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Cheap Japanese Pens Showdown


Zeroblade

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In this quick review/comparison, I pit the Sailor Ink Pen, Platinum Riviere (the cheap version), and the Daiso Mini (sort of a house brand, produced in China). So without further ado...

 

Pictures/Writing Samples:

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7195/jpen1.jpg

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2176/jpen2.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1697/jpensamples.jpg

 

Appearance / Aesthetics:

Sailor Ink Pen: Clean and simple. A very dark blue section (looks like black in less bright lighting) and end, INK PEN stamped onto the barrel. Added points for a demonstrator-like clear barrel and cap and part of the section. The nib has the Sailor logo and the nib model no (F-4); flat faced. 4/5

Platinum Riviere: Very plain as well, but there's a logo, "Riviere" and "PTR-200" (the model no.) printed in red; blue or black are also possible. Nothing worth noting. The nib is nicely flared, with the Platinum logo and the M designation. 4/5

Daiso Mini: A small pen indeed. Clear cap and part of the section. Not a single marking on the nib - perhaps being made in China (the other two are Japan-made) has something to do with it? Plainest design I've ever seen, but not in a distasteful way. 4/5

 

Weight / Design / Feel:

Sailor Ink Pen: Light. Really light. But then it's made of plastic, so I guess it's to be expected! Feels nice and slim; a good pen for note-taking or long periods of writing. 4/5

Platinum Riviere: Exactly the same as the Ink Pen, but the clip is a little cheap-feeling for me (compared to the other pens). 3/5

Daiso Mini: Too short to be used unposted for some. The pen has a bit of heft compared to the other two, despite being shorter. I wonder why? 4/5

 

Filling System:

Sailor Ink Pen: Cartridge/Converter. Nothing special. 3/5

Platinum Riviere: Cartridge/Converter. Also nothing special. 3/5

Daiso Mini: Cartridge/Converter. Still nothing special. 3/5

 

Nib:

Sailor Ink Pen: Very, very extra-fine; a bit of a dry writer at the start. Doesn't seem to have any tipping. Has some feedback expected of nibs like this, but it's a great writer; the typical Sailor quality nibs extend down to the smallest member of the line. 4/5

Platinum Riviere: Didn't write at ALL out of the plastic sleeve. The tines were too close together. After a little tweaking, it writes a semi-wet fine. Quite a nice nib!... If it works in the first place. 3/5

Daiso Mini: Dry fine; slightly too toothy for its width, but overall a decent nib. 3/5

 

Total / Overall:

Sailor Ink Pen: 15/20

Platinum Riviere: 13/20

Daiso Mini: 14/20

 

The Sailor tops the other two by just a hair, but really, these pens are such great value for the money that you can't possibly lose out, no matter which one you get. The Sailor's great for long writing sessions and note-taking; the Platinum's useful as an all-around pen, while the Mini's small form factor makes it ideal as a purse pen, or for those who like their pens short. Just shows you can quality Japanese pens without breaking the bank!

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Nice review!

 

I am just wondering, have you tried the Sailor ink-bar? It is a disposable though. Looks interesting.

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/Henrylouis16/Aurora%20Talentum/IMG_3779.jpg
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When I lived in Japan, I often used the Sailor pen (from Daiso!) for day-to-day stuff, but I wish I had brought some with me to see if they can use the Kiwaguro ink cartridges.

 

The Riviere is a nice pen and CAN use the carbon ink, but the flow isn't very good. The Mini pens I got must have been old or bad runs, because I was never able to get a decent line out of them.

 

Nice review!!

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My main complaint about the Sailor Ink Pen is that the body seems to be made out of the same plastic as the super-cheap bottom-tier felt markers I remember using in elementary school. I prefer both the dimensions and the material of the Platinum Preppy.

 

On the other hand, I have a backup Ink Pen in my desk at work that's had the same cartridge in it for like ten months now, and it still writes perfectly with no hesitation whatsoever, so that's gotta be worth something. Also, I like the wee bit of line variation in the nib.

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Vancouver Pen Club

 

Currently inked:

 

Montegrappa NeroUno Linea - J. Herbin Poussière de Lune //. Aurora Optima Demonstrator - Aurora Black // Varuna Rajan - Kaweco Green // TWSBI Vac 700R - Visconti Purple

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Interesting. I bought a few Daiso Minis, Rivieres, and Preppys to bring back as "keep in my desk cheapies" and "convert my friends" pens over the summer. My own experience was that the Mini wrote a lot better with Sailor cartridges (the ink that came with the two I picked up was trash), and with a little tweaking the Riviere wrote fine with either carbon cartridges (for the brush pens) or Platinum converters and Platinum blue/black ink. Initially the tines were way tight, but it was an easy tweak - and though steel, the nib is plenty thick for a bit of heavy use. So far one preppy has a cracked cap (a bit of testors airplane glue seems to have fixed that for now), though the others are holding up okay.

 

The odd thing is that though I dislike the appearance of the Riviere, it was the diamond in the rough for writing English cursive (all of the mediums had too broad of a line for Kanji in a 6mm lined noto, though the .3mm Preppy is okay for that). My one .5mm Preppy has too small of a sweet spot for my taste, so I actually prefer the Riviere when I write in English.

 

All the best,

Morse

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@Zeroblade: The Sailor Ink Bar is available at JetPens.

 

Also, does anyone know of a reputable US source for any/all of the three reviewed pens? I just struck out at JetPens, and am not sure where else to look.

 

Thanks.

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Ditto that! And how does the Riviere compare to the Preppy?

 

Good review, I love to see inexpensive pens compared and contrasted. Thanks.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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>>> Ditto that! And how does the Riviere compare to the Preppy? <<<

 

In my experience, the .5 mm Preppy writes about the same line but with poorer flow (once the Riviere nib has been tweaked just a bit, that is - out of the wrapper the Preppy is a better writer). The Riviere also has a bigger sweet spot, but feels and looks cheaper in the hand; however, the thinner size is nicer when kept in the outer sleeve of a Kokuyo noto. Moreover, the material on the Riviere is slightly flexible, and it seems a little more drop resistant. Either will accept Platinum converters and I have had no problems in that regard. The Riviere is a very smooth writer and has proved satisfactory for "expendable pen" (work in a chem lab, etc) applications where I will not bring a nicer pen.

 

Hope this is useful,

Morse

Edited by Morse
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Thanks! I think the Riv is a pretty cool-looking pen, too.

 

I had to wash my Preppy 05 in detergent to get it to write---a first ever with any Preppy.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Thanks! I think the Riv is a pretty cool-looking pen, too.

 

I had to wash my Preppy 05 in detergent to get it to write---a first ever with any Preppy.

 

For what it's worth, I had to do the same with the Preppies I picked up over the summer. These were my first ever Preppys, so I don't know if that's par for the course though. The Rivieres generally needed their tines loosened just a bit to write cleanly. I will probably pick up some more next summer, since they're not available stateside. It IS nice to know that you can pick up a serviceable 100 yen pen along with ink in any Daiso in Japan. Pity that the paper at Daiso this year was not up to last year's standards.

 

If you like cheap pens, have you tried the Pilot Penmanship? I picked up 4 of them and find that they're great as desk pens for Kanji practice. Capable of a super fine line, and wet writers if you tweak the nib a bit. Not quite the combination of smooth and super fine as in the Platinum 5000, but at 500 yen I can not complain.

 

All the best,

Morse

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My Sailor Ink Pen seems to be very "scratchy," and while I like my nibs on the fine side (having very small handwriting), it strikes me as too fine for regular writing. I like the smoothness of the Riviere much better.

 

I didn't get the Mini as I didn't like its clip. I like the Riviere's overall appearance, although as the review says, the clip feels cheap, and it reminds me of hotel pens. My Riviere's packaging says it was "Made in China," if I'm not mistaken.

Edited by cocojj
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Okay, I take back some of my negativity against the Sailor Ink Pen. I finally loaded the cartridge that came with it and it writes well albeit still scratchy (not as bad as I first thought but I'm not a fan of the lack of tipping) and while it is the most "fine" pen I have, it's very much usable, afterall.

 

You guys aren't kidding when you said the Riviere ink cartridge sucks. I broke the black plastic covering part of the nib when I was trying to increase ink flow from the too-tight tines, too. But it's still smoother to write with otherwise.

Edited by cocojj
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  • 1 month later...

does anyone know of a reputable US source for any/all of the three reviewed pens? I just struck out at JetPens, and am not sure where else to look.

Thanks to a pointer from kirianth, I found the Riviere as well as two Daiso FPs (the mini and a regular-sized one) at a Daiso store. They were USD 1.50 ea.

 

As has been mentioned, the Daisos take Sailor cartridges; the Riviere takes Platinum cartridges.

 

The Daisos' parts are interchangeable, so I've built one with the cap and feed section from the mini with the body of the regular. The regular's cap is a bit of a monstrosity, the mini's feed is translucent (similar to but a bit darker than the AlStar), and while the mini's body is translucent as well, the longer matte body of the regular feels more comfortable.

 

No useful writing or ink compatibility impressions yet. I've put some Bad Blue Heron into an old Sailor cart for now; looks like it'd be straightforward to convert to ED.

 

Definitely not bad for $1.50, but all three feel quite cheap. The Preppy is built more solidly and has some heft to it.

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Thanks for the review, guess I will not be able to get the pens unless through a Japanese seller @ eBay, no? Sometimes I want to get some cheap pens in order to introduce some interested people to the world of pens without spending a considerable amount of $$.

sonia alvarez

 

fpn_1379481230__chinkinreduced.jpg

 

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