I don't think I've made much of a secret how much I enjoy using Sailor pens. In fact, because I like the way they perform so much, when I opened the Pear Tree Pen Company, Sailor was the very first pen line I signed up with.

There does seem to be a little bit of confusion regarding this brand, however, and one of my customers recently wrote me, stating

I guess he liked my response, and he encouraged me to post it here on FPN, figuring others may be equally confused. So, here it is, with some minor modifications.

[Ahem]


Sailor made a limited edition pen, called the Realo, to celebrate its 95th anniversary. That was Sailor's first and only piston-filler, and it was limited to 600 units (500 for the Asian market, numbered xxx/500, and a 100 for the European and North American market, numbered xxx/100), all of which are sold out (at least on the retail level). There are sure to be some floating around eBay or some of the bulletin boards.

The Realo is based on Sailor's King of Pen. Primary differences included the filling system (Realo is piston-filled, K.O.P. is cartridge/converter), and material (Realo is resin, K.O.P. is ebonite). The Realo also had gold trim, whereas the K.O.P. is generally unadorned.

The full-size 1911 pens with the anchor logo on the cap were imported into the US before 2006. In early 2006, Sailor's US distributor split up, and there was a 2-3 month period where it was almost impossible to get a 1911 here in the States. From what I've been told, only the US-imported 1911s had the anchor logo on them (they also had a "blind cap" that matched the barrel color). In an effort to stave off a price increase, the new US distributor and Sailor agreed to produce the same 1911 around the world, rather than have a slightly different pen in the US market. So, the end caps are now universally black, and the anchor logo on the cap has also been replaced with a black domed cap, giving an overall torpedo-like shape. The other change to the design involves the trim ring - in previous iterations, there was a metal trim ring at the end of the section nearest the nib. The new edition has a thinner trim ring moved up on the section and is now situated just below the barrel threads. (Too much information?)

At that time, Sailor also discontinued the burgundy and green version of the 1911.

There is also a smaller version of the 1911 that is available, called the 1911M (for mid-sized). It used to be known as the "colors" series pens, but that doesn't fit anymore, since the full-size 1911 is now available in the same colors. The full-size 1911 (or FS) has a 21K gold nib that 's somewhat larger than that on the M. The M's nib is 14K gold. The M is shorter in length and smaller in circumference than its larger sibling.

They come in the same colors -- Red, Blue, Yellow and the clear Demonstrator. In the full-size, black is also available, but black isn't offered in the M-sized version. The black version comes in either gold-plated or rhodium trim.

Also, the M doesn't have a zoom nib or a medium-fine. In the FS version, the demonstrator is also available in gold or rhodium trim, but the M's demonstrator is only available in gold.

Phew!

I think that about covers it.

Let me know if you have ay more questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

How would you compare the writing, both feel and resulting line, of the 1911 and a 1911M with the same nib designations? Is one springier or broader than the other?

I have nothing to contribute here -- I just thought the title of this thread was brilliant!

James,

Did the 1911 Professional Gear change in 2006 also?

Bill

I'm happy I got one of the earlier 1911s in yellow without the black tips; I've heard plenty of people complain about that.

Someone was selling a 1911M with a Zoom nib in the marketplace.

How do Sailor nibs compare to Platinum and Pilot?

Thanks James for the excellent explanation. You've cleared up the confusion in my mind over which model I have.

Lloyd,

I don't think the line width varies significantly between the 14K and 21K nib of the same designation. The larger size of the 21K nib helps give it a bit more "spring" than the 14K, however.

I always thought it was interesting how Sailor designates their nibs with an "H" prefix - denoting a "hard" nib. Yet, in my experience, most Sailor nibs are in fact pretty springy right out of the box.



Bill, the Professional Gear did not change in 2006. In the latter part of the year, though, Sailor introduced a gold-trimmed version alongside it's rhodium-trimmed counterpart. The two-tone plating on the nibs is reversed as well.



Rattybad1, it's possible that someone was selling a 1911M they had purchased from a European or Asian seller. It's my understanding that the 1911M is available with the full complement of Sailor nibs in some other markets. They are not available in the US through authorized dealers, however.

Having said that, I received word recently that there are some exciting changes on the horizon for Sailor, including the introduction of some new (to the US) models, and some additional nib choices on existing pens. But my lips are sealed for now.



Margana, I don't have enough experience with either Pilot or Platinum nibs to make a fair or accurate comparison. Perhaps someone else could chime in here?


James P.

James

glad to see you took my suggestion to post this !


Regards,

Thanks for the info!

Hi, can some one tell me what the Zoom nib is?

Which sailor pen is a piston fountain pen?

I also have nothing constructive to add, but as a headline writer I commend the title of this thread. If there was a prize . . . .

The limited edition Sailor Realo is a piston-filler.

The Zoom nib is one of Sailor's specialty nibs, and it produces line variation by holding the pen at a different angle. When you hold the pen at a higher angle you get a considerably narrower line than when you hold it at a lower angle. This is a wet writing nib and, held normally, will produce a broad-medium line. It's like a paintbrush at its widest angle, but not extraordinarily fine at the narrow end.

James P.

Thanks for the info James