Sail Star 320

February 1, 2010

This is my first review, and I will be posting a few more over the next week or so, once I can get around to taking photos. Keep in mind that I have only been 'into' FPs for about six months at the time of writing, so my knowledge is far from extensive on these things, and I can only really compare this pen to the 5 or so other pens I have used. Also bear with me if I've got something wrong with the format of this post.

This is the pen, the SAIL STAR 320:

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INTRODUCTION & FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

I first noticed the Sail Star brand on eBay in November, as I often look at the cheaper models of pen to see if there's anything new or interesting. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the pen (for me, at least) was that the nib size was described as an 'Asian Bold', which piqued my curiosity in comparison to other Western and Asian sizes. I realize that this won't be a first for many, but it's the first time I've actually seen a pen of this description. I bought the 320 for next to nothing from seller inevergiveup2008, and probably would have bought more of their models but for the fact that I don't generally find the thick patterned pens all that attractive. This pen came in a rather standard cardboard box with a ribbon around it, which I have not shown in the pictures because most of my other cheap pens have come in the same type of box, and so I'm willing to bet most people would be familiar with it.

APPEARANCE & DESIGN: 9/10

The appearance of the pen is actually quite impressive for a cheap pen, and I think that Sail Star got the colors of this pen just right for a business environment. Naturally that's a subjective thing, but I think that if it had any more gold (brass), then it would be too 'blingy' to be taken seriously, and if there was any more of the silver (which is really just a thick plastic finish over brass) it would look too cheap. The swirly pattern on the band at the base of the cap gives the pen a bit of character, without going overboard. I gave this pen such a high mark in this category simply because I believe that it's a design that wouldn't look out of place anywhere, but at the same time is not flashy enough to be stolen. I throw my pens around a fair bit and I have noticed no visible scratches or marks appearing on the barrel or cap. The grip section shows a lot of very fine scratches, but because that's where your fingers go it's not a problem, and you can't see it when the cap is on.

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CONSTRUCTION & QUALITY: 7.5/10

The overall construction is good, but when you use it you do notice that it's not a $100+ pen. Perhaps the biggest giveaway is that when capped, the whole cap can rotate around the pen with ease. This has not resulted in any looseness in the way it fits, and the cap will not rotate under gravity alone, but it is very easy to intentionally move in this way. Another small issue is that when unscrewing the nib section from the body, the pen feels somewhat unusual, almost as if both the section and the body have been slightly squashed in one direction, giving a bit more resistance every half-turn or so, before loosening back up. I actually don't mind this, as it does not cause any other problems and they still screw firmly together. All in all the construction of this pen is as good as can be expected from a pen of this price, or perhaps even a little better. It should be noted that it is to be expected that there will be quality variations between pens like any of the other cheaper brands, so naturally YMMV.

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WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS: 8/10

I forgot to weigh this pen before I inked it, but with a near-full load of ink the entire pen weighs a shade over 24 grams, or just under 15 without the cap. When posted the weight distribution is nearly 50/50, perhaps a tiny bit more weight at the back. When capped the pen is 137mm long (~5.4 in), posted is 152 (~6 in) from the tip of the nib, and unposted it reaches 120 (~4.7 in). The barrel is 8.5 mm thick, and just over 7mm at the grip. Despite this, the pen is not uncomfortable to use, likely because of its weight, and I have written with it for hours without any problems.

NIB & PERFORMANCE: 7.5/10

An Asian Broad semi-hooded nib. On cheaper papers this pen writes somewhere between a Western Fine (Sheaffer) and a Medium (Pelikan), however on the better papers it tends more towards the Fine. Other than that, I'm not really sure what to make of this nib. The feel it gives when writing is exceptionally smooth - or at least it's the smoothest of my pens, and it has been the same with all of my inks. The angle at which you hold the pen to the paper makes no difference to this at all, however I am the kind of person who often rotates the pen slightly in my hand (a bad habit I picked up from mechanical pencils) and I have found that the sweet spot on this nib somewhat smaller than I'm used to - though it's certainly not tiny. The nib does tend to dry out a bit when left uncapped for a minute or so, but it usually starts up again quite quickly. I've appended a hastily done writing sample, done with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, on Rhodia 5mm grid paper.

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FILLING & MAINTAINANCE: 5/10

Oh dear. And it was gain so well too. This pen has a non-removable (or at least I haven't been able to take mine out) push-bar converter (think Pilot's CON-20), which isn't my favorite type by far, but that's not why I gave it such low marks. That honor goes to the overall capacity of the converter. I have found that depending on paper quality, I can usually get around two A4 pages before having to refill, so this is certainly not a pen for anyone who, like me, does a lot of writing in one sitting. And refilling is a bit of a pain. Despite not knowing how full the converter actually is when you're filling, the fact that this pen has a semi-hooded nib makes it a real pain to clean afterwards as well. Keeping the nib of the pen ink-free is a pain also, to the point where I can't be bothered doing it anymore. Routine maintenance such as flushing out the ink is also tedious, because of the extra drying time to get rid of all the water/etc that gets caught under the hood.

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COST / VALUE: 9.5/10

I paid a grand total of $2.76 (US) for this pen, with free shipping, so I could hardly call this bad value, especially with the number of people who seem to buy very expensive pens (*cough*Park Sonnet*cough*) and then never use them because of problems. This particular model seems to have disappeared from eBay at the time of writing, but as is often the case with these cheaper models, I would not be at all surprised if it turned up again under a different brand name or model number.

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CONCLUSION:

The only real drawback I can really find to this pen is the filling capacity - in fact I would go as far as to say that I wouldn't use any other one of my pens if it weren't for that. But if you're the kind of person that frequently changes inks, or just doesn't mind keeping a bottle handy, then there really is no reason why you shouldn't buy this pen if you see it. I would certainly buy this pen again if I went back in time, but I don't see myself buying another one. As I said earlier, it has made its way into my wrap of daily users, but as soon as I can find another pen of comparable width with larger capacity it will be replaced.

OVERALL: 46.5/60 = 7.75/10

Edited February 1, 2010 by thomasdav