Sailor 1911 Naginata M & 1911m XF

[docsamson]

Here is a Sailor 1911 Naginata M Nib compared with a 1911m XF nib. Both recent acquisitions from eBay. From japan_antique actually. No affiliation, just a happy customer. This isn't really so much a review but more of a chance to share some pictures that I took while testing out the macro functions on my camera.

 

My opinion of the Naginata M nib:

To be honest it wasn't as smooth as I was expecting at first. From some people's accounts, Sailor makes the smoothest nibs on the market, so I was expecting butter. It's not butter nor is it glass. I don't feel that it matches my Parker 51 for smoothness but after giving it a work out, I feel like it's a very smooth nib indeed.

 

It just has a personality, for lack of a better word, that I just never experienced before. The medium nib is much more like a standard med than most Japanese pens I've tried and it has a mind all it's own. The Naginata nib is not a standard nib but a variation designed by Sailor's master nib-designer Nobuyoshi Nagahara.

 

I find that I really have to steer when I drive this pen. If the Parker 51 is a high performance vehicle, taking tight corners without a thought, the 1911 Naginata M is a bit bulkier, with just as much horsepower, but it just doesn't handle as well. It doesn't slip and slide like I thought it might, this puppy doesn't grip the paper like the Parker but it's doesn't glide all over the page either. It's more like riding a motorcycle, than driving a car.

 

Saying that, after just a little bit of time, I found the Naginata M to be a fun pen to write with but it takes practice to make your penmanship looks good if it's shaky already.

 

The construction is high and very nice but it still feels like plastic. The cap is screw-on but there doesn't seem to be any sort of guide that prevents from screwing too tight. I can see the cap cracking if someone applies too much force while closing.

 

The nib section that screws into the barrel is metal while the barrel is plastic. There seems much less of a chance of the threads stripping and breaking the plastic parts.

 

 

The Sailor 1911m XF nib:

After writing with the Naginata for awhile, I decided to try out the 1911m XF. The body is less than a centimeter shorter than it's cousin, just a couple millimeters slimmer around it's thickest part. The size and length is almost exactly the same as a Parker 51, with cap on and posted. The pen itself without a cap is about 1 centimeter shorter than the body of the Parker.

 

The nib is 14kt compared to 21kt for the Naginata. The nib is a standard nib and not a special one like the Naginata. The differences between the two nibs are vast but both seem to be of superb quality.

 

How does it write? This is butter! I love this pen! I can see what people were talking about now. I was expecting a bit of scratchiness and tooth with it's XF nib but not at all. The flow is great and it glides over the page. It's wet for such a small nib and feels more like a medium in the way it contacts and coats the paper with ink.

 

I really don't know what else to say about this pen. It's highly recommended.

 

 

Conclusion:

I'm really looking forward to trying out more of Sailor's pens, especially the 1911's. I really like the size of their large pens, such as the Naginata, but it goes for quite a bit more.

 

I can see trying to find a regular medium someday in the large model but I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for decent prices for the 1911m. I picked mine up for $65, not a bad deal. The Naginata was around $175, pretty good at the time I felt, but it's a bit high to spend if you're looking for an everyday writer without a chance to test drive it first.

 

But if you already have a favorite writer, looking for something a bit different and can afford it, I recommend the Naginata.

 

I recommend the 1911m without hesitation. I feel it would make for a lovely everyday writer.

 

I guess this was more of a review than I thought at first. Hope it helps, on to the pictures.

Brad

Edited August 8, 2007 by docsamson

[Phthalo]

Good info here! This is a neat comparison... thanks!

 

I love my Red 1911M EF, it's a very comfortable writer. I really should get a Yellow one... such a great colour!

[jmkeuning]

Good review. I dig it.

 

I do not have a 1911, but I want one!

[Wizergig]

I think the flow is where Sailor excels. I mean really a nib is a piece of metal. They all are, and they can only be polished so much. But Sailor has figured out how to fuel that little engine, because even my driest of Sailors never starve for ink, and the flow is the lubrication to make the smoothness stand out.

 

JMHO,YMMV

[Brian]

That is a really good review with some great pics and information. More and more I am very interested in getting a 1911 rhodium with EF or F pt.

[PelikanPenman]

Good review and good photos. I liked the analogy of the nib and cars. That is an excellent way to put it. I can understand cars and grip and power, so that was very unique.

 

Cheers.

[alvarez57]

Good review and good photos. I liked the analogy of the nib and cars. That is an excellent way to put it. I can understand cars and grip and power, so that was very unique.

 

Cheers.

 

 

So do I! I love to drive.

]The only Sailor I have is the zoom nib. THIS one does have a personality! I am still plying a bit around it to get the 3 nibs that it is supposed to have. It DOES have a wet line indeed; the M and B nibs are buttery smooth, but not the F (if you twist the pen so the feed is facing up), now. even if it is scratchy, the F shows line variation. I would like to try other Sailors.

 

 

[southpaw]

Excellent head-to-head review! THANKS for sharing.

[Fearaffect]

I just got my 1911 Profit from Japan_Antique on E Bay...seems he has the better prices. I found the plastic feels cheap also, at least compared to my Schaeffer Legacy. I have the Music NIB on my Sailor, and it wrote right away....but it dries out somewhat after a few lines.

Overall, not to bad of a FP, but I wouldn't buy another Sailor except maybe one of those Urisha(sp?) laquered pens they have just to see how the quality is of the laquering.

[docsamson]

Thanks to everyone for the kind replies. I love my Sailor pens but I'm finding that I keep coming back to my Pilot Custom 823. That is, until I get my Nakaya in.

[Wizergig]

I just placed an order for a silver pen with a Niginata MF nib. It will be an exercise in patience since these are made as ordered, but I look forward to it with great anticipation.

[Chris H]

I enjoyed the review, wish I enjoyed the pen.

 

I have a yellow 1911M with xtra-fine nib. It is just plain old doggone scratchy. My Esterbrook 9550 nibs are far and away smoother -- they are like butter. The Sailor is like sandpaper. The pen itself is beautiful.

 

I use it all the time in the hopes that eventually it will smooth out -- but I think I have a long wait ahead of me.

 

As for me? No more Sailors.

 

Chris

[troglokev]

I have a yellow 1911M with xtra-fine nib. It is just plain old doggone scratchy. My Esterbrook 9550 nibs are far and away smoother -- they are like butter. The Sailor is like sandpaper. The pen itself is beautiful.

 

I use it all the time in the hopes that eventually it will smooth out -- but I think I have a long wait ahead of me.

 

If it's scratchy, it's a manufacturing defect (most likely misaligned tines). If you're under warranty (and I presume you are), you should get the problem fixed, rather than putting up with it.

[Chris H]

I bought the pen off of eBay from one of the Japanese stores there. It was new.

 

There is no warranty paperwork with the pen. How would I get the warranty work done? Don't want to send it back to Japan.

 

Chris

[Idiopathos]

My "Executive Smooth Black" 1911 is "NMF" nibbed, which means 'Naginata Medium Fine', apparently. It's the MF bit that's confusing, because the nib is, as others have said, American-European M or Japanese B. So, what the F signifies is unclear. Anyway, it's an 8/10 wet, instant-starting, non-skipping nib with good feedback, that isn't particularly smooth, but not at all rough. It's isn't flexible, but nor is it a nail. It can flex under pressure and makes, for example, a good signature nib.

 

This may sound like rather faint praise, but I've come to realise that it is actually a very well made nib. So, for example, it writes effectively upside down, which is really useful for annotation of small text. Much more importantly, however, it's the kind of nib that suits a lot of writing. It would serve a student very well or anyone who writes extensively, because the nib is bold in character (not in width) and enables fast, clear writing over long periods of time. It's a working writer's nib.

 

That said, keep your ink pot nearby, because this nib needs fuel. A piston-filled version would make sense, but the converter works well if not long enough. ED-ing is not possible, because of the metal thread & trim between section and barrel.

 

As for the rest of the pen, well, it's a quality product, but too much in the MB mould to be aesthetically interesting in itself. It remains a mystery to me why the Japanese, with such a wonderful artistic tradition, should defer to other cultures' designs in the production of so many consumer durables.

 

 

 

 

 

[georges zaslavsky]

The best sailor I tried was a kop with a naginata fine nib, a delight.

[krom101]

I only have one Sailor FP, a 1911, with a 21k italic nib. I'm sorry to report that it is the worst feeding fountain pen I own. Unless I constantly manually reload the nib with the converter, I cannot write a paragraph. I drag it out of retirement every 6 months, or so, but then remember why I took it out of rotation in the first place.

[troglokev]

I only have one Sailor FP, a 1911, with a 21k italic nib. I'm sorry to report that it is the worst feeding fountain pen I own. Unless I constantly manually reload the nib with the converter, I cannot write a paragraph. I drag it out of retirement every 6 months, or so, but then remember why I took it out of rotation in the first place.

It's busted. Get it fixed!

A working pen writes until the ink runs out. All of mine did this out of the box. Yours could be clogged with manufacturing gunk, so try flushing it with a weak ammonia solution then with water several times.

If that doesn't work, send it back to the manufacturer with a description of the problem and a writing sample. Sailor do stand by their product, and they will fix your pen.

If a pen has a manufacturing fault, don't suffer the problem. Send it back and get it fixed.

[krom101]

I only have one Sailor FP, a 1911, with a 21k italic nib. I'm sorry to report that it is the worst feeding fountain pen I own. Unless I constantly manually reload the nib with the converter, I cannot write a paragraph. I drag it out of retirement every 6 months, or so, but then remember why I took it out of rotation in the first place.

It's busted. Get it fixed!

A working pen writes until the ink runs out. All of mine did this out of the box. Yours could be clogged with manufacturing gunk, so try flushing it with a weak ammonia solution then with water several times.

If that doesn't work, send it back to the manufacturer with a description of the problem and a writing sample. Sailor do stand by their product, and they will fix your pen.

If a pen has a manufacturing fault, don't suffer the problem. Send it back and get it fixed.

Thanks for the kind advise. I have flushed in many times with water, (and left it standing in shallow cup of water for days), but have not tried an ammonia solution. Certainly worth a shot.

[Shinchan]

Thanks docsamson for your great review! Had placed an order for the Black Rhodium 1911 Naginata Togi Series -MF nib and had received my pen yesterday evening.....Was in for a pleasant surprise when I started putting the Naginata Togi to test.....It's really a very smooth writer.....I am already thinking of chucking my Montblanc Cool Blue Starwalker away and use my new pen as my daily writer :roflmho: