Official Handwritten Moleskine Review of the Sailor Sapporo Fountain Pen

[biffybeans]

Sailor Sapporo Official Moleskine Review

 

(Filled with Pelikan Brilliant Black)

 

Found the black/rhodium M Sapporo in the marketplace. It was only previously dipped and was as near mint as I can imagine. PD $90. (including shipping) Cheapest I found them online new was $105.

 

I feared two things with the Sapporo. 1st being that it's converter filled vs a piston filler. This converter seems to be made of a higher quality than other converters I've seen. Next was the width of the nib shoulders. I prefer a more narrow shouldered nib like the nib on the Pelikan M200 - but this is not much wider.

 

I picked up an M nib because I heard that Japanese nibs run smaller. IMHO, it's not much wider than the F nib on the Pelikan.

 

Is it smooth? You bet. Size? About the same as the M200 but wider and heavier. Nicely balanced when posted. WAY TOO SMALL (for me) to use unposted. To wrap up, a nice step up from the M200 but I'm not sure it's worth the difference in price. I like the M200 a lot.

 

See image for handwritten comparison samples from different pens.

 

Apica

 

Innards of the pen that hold the converter appear to be metal. Did I mention how small this pen is uncapped?

 

More handwritten examples between pens in the Apica.

 

Clairfontaine - More handwritten examples between pens

 

Rhodia - More handwritten examples between pens. Of note - every pen wrote it's thinnest on the Rhodia paper.

 

View handwritten review here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/biffybeans/2697512376/

 

PS - you have to be a contact to view the image at full size on Flickr.

[Keng]

Biffy Beans,

 

A great one-stop review on 4 diffrent notebooks. Looks good and am surprised I do not detect any feathering on the moleskine (or is it my monitor?). Nice handwriting though Thanks.

 

Mike

[Jersey Diabolo]

Biffy Beans,

 

A great one-stop review on 4 diffrent notebooks. Looks good and am surprised I do not detect any feathering on the moleskine (or is it my monitor?). Nice handwriting though Thanks.

 

Mike

 

 

I agree. A pen review with other nibs and paper comparisons. Good format and a nice job, BB! Sorry the Sapporo isn’t quite your cuppa tea.

 

[biffybeans]

I wouldn't say that it's not my cup of tea - I think it's a very nice pen that writes beautifully. I won't get rid of it. (For now....) I'm just saying that the M200 is $40-$50 cheaper and is very similar in size & personality. I didn't really "need" the Sapporo, but wanted to try it with what people had said about how smooth it writes. Once I bought it, I felt guilty for spending so much and immediately sold off $100 worth of stuff to cover the purchase. Now I don't feel so bad.

 

 

I agree. A pen review with other nibs and paper comparisons. Good format and a nice job, BB! Sorry the Sapporo isn’t quite your cuppa tea.

 

[limesally]

Nice review, Steph! your comment is not unlike my first response to my first Sailor (the 1911M). This is nice, but is it really much better than my Pelikan M150? Perhaps I had been spoiled by the smoothness of my cheap-o Pelikans. The Sailor was smooth and a beautiful writer, but I'd gotten used to smooth! But, as time went on it kept getting better, and while I won't say it's a *better* writer than my Pelikans (which have since gotten less cheap-o) it simply has different characteristics. I like it for itself, without comparisons to other pens. Sometimes certain inks perform a little better in the Sailor, and sometimes certain papers seem to be a better match.

 

Anyway,I hope you have fun playing with it - especially with your different inks and journals!

[schizosoph]

Thanks for the review.

I must admit I've not had any problems with Moleskines, despite all the negative comments I've found elsewhere on the boards. It appears you've not had much of a problem either, but then you have used Pelikans and Lamy's like me. I'll be getting a Waterman Expert II soon so I'll see how it goes.

 

Thanks again

[biffybeans]

Oh - there is bleeding, and feathering. ) I'm pretty used to that.

 

 

Biffy Beans,

 

A great one-stop review on 4 diffrent notebooks. Looks good and am surprised I do not detect any feathering on the moleskine (or is it my monitor?). Nice handwriting though Thanks.

 

Mike

 

 

I agree. A pen review with other nibs and paper comparisons. Good format and a nice job, BB! Sorry the Sapporo isn’t quite your cuppa tea.