Lamy CP1 vs. Sailor Recruit

[supenguin]

I've been using my Lamy CP1 as my planner pen for a while. I don't write a lot with it - just the occasional note in my calendar, new address, or todo item quickly scribbled down. I've often felt it's a shame that such a nice pen doesn't get used very often.

 

Recently, I saw jetpens.com has a pen called the Sailor Recruit. It's only $15, it's got great reviews, and it looks thin enough to fit nicely in my planner.

 

Anyone try one of these? How do they compare - the Lamy CP1 compared to the Sailor Recruit? Worth buying?

 

From what I can tell: selling the Lamy CP1 and buying the Sailor Recruit would give me a few extras bucks to spend on something else. But I'd be getting rid of a Lamy and the only fountain pen I have that fits in my planner AND takes a converter. Not only does it take a converter, it came with one!

 

The Recruit seems like a nice pen but doesn't take converters. Hopefully international cartridges would fit. Maybe use it as a pocket pen and keep the CP1 in my planner?

[Pfhorrest]

I suggest keeping your Lamy unless your financial situation dictates that you should sell.

[Samovar]

The Sailor Recruit will only work with Sailor cartridges or Sailor converter. It's a nice entry level pen, yet I would keep the Lamy.

[Samovar]

The Pilot Cavalier is also a very thin pen you might want to consider.

[matt385]

I tried a Chanda? converter for my recruit that I got from Swisher pens. It was difficult to fill and did not hold a lot of ink. The recruit is a great pen for a day timer as it is thin, well made, with a fine Sailor nib. It really needs cartridges to excel.

[supenguin]

Samovar: I don't really need to sell, just thinking along the lines of why use a $50 pen when a $15 pen will do just as nicely in the same situation. At the $15 price point, I may end up getting one just to have a nice, slim, inexpensive pen around. Maybe even use it as a pocket pen? My wife has one of the A.S. Manhattener Sailor pens, the ones with the cute cats all over it. So it's not like this would be the only pen I have that uses Sailor cartridges. It would just be so much better if their pens took international cartridges.

 

I'll probably end up keeping the Lamy whether I get the Sailor or not. It is a really nice pen.

 

The Cavalier looks nice - I like what I'm reading about it writing in a very fine line - that is important for a planner pen! Does that take converters or just Pilot cartridges?

 

 

matt385: The description of the Sailor Recruit I saw on the website said that it won't take converters at all, it is too small for that. What is the Chanda? A special converter made to fit?

[Samovar]

I believe the Cavalier will take both Pilot converter and cartridge. A Cavalier with F nib, should indeed lay a very fine line.

[matt385]

Samovar: I don't really need to sell, just thinking along the lines of why use a $50 pen when a $15 pen will do just as nicely in the same situation. At the $15 price point, I may end up getting one just to have a nice, slim, inexpensive pen around. Maybe even use it as a pocket pen? My wife has one of the A.S. Manhattener Sailor pens, the ones with the cute cats all over it. So it's not like this would be the only pen I have that uses Sailor cartridges. It would just be so much better if their pens took international cartridges.

 

I'll probably end up keeping the Lamy whether I get the Sailor or not. It is a really nice pen.

 

The Cavalier looks nice - I like what I'm reading about it writing in a very fine line - that is important for a planner pen! Does that take converters or just Pilot cartridges?

 

 

matt385: The description of the Sailor Recruit I saw on the website said that it won't take converters at all, it is too small for that. What is the Chanda? A special converter made to fit?

 

 

It is for the Chalana pen made by Sailor. I could not remember the name when I typed the previous post. The Chalana converter is thin enough to fit in the Recruit barrel and seemed to fit on the cartridge nipple. It would not draw ink through the nib so I stuck the converter directly into the ink to fill it. I could not get the converter to fill more than halfway this way. The converter cost $7.50 so I thought it was worth the cost to see if I could use different inks in this pen. I did try this with Noodlers and I might try this again with a diamine ink. The pen wrote like a dream when I was using the cartridge. Started right up and the cartridge lasted a long time.

[jessiew]

not sure if anyone is still reading this post but i thought i'd comment since i just purchased the sailor recruit from jetpens... personally, i love it. my everyday handwriting is small... well, maybe tiny. i've had the hardest time finding a fountain pen that will work the way i want it to with my handwriting. sailor recruit to the rescue and i have my newest favorite. now, i'm kind of a noob when it comes to this but i really like how it writes. my dad tried it out and said that the nib is a little scratchy but it will soften up with use. i have a lamy safari XF nib and it is still too broad of a line for me, so the recruit does the trick. it is a very thin lightweight barrel that will definitely fit in your planner.

 

whether you decide to sell your lamy or not, the sailor recruit is a good deal when looking for this specific type of FP. i haven't purchased any refill cartridges yet but i believe jetpens has the sailor manhattaner's refills in a few colors. too bad the pen itself doesn't come in different colors, but the blue is nice.

 

hope this helps you!

[sirksael]

The grass always looks greener on the other side of the river. What you should do instead, is reinforce your current relationship, and buy another CP1, preferrably a platinum one.

 

Doctor Kris has spoken.