[Review] Sailor Cross-Slit Nib

[dannzeman]

I had the pleasure of handling a fountain with one of the most monstrous nibs ever made! The man who owns this pen, and runs Pear Tree Pen Co., loaned it to Ryan, who runs Brassing Adds Character, and allowed me to photograph and write with it. The presentation and packaging that comes with this pen is to be expected when you pay four figures for a fountain pen. I have no idea what it says on the top of box, but it sure looks cool!

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The interior is lined in a beautiful blue-ish/purple velvet material that hides a tension clip which holds the pen in an almost sensual, yet protective manner. Inside the box is a soft cloth to wipe down the pen, I guess. There is also a single pen wrap included but I don't know why. It's almost a sick joke to include this wrap for the intent of carrying around such an expensive pen. If I even thought of transporting this pen I wouldn't do it in anything less than a mobile Fortress of Solitude.

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The body of the pen is made from a beautiful celluloid that has green and blue pearlescent flakes. When I first saw it, it kind of reminded me of Sheaffer's Ebonized Pearl in their Balance pens. The barrel has been ribbed which is going to be a love it or hate it affair. I don't like the look of it and I didn't think I'd like it while writing with it but when this pen is in your hand you don't even notice the ribbing. All you can focus on is the writing. I would still probably prefer a smooth barrel though. Notice the bar on top of the nib thats acts as a kind of over-feed. When you really get to writing you'll be glad it's there.

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The photo above shows the nib and feed fully loaded with ink. See how extra ink is held between the nib and the over-feed? That keeps the ink flowing nice and juicy even as you race across the paper. The cross-slit nib is a beautiful piece of work! These pictures do not do it justice, not even close! (Does that say more about my photography or the nib?) The pen feels very good in the hand. In my normal writing position, which is slightly upright, only the first set of tines were making contact with the paper. In this position it writes like a round bold nib. To get the full effect of the nib you need to lay the pen down quite a bit, at least compared to what I'm used it. This is actually very easy and comfortable due the length of the barrel. You can clearly see the difference between writing with the entire nib in contact with paper compared to just the first set of tines as shown in the fifth written line. My signature is good example of what happens when you write too quickly and adjust the writing angle mid-stroke.

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Writing with this pen was a great experience and I would like to thank both James and Ryan for letting me handle it.

 

click any one of the pictures to be taken to my blog post for some serious eye candy

[dannzeman]

Is nobody interested?

Was the review good or did it suck?

Any questions about something I didn't cover?

[Brian]

Hey, your review does not suck. In fact its quite good. I like the photography and the writing samples. This type of pen is quite a specialty piece perhaps useful for architects or line artists to sign their pieces with, which raises an interesting question...what are the uses for this type of pen doing other forms of caligraphy or drafting?

 

Thanks for your review.

[dannzeman]

Thanks for the comment. Good to know it doesn't suck.

I wouldn't have the first clue as to what you would actually use this pen for. For me, it would only be a signature pen, and doodling/playing, but that goes without saying.

Its actually kind of versatile because if you hold the pen more upright you'd get just a bold tip, which many people prefer. Then when it comes time to sign something you could lay it down to get the full effect.

[welfvet]

Hi Dannzeman

 

I like the review, thanks for posting. Haven't been online enough to catch everything first time around! I'm waiting for the right opportunity to get a Sailor with a King Eagle nib, so this is up my street. Great fun, though some might argue a pricey novelty pen, but I'd at least look forward to signing off all the tedious papers that cross my desk. Trust that isn't your real signature ;-)

[dannzeman]

I would love to be able to get a King Eagle nib. That is the pinnacle of ridiculous nibs for me and I really want one!

 

Oh, and that is my real sig, but kind of sloppy.

[aardvark]

Very nice review. I've been looking at the various versions of Sailor nibs and the Cross Music Emperor in particular. Great photo of the ink captured between the overfeed and the nib. I always wondered about that.

 

//mark

[Siv]

Wow - I have never seen a Sailor like that before. It looks like the child of these two pens:

 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/6000385/aview/Togi_Ribbed_Rhodium_FP_1s.jpg

http://www.worcesterpencompany.co.uk/shopdata/0040_Envoy+Pencils/images/Bredon_forest_celluloid_pencil_500x266.jpg

 

As for the nib - well it's a Sailor so it's going to be special. Thank you for sharing!

[Doug C]

Actually, I happen to love the way the ribbed body looks. I have heard negative comments about Sailors like this before, but I guess I'm in the minority.

 

A few months ago, I saw a Pro Gear with the ribs on the Fahrney's site. It was there for a little while, no price, and then it disappeared.

 

Does anyone know what happened to that model?

 

It would great as a demo........

[Bentley]

I own a Sailor with a Zoom nib and I have never quite been able to figure out how to get it to write comfortably and consistently. I still love Sailor pens but I wonder sometimes whether some of their high-priced nibs are expensive gimmicks.

 

The pen you describe in this review sounds like fun to play and doodle with but I'm not sure I'd buy one as I think it would be tricky to use on a daily basis for regular use.

[dannzeman]

 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/6000385/aview/Togi_Ribbed_Rhodium_FP_1s.jpg

I think I would have like it more if the entire pen had been ribbed like this one. I actually really like this one.

[dannzeman]

The pen you describe in this review sounds like fun to play and doodle with but I'm not sure I'd buy one as I think it would be tricky to use on a daily basis for regular use.

If you wanted to use the full stroke of the nib it would be a little a tricky to use on a daily basis. I'm sure you would probably get used to it over time though and adapt to writing with it. If you couldn't then you would just get a nice bold line instead of the super duper extra bold, which wouldn't be all that bad.

[soapytwist]

NO review sucks, whether it be a positive or negative one. Sometimes responses can be limited if the review is clear and comprehensive!

[MYU]

What Sailor pen is this? Is it a completely custom body with a Sailor nib installed, or was it a pen fully produced by Sailor? It's a beautiful writing instrument. I'll have to track down Ryan and get more info on this beauty.

 

Thanks for the review!

[pixwriter]

What Sailor pen is this? Is it a completely custom body with a Sailor nib installed, or was it a pen fully produced by Sailor? It's a beautiful writing instrument. I'll have to track down Ryan and get more info on this beauty.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

It is a Sailor Nagahara edition pen. In size it is exactly like the Moonlit Forest on www.nibs.com. The front nib /section is the same as a full size 1911 or Pro Gear, the cap is also the same size, but the barrel is much longer.

[BobME]

So, I have been wondering, what are the main uses for a fountain pen that writes so broad. Does it have a practical daily use for some people. I can see it replacing a marker on a big note pad in a meeting. I guess it would be nice to have marker width in all the ink colors there are for fountain pens. So what do you guys use these for?

 

Robert

[dannzeman]

What would I use this for? To show off and doodle. Oh, and sign documents.

[georges zaslavsky]

Quite nice but as usual my beef with sailor pens is their tiny capacity ink converter.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I do not have this pen. It's only a general comment.

 

I like broad nibs. I like OF. I'm not drawn to plain vanilla Medium nibs, as functional as they are, because there is no pizazz.

 

I think width of a nib, is a mood thing for me.

 

I don't have save paper, so if I feel like it I can use a BB or OB.

 

As a child having to save paper, my hand writing became so cramped it turned into hen scratch. I used a fine ball point, to "save" money.

To each his own though, which is why we have different nibs.

 

 

It would have saved so much trouble if my mother had beaten me over the head and made me learn shorthand in or before Jr. High.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Bo Bo Olson

[TMLee]

Thanks for your review .

 

I was just trying to imagine , if the nib is designed to be used at different angles, then wouldn't the length of the pen be important?

 

I am trying to imagine if the Professional Gear body version be quite hard to handle at Low angles since it's quite short.

 

Your pen seems to be that Gathered body version which is a bit longish?

 

 

Here is an excellent video review ....

Which I chanced upon by coincidence earlier today...

 

 

The value of this video clip is that it demonstrates how one way this unique nib can be used, seeing that many here have asked this question.

 

 

I am tempted to get this nib , but again , the twist converter capacity is really very miserable.

And especially since this nib spews out quite a lot of ink,

The Realo version is pretty a big jump in terms of $cost.

 

 

No relations to the reviewer in the clip :-)

Although I think I must get in touch with him. :-)