Pelikan Nib Vs Sailor Nib

[Soer]

Can we say that the Sailor nibs are superior to Pelikan nib.

 

Or am I wrong. :crybaby:

[torstar]

I prefer Sailor nibs to Pelikan but would not conclude they are superior.

 

And Sailor advocates are often guilty of egregious overhyping of the "buttery smoothness" of the nibs.

[hari317]

We certainly cannot say that, IMO.

[lemanfan]

And Sailor advocates are often guilty of egregious overhyping of the "buttery smoothness" of the nibs.

 

I'm not the most experienced of fountain pen users, but I'd agree with that. Something a bit "dry" about the writing feeling, even when laying a wet line. That's my experience of three brand new Sailors.

 

Still like the design and the overall feeling though.

 

My only pelican is vintage with unknown history, so I shan't compare the two.

[smk]

How can one answer such an open ended question?

 

Nibs can be assessed on a number of criteria which can only help with choosing one that is most likely to satisfy a set of requirements. There is no absolute scale on which nibs can be compared to one another.

 

Salman

[torstar]

And Sailor advocates are often guilty of egregious overhyping of the "buttery smoothness" of the nibs.

 

I'm not the most experienced of fountain pen users, but I'd agree with that. Something a bit "dry" about the writing feeling, even when laying a wet line. That's my experience of three brand new Sailors.

 

Still like the design and the overall feeling though.

 

My only pelican is vintage with unknown history, so I shan't compare the two.

 

 

 

The whole package of paper, ink, and nib changes when any of those variables changes.

 

My Sailors nibs are very smooth on some types of paper and toothy on others.

 

If I only wrote on one type of paper for the next 40 years it might be correct to say the Sailor is always buttery smooth.

[NedC]

I do appreciate that when Sailor labels a nib as fine or extra fine it actually is, Pelikan's sizing seems wildly inconsistent, I have newer Pelikan extra fines that are not appreciably finer than a medium Pelikan nib from the 1990s. I've also received woefully misaligned steel nibs from Pelikan, well one woefully misaligned and another just slightly. On the other hand, I have not had any flow problems with my Pelikans but have had some ink flow issues with lower end Sailors.

[thomps000]

I'm between the two pens as well. Sailor Sapporo or Pelikan M215. Hmm decisions...have to sell the Lamy 2000 and Visconti Van Gogh that were gifts first though I guess.

[humsin]

Hmmmm, I was not impressed with the EF nib on the 1911...it had quite a bit of tooth. In comparison, Pelikan nibs (at least on the M1000) have a small amount of feedback while being very smooth. Oh and Pelikan nibs are springy =)

[lemanfan]

I wonder how much of the difference that people notice is just adjustment issues? My Sailors got much more to my liking with just a little DIY nib adjustment (slight slight separating of the tines, creating a better flow) and my Pelikan is currently of to a nibmeister for some TLC.

[Leftytoo]

Owning both, I'd say both are very good. The Sailor has a tad better feed, starts instantly; the Pelikan gold nibs feel softer and more rounded. Take your pick.

Bob

[pajaro]

Both have drawbacks, and are about even. I like Cross, Sheaffer, Pilot and Montblanc bether than either. Actually, I think I like Esterbrook better than either Sailor or Pelikan.

[82Greg]

I see no hope for a consensus. I have a couple of more Pelikans than Sailors. Both are very good. Since individual tastes very, I don't see a one for one comparison. Further, since the nibs are not interchangeable, but part of the overall pen, I think the proper comparison would be like pens (roughly a 1911 large for an M800 using comparable nibs).If you systemically dislike one brand over another, then focus on the brand you like.

 

If you are talking second hand pens, I've taken some Pelikans bought used to nibmeisters who considerably improved on the original used nibs. IMHO, all mass produced (and most used) pens could use some TLC from a nibmeister.

[Ledjeffelin]

My experience has been with five Sailor 1911 (full size) models with fine, medium, broad and music nibs and they have each been flawless. Flawless meaning they required no nib tweaking, no skipping or slow starts were experienced and they wrote well on every type of paper I typically used. They also worked well with many different types and brands of ink.

 

I cannot say the same for the many Pelikans I have owned and no doubt my experience with Sailor is extraordinary but if one is looking for a reliable well made pen, I am going to point them towards Sailor.

 

However, with all that praise for Sailor I don't use them as much as my well tuned Pelikan 800 and MB 146. While the Sailors have been completely reliable and trouble free, for me they are just a little too utilitarian and lack the intangible appeal of the Pelikan and MB.

[tonydent84]

I do appreciate that when Sailor labels a nib as fine or extra fine it actually is, Pelikan's sizing seems wildly inconsistent, I have newer Pelikan extra fines that are not appreciably finer than a medium Pelikan nib from the 1990s. I've also received woefully misaligned steel nibs from Pelikan, well one woefully misaligned and another just slightly. On the other hand, I have not had any flow problems with my Pelikans but have had some ink flow issues with lower end Sailors.

 

I've noticed the same thing with the Pelikans. Their sizes are really inconsistent. But even among the modern pens I find their sizes to be different from each other (but I attribute these differences to the nib material...perhaps they purposely make a gold extra fine write broader than a steel extra fine...I don't know).

 

If you are talking second hand pens, I've taken some Pelikans bought used to nibmeisters who considerably improved on the original used nibs. IMHO, all mass produced (and most used) pens could use some TLC from a nibmeister.

This is the sad truth. Majority of my pens needed serious tuning. The only pens that wrote for me right out of the box without needing any tuning were probably from Cross and Sheaffer, with very few from other brands like Waterman, Pelikan and even Pilot. But once I got the pens back from a nibmeister, they wrote unbelievably well. Now when I buy new pens, I try to budget the purchase to include a trip to a nibmeister (unless it's a cheaper pen that I wouldn't mind tweaking myself).

Edited August 31, 2012 by tonydent84

[humsin]

I do appreciate that when Sailor labels a nib as fine or extra fine it actually is, Pelikan's sizing seems wildly inconsistent, I have newer Pelikan extra fines that are not appreciably finer than a medium Pelikan nib from the 1990s. I've also received woefully misaligned steel nibs from Pelikan, well one woefully misaligned and another just slightly. On the other hand, I have not had any flow problems with my Pelikans but have had some ink flow issues with lower end Sailors.

 

I've noticed the same thing with the Pelikans. Their sizes are really inconsistent. But even among the modern pens I find their sizes to be different from each other (but I attribute these differences to the nib material...perhaps they purposely make a gold extra fine write broader than a steel extra fine...I don't know).

 

If you are talking second hand pens, I've taken some Pelikans bought used to nibmeisters who considerably improved on the original used nibs. IMHO, all mass produced (and most used) pens could use some TLC from a nibmeister.

This is the sad truth. Majority of my pens needed serious tuning. The only pens that wrote for me right out of the box without needing any tuning were probably from Cross and Sheaffer, with very few from other brands like Waterman, Pelikan and even Pilot. But once I got the pens back from a nibmeister, they wrote unbelievably well. Now when I buy new pens, I try to budget the purchase to include a trip to a nibmeister (unless it's a cheaper pen that I wouldn't mind tweaking myself).

 

I have had luck with the Homo Sapiens nib