Sailor Precious Wood Pen (Ebony)

[AltecGreen]

I saw this pen at MaiDo's in San Jose during the Platinum pen event. Like the Platinum 90th Anniversary pen, it caught my eye and attention because it did not look like the standard offerings from either company. This pen and others like it in the series feature precious wood barrels and caps. This pen is in ebony and is very smooth and dark. The smoothness comes from the many layers of lacquer applied to the wood to give it a glass-like finish. From a distance, the pen almost looks black and it is only in sunlight or up close does the wood grain become evident. This pen is about the same length as an old style Omas Paragon but much slimmer. This pen appears to be slimmer than the 1911 or Progear. The pen is set with gold trim that is quite solid and gives the pen a nice hefty weight. The clip has an engraved pattern on it and is quite thick. The cap of the pen is not screwed on but clicks on and off the barrel using a locking mechanism similar to the Pilot MYU. The locking mechanism gives a nice satisfying click and machining of the metal parts if very precise. The whole pen feels substantial and very well made. I don't get this feeling when holding a standard Progear or 1911. I believe this pen body is used as the basis for Sailor's Wood Maki-e series of pen.

 

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The section of the pen is very long and made from resin. The section is very smooth so some people might have a problem with gripping. Also the section narrows towards the nib so those who like a large gripping area will not like this pen. The section has a Zo-gan mark in gold that gives the pen a vintage Japanese look. One unique feature of this pen is that the nib is semi-hooded design instead of the current series of open nibs. The nib and section has the look and feel of Japanese pens from the 70's. This pen can be posted and actually the balance is pretty good while posted. This was surprising since the cap is pretty heavy.

 

The nib is a monotone 18 kt semi-hooded nib that is definitely different than the 14kt and 21 kt nibs on the current lineup. This pen came with a medium nib which appears to be the most common type on this series of pens. The nib writes like a western fine and has a smooth feel but is fairly stiff and has little in the way of line variation. The pen wrote perfectly out of the box with medium flow. This is my first Sailor pen so I have no comparison to other Sailor nibs. This is certainly a smooth writing nib with barely a hint of audible feedback although I would not describe it as being the smoothest nib I've ever used.

 

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This is not a cheap pen. The list price for the ebony version is around $450 although these things show up for around $320 or so on eBay. The prices seem to vary with the wood since the list price for the Rosewood version is $350. There is also a Rare Grain version with colored wood and matte rhodium trim. I am attracted to this pen my the form factor and the feel in the hand. I had been hesitating buying a Sailor pen because while Sailor offers interesting nibs, the current bodies hold very little attraction for me. This pen is a good compromise although it would be even better with a larger nib selection.

[Tsujigiri]

Great review and extremely useful pictures! I notice that you said that the nib feels different from the 14k and 21k nibs by Sailor, but that you only have this Sailor. Is the comparison, then, based on trying out other Sailor pens? Also, how does the feel compare in terms of smoothness?

[MYU]

I have a Sailor pen that features this nib, and it is quite smooth. You'll find that the larger the nib size, the greater the likelihood that it'll be smooth. The challenge is making a small tip smooth (e.g. F and XF). However, I think that in terms of flex, this design doesn't lend itself as well to flexing as the larger Sailor nibs.

 

Edited July 27, 2009 by MYU

[AltecGreen]

Great review and extremely useful pictures! I notice that you said that the nib feels different from the 14k and 21k nibs by Sailor, but that you only have this Sailor. Is the comparison, then, based on trying out other Sailor pens? Also, how does the feel compare in terms of smoothness?

 

The nib on this pen was certainly smooth. One of the smoothest pens right out of the box without and tuning. I have had only brief time with other Sailor pens so its hard to do a direct comparison. My comparison is based mainly on other pens I own.

 

As for the feel, the writing is effortless with just a hint of feedback. You'll hear a bit of audible feedback from the paper but it is slight. I wouldn't describe this as completely gliding on the paper as one might have with a very wet broad nib. It's almost like my Omas Arco with the Omas 'Extra Flessible' nib. The Omas is a tad smoother probably because that pen runs a bit wetter.

[Bill Smith]

Just revive this thread. I picked up the same pen at the Scriptus Toronto Pen Show this past weekend. What a smooth nib which puts the 21k Sailor Pro Gear to shame.

[JasonF2]

Great bump! This is a gorgeous pen. I love the Sailor precious wood pens.