Just arrived from Japan this morning! A week earlier than I expected. I haven’t had the chance to write extensively with them yet but here are some photos:
If you look at the nib, the inner lead dispenser(?) piece is not held by anything at the exit and just sits in the larger opening. Not sure if I’m keen about that - feels like all sorts of things can enter into it.
PS: The Platinum Pro-Use 231 was a disappointment so no comments here. Just stick with 171.
The ‘true’ double knocks like the Pilot Holders that click like a ballpoint… somehow they feel more precise in their action compared to the ‘lazy’ side-button style mechanisms. Side-button designs tend to feel like there is more play between the guts and the outer wall.
The most precise feeling double knock I have owned is the Fuji Corona 0.3. The drafting style tip feels airtight as it locks into place. zero wiggle.
Hmm, after this statement, I went to look at my Rotring 800 and GraphGear 1000 and you were right. Not sure why I felt the PostDraw felt “flimsier”
For me, it’s really just debris. The bottom of my pen container is pretty dusty - in fact, when I took it out to check again, there’s already debris around the edges. The other worry I have is that the mechanism could eventually warped if dropped, etc. But I’ll admit that is just me worrying about things without evidence.
The side-release machanism reminds me of Pentel GraphGear 1000 series, Plastic internals, use clip instead of side button. But Pentel have no lead break issues, im wondering if that can represent design quality.
Weight-wise, they are different. The PostDraw is lighter and the mechanism just sits in the air inside a long aluminum tube, vs the Graph Gear where the mechanism is covered with another layer of plastic. Maybe when retracting, it shakes quite a bit and the extra layer of plastic helps minimize that effect?
I guess its a concession for adjusting the center of gravity? Graphgear’s writing feeling is a little bit wird, but thanks to that layer of plastic, it wont break the lead during retracting. But Postdraw has a better centre-of-gravity position.( Just assuming)
Strangely, when I tried to balance both, they seem to be equal … right in the middle. I just prefer the Graph Gear because of the overall weight and grip size.
I just got the Platinum 231 and I LOVE IT. My only criticism is the rubber grip ( if only it was knurled-metal). Also, it needed a tiny piece of tape around the bottom tip of the of the eraser cap to erase wiggle, after that was applied, it jumped from being a “5” to and “8-8.5” in my book.
It’s funny, the postdraw was my disappoint when they arrived together
