Will Sailor Nibs Fit My Dip Pen Holder?

[strikes]

I regularly use fountain pen nibs in a standard dip pen holder. My favorites are made by Pilot, whose proprietary nibs (as found on low-end pens like the Metropolitan and Kakuno) fit nicely. What I'd like to know is: what about Sailors?

 

That's the whole of the question. If you have an answer at the ready, say on as you please! If you have your own question, though, or would just like to know what on God's green earth I think I'm doing, I may have an answer for you below.

 

Why try Sailor?

 

I like a bit of feedback, even on medium lines. I have read on this forum that Sailor nibs offer more or better feedback than Pilots. You may think otherwise, but I'd like to try for myself.

 

Which Sailor?

 

A low-end line, undoubtedly stainless steel, medium to MF. As I understand, Sailor nibs, like Pilots, are usually interchangeable at low price points. If there are any exceptions (as with the Pilot Varsity), or if I'm just plumb wrong, I'd be happy to know!

 

Why ask? Why not just try one?

 

Thrift. If a Sailor won't work in a pen holder, I'd rather buy something else. I know I wouldn't get enough use out of the Sailor FP to justify the purchase, no matter that the pen is nice for its price--as no doubt it is.

 

Why FP nibs in a dip pen holder?

 

They're tipped. They last. They're not disposable in a human lifetime. Unlike most vintage, tipped dip pens, good ones can come cheap! (As long as you're not too snobbish about stainless steel. I'm not)

 

And I see no downside. I'm not a calligrapher. I've flexed; I don't much care about it. And I'm of that rare species which prefers a 'monoline' nib to an italic or stub for daily writing. (Yes, stubs are plentiful in the FP world anyway, but to my knowledge they're not usually tipped. Certainly not in, say, the Plumix price range. I'd be happy to be wrong!)

 

Yes, but why dip?

 

I like to.

 

The more practical answer: There's no fuss, as long as you're writing at home. (I am.) Precious little care is required. There are fewer 'breaking points.' Changing inks is a matter of about 30 seconds, 10 to 15 if sprinting, and even fewer if you have a second nib at the ready and a cloth to keep the ink off your fingers. Not to mention that you can use a wider range of inks with no thought given to clogs.

 

Why not use a FP as a dip pen?

 

Apart from the possibility of the feed clogging with certain inks:

 

I don't like metal or plastic bodies, I haven't seen a wood-bodied fountain pen that I like the looks of, and I'm not going to lay out for volcanic rock.

 

Beyond my tastes, the feed and nib together take longer to clean out than just a nib. The additional capacity from the feed is not important to me, partly because the capacity of a nib is fine. With most FP inks, my Pilot F can write half to three-quarters of a page, while the M writes about a third. That's quite enough for a dip. After all, dipping takes a second; pauses for thought take longer, and with me there are usually more of them.

 

I haven't tried this before. I'm going to try it.

 

Make sure to dip just above the 'breather hole' in the nib. No need to go higher than that, though. With certain nibs, you might want to wipe the top off on the lip of the ink bottle. I haven't found a need to with my Pilots, which neither blot nor burp.

[Algester]

you can try and if you can get 1 nib to begin with...

the steel nibs have a wider nib body and a flatter nib will not fit any standard nib holders unless you have an adjustable flange (think they are as wide as a 6mm parallel nib)

I can not say the same for their 14-21kt nibs though

Edited March 23, 2017 by Algester

[strikes]

Thank you!

 

I wasn't sure what you meant by the 'flatter nib,' so I had a look at the Sailor nibs section at Anderson Pens and you're right, you'd need an adjustable flange for that! I feel a bit embarrassed at having missed that in other photos.

 

Looks to be the same with the gold nibs, at least what was on display at Anderson. (Admittedly, these were the specialty nibs. Absolutely mouth-watering, especially the 'Emperor' variants with an additional reservoir on the nib, which would be perfect for my use case. Maybe I'll splurge someday. I'll need to get an oblique holder with a brass flange first, though!)

[Algester]

the "cheaper" line up from the Fude de mannen and Lecoule to their Reglus will have the fat nib

I havent checked with the 1911 line up though which has their normal Sailor nib shape