Hello

I have always wanted to add a Sailor Trident to my collection and wanted to know about its availaility in the market today - considering its been out of production for almost two decades - and how much I should expect to pay for one.
Thanks!

They come in three basic designs:

Original stainless steel model which sometimes has the writing TRIDENT 767 along side the clip. This version has been known to come with two designs for the nib. The original design had some flow problems and was soon replaced with an improved version. Some models have been known tonot use standard converters.

Owing to lack of sales, Sailor beleived an 'improved' upscale version might do better. Her we find matte, gloss black, gloss brown, and what appears to be a burgundy finish with nicer clip. Still didn't sell too well. The burgundy might be a normal color variation.

Finally, to salvage the concept Tridents were made less expensive with barrels of thinner metal, cheap pug-in tassies, and cheaper plastic sections. they were mostly made in Sailors Taiwan factory and marketted in Taiwan.

Here is what I charge for each:

Basic stainless: $160-170.
Upscale: 4180-190. They are nicer.
Final version: $90. they look and feel cheaper.

Some who sell on eBay will tell you that market is the best indicator of price. Mine are based on what we all pay in Japan, leaving a small profit for myself. Most Westerners do not know the availability of pens in Japan and bid them up like they were the last pen on Earth. this is not 'the market'. This is foolishness. Check out Yahoo Japan,for example. You can bid directly through shoppingmalljapan.com and avoid the middlemen and eBay hassles.

A lot of times when you are looking for Sailor Tridents they are a lot more expensive when you purchase them on eBay and through other vendors. Most customers really don't know how much they are going for in the market anyway. They just believe that because of middlemen the pens are a lot more expensive than they really can be.

There's a few resources you can check out by Googling Sailor Tridents. But here's a couple of neat facts about them I've learned:

Since Trident pens are made up of three tines matched together, it produces some nice ink flow. Depending on the humidity or air temperature, you can have more ink flow out than an ordinary fountain pen. I don't recommend cartridges for these pens since they tend to evaporate quite fast, so it's best to use a converter for bottled ink.

Stan might know better than I do, but I think the Trident never came out with different nib sizes. As far as know, the Trident came out with one size because it's a peculiar pen. It's like a roller ball yet you can shape the lines however you want; you can make a thin line or a thicker line depending on your use. I wouldn't say it's a flexible pen, but I'll tell you this; it's more fantastic to write with than your Write Bros. Paper Mate.

Almost all Tridents were made of stainless steel, and I'm not sure if anyone came up with a review on the pen here yet.
Some of the colors besides regular stainless are red and black. Usually if you are looking for a red one, they're available if you look hard enough. But you do have to pay a larger price to get one. Black Tridents are also hard to find, and with both the red and the black, they came with gold plated nibs I think.

Again, before you check out eBay or anywhere else, see if you can find them by search engine. Comparing prices is your best bet.

Shamouti

Thanks for the information. Very enlightening.
The Trident is very close to the top of my next purchase list and the information on thsi thread will certainly be useful at the time I go hunting after one.

Would a Trident pen purchased from you come with a converter?

Inkdesigner

I bought a Trident from ebay a little over a year ago. I paid upwards of $150 and it was used. I loved it for about ten minutes. The nib was nearly completely worn out. I discovered that the nibs have no iridium tipping so there is nothing to have adjusted or ground or anything else. It cost me a chunk of change for a pen that was Junk.

Be careful what you buy. Try an get one in as new a condition as possilbe. Tokyo_Russ sold one over this past weekend and ebay for $219 - brand new. There has been so much hype about the pens that the market has been driven up on them and frankly knowing what I know now, I would never have bought one.

Good Luck.

Ivan:

There is a cheap version of trident nib, the Pentel Tradio Pulaman and The Pentel Tradio Stylo (both are identical), you can buy one in www.jetpens.com for Us$8.00, they sell refills for Us$3.50 each that include the nib and cartdridge.

A japanese client and friend gave one about 15 years ago, never used until now, it is interesting the way it works,

Julio
Si hablas español, vale la pena probarlo, sólo para saber como se siente, es realmente interesante. También estoy buscando una Sailor Trident, pero los precios son muy altos, que tengas buen dìa

Just to let you know, if you are interested to purchase a Sailor Trident, here are some key things to remember:

They can be used with Sailor Converters for bottled ink or cartridges. They can dry out fast since there's three tines together. It's better if you can get one with GT nibs instead of steel since the steel can wear down faster. There is also a nice trick for cleaning the nibs on the Trident as well.

Clean the section, converter (if you're using it) and nibs under lukewarm water. Ink flow can increase if the barrel is body temperature hot. Then with a little water inside the section, blow out the water through the section, feed and nib until the water turns clear. You may have to do this a few times. Then you can use a clean tissue rolled up or a cotton swab and clean inside the section. It's not recommended to pull the nibs out because Sailor used a light adhesive attached to the section and feed. Then glide the nib across the paper until the section is dry. There are some other things you could do too, but these are generalized for cleaning and care.

Watch for high prices and shop around. You could pay as much as $250.00 for a rare one or if you're lucky, maybe $50.00.

Good Luck!

Shamouti

With some exceptions, most of the pens I sell now come with converters.
A Trident will come with one.