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Sailor Advice - 1911 series


Fulcanelli

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I'm interested in adding a Sailor FP to my collection and found a local source who sells at fantastic prices. She has the "1911 Colors" coming in and I've asked her to put aside a bright red one. I've never seen the pen in hand. My question is...now that I've done some more serious research online of Japanese pens in general and Sailor pens in specific, I'm wondering if it might be better for me to invest that extra $$$ now and get a 'regular' 1911 Sailor. I tried to find some nib details on the 1911 Color series online last night but failed. Has anybody here tried them both, and if so, could you share your impressions?

 

These pens look WONDERFUL and I think I'm going to have to switch my desires to Japan for a bit, as far as FPs go. Maybe a Namiki one day, and just go full blown Japanese collector after I win the lotto.

Edited by Fulcanelli
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Hi Fulcanelli,

 

On the 1911 Colors you can get all the nibs you also get on the normal 1911, from Japanese EF to Broad, Zoom and Music. Of course, they´ll have to be ordered by the dealer, too, or they´ll need a round trip back to Sailor.

 

Just remember that these nibs generally are about half a width narrower than US and European nibs. They are very smooth, and write wonderfully. I find it a pity that this pen doesn´t gel with my hand, because it is just great.

 

HTH, kind regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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I find it a pity that this pen [sailor 1911] doesn´t gel with my hand, because it is just great.

Are you saying it's the same nibs? I thought the 1911 standard came with a 21K gold nib. Ah...finally found it online...the Colors version comes with a 14K nib.

 

Someone in this group mentioned Japanese pens in a post yesterday and the idea just hung in my mind like swamp gas. That sounds really REALLY good, collecting Japanese pens. I am intrigued by the Japanese culture. The way I figure, if I get two Japanese pens and really don't like how they feel, I can use them for chop sticks when I have sushi.

 

Doesn't work with your hand, huh? What kind of pens agree with your hand?

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Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

 

Another novitiate to the Cult of Sailor.

 

The thing is, you really only need one Sailor because it will be the best pen you have for the rest of your life. Cross my heart.

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if i can ever buy another pen - that 1911M looks very tempting.

 

anyone tried their EF nibs? Are they really EF? I'm loving my VP nib which is a "F" but writes EF by my standards (which is much finer than my EF Pelikan)

KCat
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Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

 

Another novitiate to the Cult of Sailor.

 

The thing is, you really only need one Sailor because it will be the best pen you have for the rest of your life. Cross my heart.

To give equal time to the Sailor pens aren't for everyone ( just like Parkers aren't for everyone as well).

 

Had a music nibbed sailor and found it to be more like a wet bold. The pen was on the small side of medium with alright fit and finish, just a regular black pen. The nib wasn't amazing nib of wonder that I expected. Sold the pen and haven't looked back since.

Did buy a $2 sailor pen and it's a nice folded steel nib.

 

Kurt H

 

They're nice just not a fetish object to me

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To give equal time to the Sailor pens aren't for everyone ( just like Parkers aren't for everyone as well).

 

Had a music nibbed sailor and found it to be more like a wet bold.

I didn't care for the music nib either - I just tried one out in the store. To me it was little more than a huge, wet stub.

 

The salesperson was trying to convince me otherwise and stabbed the paper to show how "flexible" it was. I think she writes copy for Levenger.

 

I'm more intrigued by the 1911M because the regular 1911 is much too large for my hand. Plus I like the bright colors.

KCat
Save animal lives - support your local animal shelter

My personal blog https://kcdockalscribbling.com

My nature blog https://kcbeachscribbles.com
Venerable are letters, infinitely brave, forlorn, and lost. V. Woolf, Jacob's Room

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I posted previously:

1. a review

2. writing sample with a 1911M in Navy in med 14kt nib here

3. photo of the pen in comparison with some other pens I had on that day.

 

Nib width is the same as regular size 1911 that has 21kt gold nib.

Writes just as smooth.

Nib shape (as in the whole gold nib) looks smaller.

Solid plastic and nice gold trim=do not look cheap as in e.g. Platinum or Namiki Falcon.

Edited by KCkc
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Hi Fulcanelli,

 

Regarding the nibs: I meant tipping material wise , and style, rather than gold content.

 

Kind regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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Hi KCat.

 

The F is an EF in US and European standards. At least the one I tried was extremely fine...

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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I'm really quite excited about getting a Sailor. I have done a few somersaults on this and have decided to go ahead and get the 1911 Color series (gotta have a bright red pen!) and I'll see about getting another around Christmas time. I will never need another pen? I hardly think so. I doubt that many of us here could live without more pens. Perhaps my local dealer has a demo nib I can try and see which size nib I want.

 

I'm not a large person and I do like small-ish pens. I have five Pelikans, incl. a M800 and a M200. Of the two, for writing, I prefer the M200. I love that pen. It's small-ish but holds enough ink for me for the amount I normally write.

 

No one pen will do everything for me. I discovered some years ago (make that some decades ago) that I'm the sort of person who senses a different feel with each and every pen (type) and a particular writing situation might feel really nice with one particular pen over another, and at other times, this can reverse.

 

My new Sailor should be landing shore in a few weeks. I'm very excited.

 

I must say, I do learn quite a bit here whenever I ask one of these questions because many of the members add so much more to their comments, and I'm the sort that likes to read all the extras.

 

Thanks.

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I have realized that I, in fact, have one other pen that has the same "floating" nib sensation that I get using my Sailor. It's a copper colored Esterbrook J-series with a 2668 nib.

 

A lot of my pens I use like I'm digging for oil. I write really hard, really fast. For a fountain pen, anyway. That's a mistake with an Estie. At first, it feels all scratchy, and then I remember to find the sweet spot (and it has a big one) and zoom, there it goes, across the page like Luke Skywalker's Land-Speeder. ZING! I gotta fill this one up and use it more often.

 

Inks that bleed through paper on other pens don't bleed in the Esterbrook because I'm not chewing my way across the paper like I do with a nice stiff Pelikan or Waterman medium.

 

Oh, and I'm excited for you getting a Sailor. I meant to tell you that. What size nib do you normally use?

 

 

http://www.swisherpens.com/Newpens/Sailor/Music/Sailor_Nibs.jpg

 

Here is a handy nib chart that was posted at Swisherpens. The Music nib, I suspect, is (as has been so vividly described here) a giant, wet, stub. The Zoom, apparently, offers the greatest flexibility in that the line gets thicker and thinner according to which angle you hold the pen at. I am big on medium nibs, so I got a Japanese Bold, which is pretty generous, and oh, sooooooo, smooooooooooooooth.

 

Next time, whenever it becomes time to get another Sailor pen, I will get a Japanese Medium. The Bold is really too bold to write in Japanese. You need a finer nib for that, which is why I suspect their extra fine is sooooo tiny. I have heard that it is just about the best extra-fine nib out there. I want to talk to someone who has tried one who likes finer nibs and see what they have to say.

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I do think that the Japanese are still not as familiar with crafting stub nibs as we are here in North America or the UK and I recall comments about this concerning Nakaya pens some time ago. This was a nib type that was and probably still is very uncommon in Japan with fine and extra fine nibs taking precedence.

 

If Japenese pens have come to the spa it has never been for repair but to have adjustments made to their nibs. After seeing so many and owning a few I can say that I have been very pleased with the level of craftsmanship and performance of most of the Japanese pens I have handled.

Please visit http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/

Please direct repair inquiries to capitalpen@shaw.ca

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What size nib do you normally use?

I tend to use F points the most, and like thin, clean lines. I also prefer rich jet black ink on bleached white paper, though I am writing on Moleskine journal pages the most. Big wet thick lines do not work with my style.

 

That's the exact chart I used to determine nib size! I've bought some Pelikans from Swisher before.

 

Thanks.

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I am thinking that eventually I will own two Sailors, if for no other reason than to have both F and M nibs.

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