Hey folks,

I've read news recently, namely the statement on the Parkville Pen website, that Sailor will be discontinuing the 1911 series. Is this true? Anyone have any links to official statements?

Best,
Summer Greer

I also understood from the Parkville Pen site that the 1911 series is being discontinued. I hope someone with real knowledge of the situation speaks up.

I wonder if it's just in the U.S. In Japan it's hard to imagine Sailor will get rid of 1911 or Profit line because it's their "flagship"model

They were founded in 1911, weren't they ?

I sent an e-mail to Sailor in Japan, and asked about 1911. Just received a reply from them, and they said they have no plans of discontinuing 1911/Profit.


Yes, they were.

In 1911, Mr. Kyugoro Sakata, a respected engineer from Hiroshima, Japan,was introduced for the very first time to a fountain pen. The fountain pen was demonstrated by a British sailor who was visiting Japan at the time.
(from Sailor English Site)

EDIT: Added the above quote from Sailor English site.

Thanks, Taki !

Thanks so much, Taki! Now I can sleep tonight.

Thanks, Taki. I am glad. Dennis (at Parville Pens) is a savvy dealer and very reliable. I wonder where he got his information?

You are welcome, Frank. I agree Dennis is a reliable and reputable dealer. The rumor of discontinuation of 1911 or 1911M has come up before, so it must be going around.

Last year, Houndstooth Enterprises (Sailor's North American distributor) reported that 1911 and the 1911M series pens were going to be discontinued in the Summer of 2007 (or most of them, anyway - IIRC, one or two color variants (i.e., black & clear) were permitted to survive. At the time, Sailor's supposed intent was to replace these classic pens with the newer line based on their squared-off Professional Gear pens and its progeny, the Sapporo and Sapporo Mini.

Many dealers and customers protested this decision and Houndstooth went to bat with the folks in Japan who ultimately relented. As a result, the supply of 1911-style pens was temporarily slowed in the North American market, but it has recovered and there is now a fair supply of these pens available at your favorite pen retailer of Japanese pens.

James

Thanks for the clarification, James!