Sailor Clear Candy Fountain Pen

[sookhyun]

Hi all! This is my first review of FPN so please leave me feedback on how to improve, etc. I posted pictures here: http://hyun-bun.blogspot.com/2011/12/sailor-clear-candy-fountain-pen-review.html

 

Appearance + Design

4 / 5

This is a bright, colorful, “candy”-like fountain pen! The color I own is “metallic green”, basically a Kelly green but a shade lighter and with a hint of blue and some shimmer. The accent color is solid blue and it pops against the white of the cap. The logo is also in white. Otherwise, there's really nothing special about the body.

 

Quality

3 / 5

First of all, I paid less than 20 bucks for this pen ($16.50 to be exact). According the Sailor website, this pen is made in Japan. The body is made of light plastic so I'm a bit worried about how long it's going to last knowing how often I drop things. With the ink cartridge inside, the pen feels marginally more substantial, but not by much. Although this is a “cheap” fountain pen, I appreciate the fact that the cap is screw-on - it only takes two flicks of the wrist to secure the cap in place. This means I can take it with me when I travel and not worry about ink leaking everywhere. In comparison to the LAMY Safari, the Sailor definitely feels inferior - perhaps this has something to do with the weight.

 

Nib

3 / 5

The nib (Fine) is definitely wet. If you look closely at the writing sample you’ll see that the nib creates a gradient of ink depending on how long you’ve been pressing it. Also, after only a day of use, there are ink spots or droplets on the nib. The only other complaint I have is that the pen tends to skip at the beginning of capital letters like “I” or “H”, most likely because I’m pressing too hard or because the nib is at a right angle (?). The upside to the nib being wet is, of course, I can leave the pen uncapped for a minute or so without any effect on the flow.

 

Value

4 / 5

If you have $20 to spend on a fun, cheerful pen, just get it. It will brighten up your pen collection. Since it's that time of year, I also suggest giving this as a stocking-stuffer - your writing aficionado recipient will be quite pleased. After using the pen for a few days, I can tell I'm definitely going to be reaching for it quite often.

[owenj]

Wow, that color really is bright & candy-like! The nib creep may be more from the ink you're using than the nib itself; my Waterman purple creeps onto whichever nib it likes

 

I'm a little surprised at the blue star as the cap jewel rather than the usual Sailor anchor...

[StipulaLamy]

That about sums it up. After writing with my sailor clear candy I was left wanting the non cheap version of a sailor pen. Because if the nib on a cheap pen can be that nice, I wonder what the nibs are like on the more expensive pens.

[Stephen2020]

Thanks,

I just ordered one in Apple Red, only £9.88 including postage so no expectations of it being the world's best pen

[PDW]

Thanks,

I just ordered one in Apple Red, only £9.88 including postage so no expectations of it being the world's best pen

Where did you get it from at that price?

[Stephen2020]

I got it from a Japan seller on ebay, actually £9.57, unless the exchange rate changed since I got it

Edited January 10, 2014 by Stephen2020

[PDW]

I got it from a Japan seller on ebay, actually £9.57, unless the exchange rate changed since I got it

 

Thanks

[kuroba]

I just ordered one, I can't wait for it to get here. Thanks for sharing this review, I really liked your pictures

[Gloucesterman]

Somehow, I think a Pelikano, Pilot "Metro" or even a Pilot 78G seems a better pen.

 

That's just my opinion.

 

BTW, Thanks for the review. It covered the necessary points of interest.

[Stephen2020]

Mine arrived today, very nicely packaged with pen box and converter, writes nicely.

[Pen2009]

Can anyone comment on the durability of this pen? There is a comment that the plastic parts seems fragile (or light) by the feel of the touch.

[Stephen2020]

Mine looks very well made. I don't know if the plastic may be of a brittle type though???