Sailor 1911

[Guest]

Sailor 1911 Asian Version

 

First Impressions

 

I bought this pen from our very own Betty a few months ago.

She had it imported from Japan at a nice premium.

Never having contributed with a review, I thought this pen

would be perfect since it is my favorite of all time, next to my Conklin Duragraph! (Thank you again Apollo) Both of this pens have become my standards, and I love them. I have instructed my wife to put them in the grave with me when I go. Well here we go, upon first looking at the pen, one gets the feel and look of a Mont Blanc 149. It is big and shiny but not heavy at all. The cap goes on and off smoothly never crossing the threads.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/sailor1.jpg

 

The pen comes in a beautiful box with the filling and care instructions in Japanese only. Gorgeous look and just makes one mouth water.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/mainreview.jpg

 

The resin is super shiny, the Platinum appointments just luster like I have never seen before. The contrast of the Platinum and Black is just striking. The inscription on the band is smooth and well cut out. It looks and feels like a million bucks!

 

 

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

 

It is a full-size pen, much like the MB 149, but not heavy at all. It has a torpedo shape that evens allows the cap to be posted with out a problem, not that I ever post my pens, but it fits nice without marking the resin. Measures a bit over 5.5 inches capped and about 6.25 inches posted

 

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/review2.jpg

 

Fits nicely in my bear-like hand. As I have stated the cap comes on and off with ease. It is not thin on the lip at all. Tough and durable? Well unlike my old MB 146 that I dropped a few years ago off my desk, this pen was dropped to the floor at a Sears by my son Angelo Jr., I thought that the pen was a gonner, but nothing of the sort, I took the pen and it took to paper like a champ. Almost as well as my hand wanting to make contact with Jr’s butt. Bur neither Jr. nor the Pen had any damage done on them.

 

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

 

I love the nib, it is Asian fine so more like a needle-point fine for us! It does not allow me to make mistakes, I have to slow down when I write else, I get distortion. I love the fact that it keeps me concentrated on the paper and at the same time I can take my time and write my thoughts better.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/Review3.jpg

The nib is fine white gold 21K. The nib looks like it could pierce a piece of wood and continue writing like a dream. As I have said it is super fine and very discriminating, I have to slow down almost half speed to form all of the characters correctly.

 

 

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/Reviewmailnjpg.jpg

 

 

The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

 

This is the only thing about the pen that I would love to change. Piston Filler! The pen uses Sailor’s own converter, thus I hope I never loose mine! Nothing to disappointing, but this pen would really rock with an internal filling syste,

Cost 5 out of 5

Well, about $200 which I think that it is not to bad when you pair it next to like a MB. However, this is the Asian version of the pen and I have not been able to find a second pen like it.

Conclusion

 

As I have stated this is one of the pens that will follow me to the after-life. I am willing to bet that it will continue to write after I am exhumed. I call this pen the Glock of Pendom.

 

 

If you are lucky to find a similar pen, you will love it. I had a 1911M with a music nib and I was not crazy at all about it. When I had both pens in my hand I noticed the quality difference from the get-go. I love my Sailor, and I think I am going to find a second one, …some day, perhaps in Red!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/Review1.jpg

 

 

Cheers all!

 

Edited for Pic Size

Edited August 3, 2006 by Angelo Bedolla

[Guest]

Sorry about the larger photos, Can I edit and add smaller ones Savage?

[Apollo]

Angelo, congratulations on your new Sailor! It's a classy pen for sure and a great writer. Great review!

[Mobybick2]

Angelo,

 

Excellent choice> I have a yellow 1911M with a fine nib. Fabulous pen! Now I need the same pen (different color) with a medium nib. Interesting how the Japanese nibs I've encountered are much narrower than American or European. (My other fine is a Namiki Impressions--writes like an extra fine).

 

Brooke

[Roger]

Sorry about the larger photos, Can I edit and add smaller ones Savage?

Sure can, Angelo. Just hit the edit button and change the links to the new smaller images.

 

If you make the horizontal size about 750 to 800 pixels, the finished work will allow those that are running 1024 x 768 screen resolutions to view it all without having to scroll horizontally to read the text, a bit of a pita.

[southpaw]

Very nice review of an excellent pen!

[PinarelloOnly]

Awesome......I am lovin' the platinum trim and that’s the only way for me on the 1911.

I hope they become more available here in the States especially a Platinum trim demonstrator.

 

 

Scott.

[l8nitecruzin]

Great review of a beautiful pen. I do not own a Sailor yet but after reading this review I think its time to seriously consider one. What is the difference between the asian version and western version?

 

Thanks for the review.

[CarromNpens]

Nice review Angelo,

 

Heard a lot about sailor pens, I am looking to buy one. I prefer fine (size) nibs and japanese nib is a perfect choice.

[Betty]

Great review of a beautiful pen. I do not own a Sailor yet but after reading this review I think its time to seriously consider one. What is the difference between the asian version and western version?

 

Thanks for the review.

Before, the difference between the asian and western version was how the cap looked and the platinum trim was only available in Asia. But from another post not too long ago, I learned that the western design is also the same as the asian version now, but the platinum trim may or may not be available in the US.

 

 

 

 

Great review Angelo! I'm so happy you liked your pen so so much! If Sailor made this pen in the MB 145 size, I would give up my MB 145 right away and go for the Sailor. There's really no comparison; even the price should be the other way around :)

[James P]

FYI - Rhodium trimmed Sailors are now available, both in the demonstrator version and in black. At least in the States, the rhodium trim is not available on any of the colors.

 

James P.

[Mike S.]

I recently purchased one of these with a Fine-Medium Naginata Togi nib. I agree with all you have said about the looks of the pen with the silver-colored trim.

 

I just want to add that the Fine-Medium Togi nib is an absolute wonder! I have a regular 1911 (with gold trim) with a Medium Togi nib and it is very smooth with great flow but it writes a very fat line. I saw one for sale recently with a Fine-Medium and the silver trim for a very good price and I couldn't resist. The Fine-Medium Togi is approximately the same width as the standard Sailor medium in my brown Mosaic. The Togi nibs write a slightly broader line on the cross stroke than on the downstroke (the opposite of a stub, though the amount of line width variation is not nearly as substantial) and add an interesting look to my handwriting. The inkflow on my sample is ideal for me and the alignment of the tipping was perfect right out of the box. I did smooth it just a tiny bit with mylar paper, but not much.

 

At moments like this, when you get a new, seemingly perfect pen, you wonder why in the world you have all of those other pens. I love this pen. If you ever see one, you should try it. For the price, it is hard to beat.

 

Mike

[georges zaslavsky]

I tried a 1911, indeed a very good pen but I prefer its bigger brother the king of pen. Sailor nibs are excellent but the main drawback of the pen is the absence of the piston filling system.

[Escribiente]

Angelo, Thank you for your review and great pictures. You convinced me to get a Sailor 1911 with a rhodium trim.

[AndyHayes]

Excellent review with great pictures.

 

I have whittled my list of wants down to something reasonable and this pen, black with rhodium trim, is one of them.

[tamburlaine]

Excellent review. I'm jealous

 

Does anyone know how the writing qualities of the 1911 and Sapporo compare?

[Brian]

Sailor 1911 Asian Version

 

First Impressions

 

I bought this pen from our very own Betty a few months ago.

She had it imported from Japan at a nice premium.

Never having contributed with a review, I thought this pen

would be perfect since it is my favorite of all time, next to my Conklin Duragraph! (Thank you again Apollo) Both of this pens have become my standards, and I love them. I have instructed my wife to put them in the grave with me when I go. Well here we go, upon first looking at the pen, one gets the feel and look of a Mont Blanc 149. It is big and shiny but not heavy at all. The cap goes on and off smoothly never crossing the threads.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k12/angelobedolla/sailor1.jpg

 

This was an interesting review and from the other reviews posted on FPN prompted me to get one an EF. I found the pen at the larger size to still be somewhat small. The rest of the features are good with what appears to be solid engineering, e.g., the cap is designed to close with increasing tension on the last 1/4 turn, it is extremely light in weight which is good, and it has a rubber O ring on the section to ensure safety of the ink supply so that should there be an unlikely leak in the barrel it would help keep it there (a good example of over-engineering which is not a bad thing).

 

There are only a few things I would change: (1) make the pen bigger to a MB 146 or slighter larger size; and (2) offer a larger convertor. The rest of the pen rocks and makes a fine addition to the working pens.