the nib is an Extra Fine, I have to fill that cartridge every two weeks. The feed under that nib has the ink flowing nice and dark to the very end, when it starts to feel a little sticky–a prompt to check the cartridge and …
YUP! time for a refill!
This sort of performance tells me that the hatch is closing well. I can go for half a Field Notes page on just the ink in the feed once the cartridge is pretty much empty.
If it’s helpful to know, my pen rides point up in my cargo pocket so as to keep pocket lint from entering the barrel. It’s not touching bare skin in my pocket, but is only a single clothing layer separate from my body heat in the summer and the cold air of the winter. It gets banged about in my cargo pocket as I work a warehouse job. This pen has lived through it all and performed beautifully.
Every day, every time.
It’s a joy to use.
(I’ll have to see if I can get the nib adjusted back to true, but it’s still nice to use in right-side up position. I’ll have to lay off reverse writing til it’s tuned.)
A review within a review 🙂 – great one as well. Good to hear yours still works for you and by the drop it also sounds like Platinum sorted out the early cracking issues.
Thank you! I do hope I’ve been able to give a little bit back to a hobby and community that has given me so much.
Also, I had no idea that Platinum had cracking issues at all until you just now mentioned it. I suppose TWSBI isn’t the only brand that has had to deal with this sort of problem, then.
Keep up your great work, dapprman! I love what you’ve done so far. 😀
All righty…. I’ve looked and looked online and haven’t yet found it:
How the *heck* do I remove the front end of the Curidas to clean the hatch assembly?
Mine is still working but sooner or later it’s going to stick open from the accumulated ink residue.
Might you point me in the right direction? 😊
Oddly enough I was looking at the same thing a few weeks back when I inked mine back up post your previous comment, I’m not sure you can without risking breaking the barrel (maybe trying the heat from a hair dryer). I actually found myself trying to drip silicone oil in to the front hinge catch area as mine was sticking.
Just re-read my own article and seen I managed it in the past. Time for a careful play and a report back.
How to do it –
https://youtu.be/4dOGuDkaSAI
Thank you so much for tracking down that video!
And … whoa.
It’s a *friction* fit component? This simultaneously makes it look easy … and gives me pause. Friction fittings rely on everything being *tight*, upon which repeated removal eventually makes *loose*.
(I’m looking at *you*, Platinum Preppy cap!)
I may try this with my Gran Red Curidas. I recently bought another Curidas in Abyss Blue and therefore my older Gran Red is the designated spare. It’s still my EDC pen but knowing I have a replacement in my pen drawer does lift some of the anxiety that comes with experimentation, however cautious.
If I may ask, do you remember how you got your hatch carriage out of your Curidas? Did you achieve it as shown in the video?
Which part is the hatch carriage?. If the white part with the inner lid, I pushed it with a folded paper clip from the outside.
Here’s hoping this reply lands in the right place!
To answer, what I call the hatch carriage is the white part with the inner lid, the piece the video showed you how to remove. I call it a carriage because it a) moves and has its own interior spring to provide the return/recoil and b) it carries the hatch back and forth, allowing the hatch’s “hinge” fall into the gap and flip open.
So yes, I meant that little white part in the front.
Folded paper clip did the trick? Okay! I’ll add that to my growing notes. TYSM!
Basically it is loose and can be gently pushed out – you just need something thin enough to get through the opening. I had a paper clip to hand 😉 – also it needs pushing gently back in, you just need to line up the cap hinge with the gap in the section it works with.
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