Sailor 1911 Large Medium-Fine Nib (Handwritten)

[Betweenthelines]

Intro:

I first started looking into Sailor when I realized that, despite collecting many top tier pens, the title of "overall smoothest writer" when it came to non-stubs/factory nibs was still being held by, yup, the Pilot Metropolitan. Now, let me say that a) I generally prefer fine nibs (Japanese fine, Western EF), and of course these are going to have more feedback, and b ) I actually do prefer pens that have some measure of feedback as it allows for more writing control and is generally satisfying, however additionally leading up to the purchase of the 1911, I was becoming frustrated with Pilot's nibs and the inconsistent flow and great amount of feedback in some of the nibs (which you'll read about in this review). So, having heard that Sailor specializes in smooth nibs, especially on the finer end of the spectrum, I figured I'd dive in with a 1911L with a 21K nib with silver accents. Consider me impressed.

Apologies ahead of time for my writing - I always think it looks good until I upload it and see it in all its imperfect glory! I've come to rely heavily on stubs to make my writing presentable, and additionally a downside of the smoothness of this nib, say compared to the greater feedback of my Pelikan EF or Pilot Falcon F, is I have less control over the pen and thus the stroke. So it's kind of a tradeoff ~ smoothness for legibility of writing.

The used the ink I first threw in there - the Sailor Black cartridge that came with the pen. Boring, but perhaps a good gauge. The ink actually performs great - very nice flow.

==========================================================

http://i.imgur.com/SDwgoVs.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Kfk6f8y.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3pwAMnr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/khLiIyx.jpg

** A note about this comparison: You might be saying "wow that's a fine Lamy EF nib!", and I thought so too - turns out it was simply writing very dry and had run out of ink! So perhaps this is what the Al Star would look like with a very dry ink.

And now for some photos!

http://i.imgur.com/o0SZ0FV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gTA71tA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/D8XXqIy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wVikdyE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hL9xDFZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bEUvqqF.jpg

Size comparison (top to bottom): Sailor 1911L, Pilot Custom 742, Pilot Custom 74

http://i.imgur.com/LpY0Ade.jpg

I like to post my pens - here are some comparisons (top to bottom):

Pelikan m640

Lamy 2K

Sailor 1911L

Pilot Custom 742

Pilot Metal Falcon

Parker 51

http://i.imgur.com/F0oBujT.jpg

The end.

[Lyander0012]

Thanks for the awesome review! The pics are pretty good as well.

 

Haha, your handwriting looks fine. It's more presentable than mine at any rate, and I'm using a Naginata nib to make it look fancier! )

 

 

Cheers!

Kevin

[Sridhar]

I like your categorization - "non stub, non flex". Nice review-the 1911 is indeed a gem. If you like the Sailor 21K nib, you will be floored by the Naginata Togi and other speciality nibs from Sailor.

[Lyander0012]

I like your categorization - "non stub, non flex". Nice review-the 1911 is indeed a gem. If you like the Sailor 21K nib, you will be floored by the Naginata Togi and other speciality nibs from Sailor.

 

Agreed without reservation. The MF Naginata nib really does write quite broadly for a MF nib, but that's mostly because people using the pen for Western cursives are basically holding the pen wrong, haha. It took quite a while to adjust to it, but it's now my best writer with the perfect amount of feedback!

[dneal]

Nice review. I have the same pen in gold, and you're spot on with your assessment. It's one of my favorite pens, and is always in the rotation. I would add compliments for the precision of the cap threading, and the inclusion of o-rings between the section/body and at the inner cap.

 

To balance out the praise, I would add two "complaints". One is that the non-standard japanese cartridge converter gets to be a pain. One for Pilot, one for Platinum, and one for Sailor... 3 different styles of spare converters, and multiple boxes of cartridges... *sigh*. The second is their nano-ink cartridges. They're horrible for settling in the end of the cartridge. A different plastic or agitator is needed to correct this.

[23Larsen]

Thanks for the great review!

 

This might well be the next pen i get. I´m just a little concerned about the rumors about varying QC on the sailor nibs.

[Betweenthelines]

Thanks for the awesome review! The pics are pretty good as well.

 

Haha, your handwriting looks fine. It's more presentable than mine at any rate, and I'm using a Naginata nib to make it look fancier! )

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

 

 

You're welcome, and thanks! Would love to try a Naginata nib.

 

See in regards to handwriting around here, I have the sneaking suspicion that only the "masters" post their writing, and then everyone else (us mortals that probably make up 98% of members) see that and go "welp.. I ain't ever gonna post MY chicken scratch here". So I lose my frame of reference.

 

 

I like your categorization - "non stub, non flex". Nice review-the 1911 is indeed a gem. If you like the Sailor 21K nib, you will be floored by the Naginata Togi and other speciality nibs from Sailor.

 

 

Thanks. Someday perhaps I'll get to try their specialty nibs.. very very interesting looking nibs.. I love their creativity and would love to play around with them.

 

 

Nice review. I have the same pen in gold, and you're spot on with your assessment. It's one of my favorite pens, and is always in the rotation. I would add compliments for the precision of the cap threading, and the inclusion of o-rings between the section/body and at the inner cap.

 

To balance out the praise, I would add two "complaints". One is that the non-standard japanese cartridge converter gets to be a pain. One for Pilot, one for Platinum, and one for Sailor... 3 different styles of spare converters, and multiple boxes of cartridges... *sigh*. The second is their nano-ink cartridges. They're horrible for settling in the end of the cartridge. A different plastic or agitator is needed to correct this.

 

 

Agreed completely in regards to the C/C thing. My first few Japanese pens I didn't mind.. but after collecting a number of 'em it gets boring and exhausting, and the proprietary factor is just a big P.I.T.A. That is my main gripe with Japanese pens... uninteresting and unimaginative filling systems. I mean.. if you're going to have 99% of your pens run C/C, at least share standardization.

 

 

Thanks for the great review!

 

This might well be the next pen i get. I´m just a little concerned about the rumors about varying QC on the sailor nibs.

 

 

Sure thing. Don't know much about their QC issues, as I was under the impression that their QC was better than others. I only have this one pen as a sample size, but it came writing better out of the box than any Pilot fine nib I've owned, and I've owned quite a few.

[23Larsen]

Really?

 

I had the impression Pilot were regarded as having some of the best QC around?

 

We really should have one big poll to clear this mess up

 

Anyways, i normally don't particularly like the standard black and boring FP, but this one have been spoken highly of by you and several others on this site with considerable more experience than me. I can't help but be tempted and curious about that pen. I don't mind the C/C system, it might be something you start to care more for as one gains more experience. For now i i have no lust for fancy filling systems.

[Betweenthelines]

Really?

 

I had the impression Pilot were regarded as having some of the best QC around?

 

We really should have one big poll to clear this mess up

 

Anyways, i normally don't particularly like the standard black and boring FP, but this one have been spoken highly of by you and several others on this site with considerable more experience than me. I can't help but be tempted and curious about that pen. I don't mind the C/C system, it might be something you start to care more for as one gains more experience. For now i i have no lust for fancy filling systems.

 

 

Well, it's not that Pilot fine nibs I've received have been "bad", per say - they're generally very smooth and lovely - it's just that Pilot seems to send off nibs that are far more dry writers, so often, unless I'm using a very wet ink, the Pilot fines will have inconsistent lines (very light up strokes, dark downstrokes, etc.). That might simply be the preference of the company, whereas it seems Sailor tunes their fine nibs to write a lot wetter.

[RicardoBoone]

Thanks for your great review! I had a lot of doubts about which pen to buy between a Sailor 1911 MF nib, a Pilot custom 743 FM and the Platinum President F nib and your review tip the scale, I bought yesterday the pen from a Japanese seller and I hope to get it in 15 days max. I was looking for something near the Lamy EF and your writing sample did it, thanks a lot! (This is the only writing sample with comparisons that I found!)

[Penman222]

Thanks for the great review!

 

This might well be the next pen i get. I´m just a little concerned about the rumors about varying QC on the sailor nibs.

 

I purchased a Sailor 1911 Large from a large American brick and morter pen retailer and the pen wrote very very poorly. I contacted them, and they suggested I run the nib over course grocery bags to smooth it down. That is a great solution for a $2 Jinhao but not acceptable for a $225 pen from a first rate manafacturer. I returned it and paid the restocking fee. I am using a Pilot 91 now with great success, but am considering purchasing another large 1911 in the future. Simply put, getting a decent nib now is a roll of the dice which is really a shame.

[Ronnie67]

Great Review!

More importantly, its the way in which the review is done which I like so much. In the digital age in which we live it is very nice to see the review done in the reviewers handwriting as opposed to simply bashing out it on a keyboard. After all, its a FP forum...right??

 

Great job!

[Amy1234]

Intro:

 

I first started looking into Sailor when I realized that, despite collecting many top tier pens, the title of "overall smoothest writer" when it came to non-stubs/factory nibs was still being held by, yup, the Pilot Metropolitan. Now, let me say that a) I generally prefer fine nibs (Japanese fine, Western EF), and of course these are going to have more feedback, and b ) I actually do prefer pens that have some measure of feedback as it allows for more writing control and is generally satisfying, however additionally leading up to the purchase of the 1911, I was becoming frustrated with Pilot's nibs and the inconsistent flow and great amount of feedback in some of the nibs (which you'll read about in this review). So, having heard that Sailor specializes in smooth nibs, especially on the finer end of the spectrum, I figured I'd dive in with a 1911L with a 21K nib with silver accents. Consider me impressed.

 

Apologies ahead of time for my writing - I always think it looks good until I upload it and see it in all its imperfect glory! I've come to rely heavily on stubs to make my writing presentable, and additionally a downside of the smoothness of this nib, say compared to the greater feedback of my Pelikan EF or Pilot Falcon F, is I have less control over the pen and thus the stroke. So it's kind of a tradeoff ~ smoothness for legibility of writing.

 

The used the ink I first threw in there - the Sailor Black cartridge that came with the pen. Boring, but perhaps a good gauge. The ink actually performs great - very nice flow.

 

 

==========================================================

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/SDwgoVs.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Kfk6f8y.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3pwAMnr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/khLiIyx.jpg

 

** A note about this comparison: You might be saying "wow that's a fine Lamy EF nib!", and I thought so too - turns out it was simply writing very dry and had run out of ink! So perhaps this is what the Al Star would look like with a very dry ink.

 

 

 

And now for some photos!

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/o0SZ0FV.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/gTA71tA.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/D8XXqIy.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/wVikdyE.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/hL9xDFZ.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/bEUvqqF.jpg

 

 

 

Size comparison (top to bottom): Sailor 1911L, Pilot Custom 742, Pilot Custom 74

 

http://i.imgur.com/LpY0Ade.jpg

 

 

I like to post my pens - here are some comparisons (top to bottom):

 

Pelikan m640

Lamy 2K

Sailor 1911L

Pilot Custom 742

Pilot Metal Falcon

Parker 51

 

http://i.imgur.com/F0oBujT.jpg

 

 

The end.

 

I love this handwritten review....it inspires me to write write write.......!

[ItsMeDave]

I have the exact same pen/nib/furniture and it's my current favorite.

[BlueJ]

I think the Sailor nibs have excellent QC as far as manufacturing is concerned, but I also do not think their regular nibs are tested or adjusted by hand at the factory (though the specialty nibs probably are.) Both my Sailors (1911S H-F and 1911L Realo H-M) were very dry writers when new and needed flow adjustments to write the way I wanted. It happened accidentally with the F (I dropped it, found no damage but had to realign the nib with the feed, and found it had become much wetter and better to write with!) and the Realo was adjusted and smoothed by Dan Smith at nibsmith.com.

[MuttonChew]

Thank you for the wonderful post!

I was previously looking into buying a Sailor 1911 Profit with a Medium-Fine nib and I think your review has sealed the deal.

In your line width comparison what ink did you have in the Pilot Custom 742? What a beautiful colour!

Edited May 6, 2016 by Burtini

[jimrie]

Great review!

[php2316]

I purchased a Sailor 1911 Large from a large American brick and morter pen retailer and the pen wrote very very poorly. I contacted them, and they suggested I run the nib over course grocery bags to smooth it down. That is a great solution for a $2 Jinhao but not acceptable for a $225 pen from a first rate manafacturer. I returned it and paid the restocking fee. I am using a Pilot 91 now with great success, but am considering purchasing another large 1911 in the future. Simply put, getting a decent nib now is a roll of the dice which is really a shame.

I purchase from Classic Pens (nibs.com) and they thoroughly check and test the pen prior to shipping which prevents disappointment. They also have a 30 day no questions return policy.