Sailor Sapporo Slim - Metallic Green

[Maolo]

INTRODUCTION: Ok, first of all, this is the first time I review a fountain pen, so if I mess around a bit or am not perfectly clear...say it and I'll try to improve the review.

A week ago I walked in a pen shop with the idea of looking, maybe even buying a Montegrappa Micra. I wanted a small, lightweight, beautiful pen. The owner being a pen collector/user himself asked me if I wanted the pen for a collection or if I intended also to use it. Being a student I take a lot of notes, so I wanted something I could use. I stated clearly that my priority was the quality, so the owner purposed the Sailor pens. He showed me the Sapporo and the sapporo mini series, in various colours. The choice fell on the metallic green, rhodium trimmed Sapporo (aka Pro Gear Slim). Which btw cost half the price of the micra, with a (really) finer and smoother nib. I took some day to think about this choice and this morning I went to purchase the pen.

 

1. Appearance & Design (9.5)

So...here we are. The black version is reaaly wonderful, but being 22years old I wanted something...colourfull. Compared to the othe colours available for this serie the metallic green is almost understated, as Laura (Phthalo) said in her blog is a really deep shade of teal with marked blue undertones, just a bit greener than Roher & Klinger Verdigris ink,almost a really deep and dark cobalt green. The violet and orange versions, altough not metallic seemed just too much, for me. The glossy, bright finish suits perfectly the acrilic (?) body of this pen, although I'd have prefered it a little bit less metallic and a bit more solid in the colour departement, JMO.

 

 

2. Construction & Quality (10)

Nothing to complain here, the pen is just perfect, it also has a Yes, I'd fear dropping it on a hard surface, but I fear it for every single fountain pen I own, so... The construction of this pen is simply awesome, how many pens do you own, especially in this price range, with a rubber gasket to guarantee a perfect seal betwen the barrel and the gripping section?

 

3. Weight & Dimensions (10)

The Sapporo is not abig pen, but God, she is what you call lightweight. Personally I've never had such a light pen. It came as a kind of shock at first, but it is a lovable shock. I'd read before about these pens being light, but I never realized they could be so light.

Said that, the pen is also what some members her would for sure define as short. Unposted the pen is just 112mm long from the tip of the nib to the last millimeter of the barrel, it suits my hand perfectly, and I don't have small hands, thin, slim, but not small and this is perfect because i prefer not to post pens. anyway it is possible to post the pen comfortably.

 

4. Nib & Performance (10)

After trying Medium-fine I chose a fine, 14k gold nib. The nib is rhodium plated, and for a hard-fine it is pretty flexible, allowing some width variation. I tried it with three inks so far, Aurora Black, Lazzaroni Blu Zaffiro, and Lazzaroni Verde Bambù*; the line is never dry nor wet. It becomes a bit drier when I use the nib upside down, but I've been told tha sailors can be used also this way without problema, and so far this proved to be a correct piece of information. The nib is simply perfect, sother then any other nib I ever tried, only my waterman preface is this smooth. I think I finally found my perfect line width with this pen, finally a "fine" nib whith a real fine line (btw,after 26 pages worth writing with this sailor I'm starting to think I prefer Japanese nibs).

 

5. Filling System & Maintenance (7)

Proprietary c/c, I'd have prefered an International standard, but I dont have complaints about the behaviour of the one which came with the pen, so far.

 

 

6. Cost & Value (8)

As said I bought the pen in a boutique called Lazzaroni, 150€ whith a free ink bottle(10€). I saw in the past few days the going price for these pens is round 150-160US$, while the MSRP is around 190US$. At the actual US$/Euro change I can say it didn't come cheap, but I don't regret it in the least, I've paid much more (in comparison) for pen whose value is lower and I found (finally) a place with a real pen enthusiast in my city. I found a person with a deep knowledge of fountain pens who suggested me a Sailor Sapporo (150€) when I wanted to buy a Montegrappa Micra (310€) because (talking of usage) the quality of the latter is lower. Did I pay something more because I went to a boutique shop? Yes. Would I do it again? Considering all, yes, definitely.

 

7. Conclusion (Final score, 9.08/10)

I'm probably guided by mere enthusiasm right now, but this pen is great. I love it, and it behaves like a real workhorse. I wanted a pen "for the occasions", I've also found a perfect every day pen, definitely recommended to every user who writes more than 6-8 pages/day. I can't sincerely express how good the nib is, but as another member wrote, this is where the pen shins, really.

 

*Lazzaroni is the shop where I purchased the pen and has a wide variety of proprietary inks.

 

Unfortunately I don't own a camera. If you want a fair Idea of the pen colour you can have alook at this post in Laura's blog, my pen is just a hint lighter in the color and a little bluer.

 

PS: every comment and criticism to this review is very, very, very wellcome

[bdk]

Thanks for reviewing this pen, I'll probably buy one also, becausse of the good things I hear about how fine he is!

[agchristie]

wow I didnt know one could still buy the green. Atm on the open market I can only find the red, the blue metallic, the violet and the white one. I agree completely with your review and I think I am going to get the blue metallic one!

[Maolo]

Silexink, now you point it out, I've seen it labelled as metallic blue on the internet, but also as metallic green (speaking of the specimen I own). In a natural light I perceive it as green, but I have to admit that under some tubelights it might result as a really greenish blue. I'm pretty sure its the green version because a friend's father owns the blue one and it's a different colour especially under natural light condidtions, otherwise the difference is minimal and not always noticable, IMHO...said that, one thing remains unchanged, it is a fantastic writing instrument at a fair price for the quality involved. It could come also in a phosphorescent green and pink twirls body, it would still be a great writing instrument, whatever the colour