Sheaffer Sailor Lazer LJ-1 fine -- a 3x5 review

February 28, 2009

I bought this new old stock (NOS) pen a few months ago from David Nishimura of vintagepens.com -- it's a 1988 pen made in Japan by Sailor for Sheaffer. A very nicely constructed stainless steel pen with a smooth and very fine nib -- great for getting a lot of information on a 3x5 card. Didn't come with a converter or any cartridges, but a Monteverde Mini converter works fine... doesn't hold much ink, but the pen doesn't use much ink.

I paid $60 plus shipping, and got the converter from Sam at Pendemonium for $2.50 (the Sheaffer Slim Converters are hard to find).

This is a wonderful pen to use, and I'd heartily recommend snapping one up, if you can find one for sale (and if you like slim pens with VERY FINE nibs).

Excellent fit and finish -- the quality says "Japanese". Caps clicks on with a little "snick" and the pen feels nicely balanced when posted.

The photos show it next to a Sailor Sapporo Mini with Music Nib.

I can't seem to spell "SHAEFFER" right more than half the time... My apologies to the Sheaffer aficionados. "SAILOR" is much easier...

Images are still on the vintagepen site, but I'm not sure if there are any left for sale:

http://www.vintagepens.com/morepics.php?id=7808&pics=4

Edited March 1, 2009 by katfisch

February 28, 2009

I've seen these sell on "that auction site" with the Sailor brand and was always curious about them. The "heart shaped" breather hole on the nib suggests flexibility... can you describe the nib characteristics in that respect? Is it firm, normal, springy, or semi-flex? Thanks.

March 1, 2009

I've seen these sell on "that auction site" with the Sailor brand and was always curious about them. The "heart shaped" breather hole on the nib suggests flexibility... can you describe the nib characteristics in that respect? Is it firm, normal, springy, or semi-flex? Thanks.

I'd say the nib is springy... slightly stiffer than a Pilot Vanishing Point 18k F nib. Definitely more flex than an Pelikan Souveran 400 EF and much more flexible than a Lamy Safari EF which, in my hand is very stiff indeed (but nice, but nice...). The Sailor Lazer nib is moderately wet-ish but not as wet as the Pilot VP. For a very fine nib, it puts down a dark line with no skips (unless the nib is held upside down -- then it can skip, as the 3x5 sample shows). It's smooth, but with some tactile feedback -- just the way I like it. I really considered buying one or two more of these, "just in case" you know, but life is short and pens are myriad, so I decided to go with variety, even though the Lazer is completely satisfactory for my use.