Sailor Lecoule

[FLYBYU]

First off I would like to say I know very little to nothing about fountain pens. I've been reading a lot on this forum lately though and I wanted to try one and see how it was. First off I was a little scared to get one after reading on here about new pens not working, needing special paper and ink, etc, a little daunting to say the least. I looked on ebay at fountain pens, but really didn't know what to get. I searched Sailor pens on there one day as people here seem to regard them highly, and I found a Sailor Lecoule that was very nice and new as well, plus it came with a converter (I want to buy a bottle of ink now.) It arrived from Tokyo the other day and I unpacked it. For the price it comes nicely packaged and the seller included the instructions, two ink cartridges and the converter in the box. Apparently the Lecoule is a new model that is supposed to be sort of bargin priced in the Sailor lineup, similar to the Lamy Safari from what I gather. It's a quality product for sure, nice screw on cap and a nice solid feel to it. I love the green translucent cap and endcap on it, really classes it up with the silver bands. Yesterday when I had some time I took it apart and thoughly washed it as per recommendations on here. Then I pushed one of the ink cartridges in and used it.

 

My fears regarding special paper and having a non-functional pen that looks nice were put to rest. It works as good as any ball point, no performance problems at all. It has a MF nib on it, which I took to mean Medium Fine, it's nice and fine, makes my handwriting look daintier then it is, which is good. Paper does make a difference, it tends to grab a bit on computer paper as it's a rougher texture, on my notebook which has a semi-glossy look to the paper it just glides with little effort. It still works well on the computer paper, just not as pleasent to use. The pen is very short, too short that I can use it without the cap on it, so I must put the cap on it for better balance and grip. Not a problem, it gives me a place to put the cap and prevents it from being lost. Love the screw on cap too, I feel like a much classier guy then I am screwing off the cap of my writing instrument to fill out the grocery list. As a beginner pen I recommend it, so easy to use, affordable, and nice writing out of the box. I have no experience with other higher end pens so can't comment on whether a experienced fountain pen user would like it or not, but it does write nice, and that's the main thing I guess.

 

Here are some horrible Iphone pics I took, don't do it justice at all.

 

 

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc118/FLYBYU44/17c4d49f.jpg

 

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc118/FLYBYU44/3bf8fcf3.jpg

[Uncle Red]

Nice first review and welcome . If you can post a picture of a writing sample, that'll head off other requests. Also, the pen looks blue in the pictures, not green. A picture of the pen in your hand would help too.

You did get your review in quick, this pen was announced not long ago. Kudos for taking the plunge, it's a much better pen than I started with (a Sheaffer Calligraphy Pen). Oh, you'll probably see ink spots in the cap and the section (the plastic part that hold the metal nib and feed and cartridge that screws into the barrel) those are normal. You can wipe out the cap but don't go nuts trying to clean out the section.

[JPING97]

NICE REVIEW AND :W2FPN: :W2FPN:

[Nic13]

welcome!! :W2FPN:

 

Nice review, I had seen this pen on ebay and was curious about it.

 

my first pen was a lamy safari, hated it, I decided a few years later I would try one more pen, so I found a sailor regulus, fine nib and well its my daily writer for 8 months now!! I will say that it was a bit scratchy and catchy on some paper when it was new but it has smoothed out since I first got it, didn't realize it until you said that!!

 

as stated above some pics with writing and pen being held would be good to see.

[PenandDesign]

Looks great! Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you're enjoying our community here!

[KrazyIvan]

I was considering these. They sort of remind me of the Pilot Prera.

[FLYBYU]

I have horrible handwriting, but I can post a pic of it later probaby, and in hand as well.

[FLYBYU]

Please forgive my handwriting

 

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc118/FLYBYU44/d724e505.jpg

 

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc118/FLYBYU44/501b116c.jpg

[georges zaslavsky]

looks neat, thanks for sharing

[Nic13]

Looks very similar to the pilot prera size. To bad I dropped it and damaged the nib but for now it has an italic nib but I still miss my medium.

 

[Uncle Red]

Thanks, they are tiny unposted. And FLYBYU, your handwriting is fine.

[FLYBYU]

Thanks, my Mom actually got a tutor for me who taught me cursive when I was a kid, I had beautiful writing, since then and many years later it is not so nice anymore. I actually just relearned cursive again. I can use the pen unposted, but it is easier with the cap on.

[jandrese]

Good first review and welcome to the madness! :roflmho:

[XiaoMG]

Thanks for the review! I was able to try one of these out at a pen shop today. The barrel has that milky pearlescent look, which is a bit nicer than a flat translucent white like I was expecting. The nib has a rather unique shape, but it writes well. If I were considering something in the Prera range, this would certainly be among the top picks.

[FLYBYU]

Yes, I forgot to mention the white part of the barrel has a pearly finish to it. I've used it for a few days now too and also noticed that the nib has smoothed out considerably and has just a touch of flex to it now. Is it possible that there would be burrs or something left on the nib from the manufacturer that wear off with use?

[Nic13]

Yes, I forgot to mention the white part of the barrel has a pearly finish to it. I've used it for a few days now too and also noticed that the nib has smoothed out considerably and has just a touch of flex to it now. Is it possible that there would be burrs or something left on the nib from the manufacturer that wear off with use?

 

It might be possible but Im' not sure, I'm also still kinda new to this :roflmho: however I can say that there are many people who visit this place and have loads of knowledge

 

My Sailor also has a bit of springiness/flex to it now as well, again something that I did not realize until you said it. I think it might have to do with the nib being used and getting small bits of vibrations from running over the surface of the paper and being subject to small amounts of flex from the user. This would lead to a very slight wearing in of the nib to the ways of the user, i.e. ?How the pen is held allowing for a slight wear in on the tip of what the sweet spot is, I personally hold my pen rotated toward me a bit so the nib kind of rights on its side vs. up and down to the paper.

[bluesky]

I had not heard about this pen till today.

it is very helpful to have various informative comments about this pen.

Especially since I have to order pens online ( no pen store nearby).

Thank you to everyone who commented on this.

Best regards

bluesky

[falika]

Personally, the Prera is a wee bit small for me. Is the Lecoule similar size, or any larger?

[XiaoMG]

Personally, the Prera is a wee bit small for me. Is the Lecoule similar size, or any larger?

The Lecoule is the same size as the Sailor Professional Gear Slim (Sapporo). If you take the cap off and measure from the butt to the end of the grip (base of the nib), they are the same length as the Prera (give or take a millimeter).

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

One thing I really like about this pen is that the grip section is one piece. There isn't a separate collar for the nib or crevices in the grip section where ink can get caught, so if you clean the pen normally, you should be able to clean out all the ink quite easily. With the Pilot Custom 74 or Aurora demonstrators, you often need to remove the nib unit or use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean the ink out of the grip. While it's not really a problem since I usually only clean my pens when changing to a different ink, it's a bit more of a hassle.

 

Dillon