Sailor Kop St Profit In Character = Cheap Feel!

[Frank C]

"Ion plated" is just fancy, marketing speak for PVD, the modern version of electroplating. Given that ruthenium is actually far far more expensive than gold, I'm sure what little ruthenium alloy there is coated ontop of the brass metal in the front section (and the trim rings and cap clip) is razor, molecule thin and itself coated with a very durable epoxy.

 

FYI, the few minable deposts of Ruthenium are just about played out. However, there is a new, very large, manmade source of Ruthenium ...

 

Thanks for the info. The marketing department always trumps science.

[rpsyed]

'Precious Resin' is a marketing term thought up by marketing people with absolutely no knowledge of either chemicals or pens, and is an inside joke whose legs are growing long indeed. If you want a new laugh, consider that the PMMA used in most modern fountain pens is the chemical cousin of MDMA.

I think your thinking of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine (PMMA) which is different from the the Lucite PMMA.

[eyesa]

This has been a very interesting post for me, as I've just strayed into the Japanese pen world and have sampled equivalent wares from the big 3. What is stated is true: Japanese pens are subtle and largely understated, with precision nibs and ink flow, built originally for kanji (Japanese character writing.)
Coming to them after western pens was a bit of an adjustment, but once initiated, I fell in love with the precision and beauty of the nibs and the exacting ink flow. These are instruments in the truest sense and not meant to be status symbols (although I know there are pens from these makers considered so.)
When in doubt, before a big purchase, the only way to know beforehand if a pen is for you is to try it out. A pen show, brick and mortar store or a pen collecting friend will readily oblige. And it's also right to say that sometimes something will grow on you. Taste changes with experience and sometimes that takes some time to develop.

[Frank C]

This has been a very interesting post for me, as I've just strayed into the Japanese pen world and have sampled equivalent wares from the big 3. What is stated is true: Japanese pens are subtle and largely understated, with precision nibs and ink flow, built originally for kanji (Japanese character writing.)

Coming to them after western pens was a bit of an adjustment, but once initiated, I fell in love with the precision and beauty of the nibs and the exacting ink flow. These are instruments in the truest sense and not meant to be status symbols (although I know there are pens from these makers considered so.)

When in doubt, before a big purchase, the only way to know beforehand if a pen is for you is to try it out. A pen show, brick and mortar store or a pen collecting friend will readily oblige. And it's also right to say that sometimes something will grow on you. Taste changes with experience and sometimes that takes some time to develop.

 

I agree, completely. I first started using fountain pens in a serious way in the eighties; European pens were the norm for quality writing instruments. Once the internet came along, I found a lot of information and a few good pen stores on the internet. One of my favorites was Swisher Pens, owned by a gentleman named Chuck Swisher. He sold pens, ink and paper, and also offered lots of information about the items he sold. At one point, he was closing out some Sailor pens. I had never owned a Japanese pen; they weren't as elegant as their European counterparts. But Swisher Pens had some great prices and also great recommendations, so I bought one with each nib available, along with some Sailor ink. I liked the pens so much after I received them that I tried to order a few more. By then they were mostly sold out.

 

After trying those Sailor pens and really liking them, I had to try Pilot and Platinum. I liked those, too. Since that time, I have never looked back. My daily user pens for many years have been Japanese. I like the size, weight, utilitarian designs; and, most of all, the incredible nibs. I still buy European pens from time to time, but my Japanese pens get the most use.

 

I also know that Japanese pens are not for everyone. To each his—or her—own. Some people go crazy over the MB Writers' Editions, I don't. (I do have a Hemingway, and like it, though.) When the original poster said, "Compared to my sheaffer legacy, which was four times cheaper, the sheaffer feels much better in quality, it is heavier and does not feel plastic." I suspected that kuromusha was not a Japanese-pen person, despite the Japanese-sounding screen name.

[danadana72]

while I like the light feel of Sailor resin pens, Sailor also makes the nibs used on the Cross Peerless 125 series, which is very weighty. So if you like Sailor nibs but don't like the feel of the pens, I think the Peerless might be a good compromise...

[tinkerteacher]

I think your thinking of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine (PMMA) which is different from the the Lucite PMMA.

No, I did mean (Poly) Methyl Methacrylate. Granted PMMA and MDMA are not close 'chemical cousins', but, nitrogen apart, they come from similar families and similar feed stocks. Hmm, I wonder if anyone has ever done studies of the the mental effects of the ingestation of PMMA.

[tinkerteacher]

Oh, to answer the other question, Ebonite is a true natural resin, being simply rubber tree, or other such tree sap, baked together in a mold with lots of sulphur, colouring agents and usually linseed oil.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonite

 

You can actually make your own Ebonite facsimile easily enough.

[danrodcard]

Trolling?

[MCWB]

No, I did mean (Poly) Methyl Methacrylate. Granted PMMA and MDMA are not close 'chemical cousins', but, nitrogen apart, they come from similar families and similar feed stocks.

 

Um, what? Only in the broadest possible sense, in that they're both organic chemicals and are ultimately derived from crude oil as a feedstock. PMMA is a aliphatic polymer with ester functionality, MDMA is a small aromatic amine with ether functionality. They are about as different as organic chemicals get.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

If you like heavy pens like me then buy a Solid Sterling Silver Onoto Fountain pen. Comes in at a hefty 95 grams! Love it.

 

Besides, you buy Sailor for the nibs especially if you like extra fine nibs.

 

I understand the not liking light weight pens, but you can still feel the difference between the Precious Resin on a Light weight Montblanc and a Bic ballpoint. I have three Sailor Fountain pens and they all are light weight bit cheap feel, I do not feel that way.

 

Sounds like you are just not happy with the pens so you have to justify a reason to get rid of it.

 

This is another reason why I do not like buying pen online, I do because there are no pen shops around but if there was I would buy from them even tho it would cost more than buying on line, hey you have to pay or the service.