Sailor 14K Vs. 21K

[Bounce792]

So I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get a Sailor pen next, to round out my Japanese Big 3 and I was looking at the Pro Gear & Sapporo lines. I've only ever used 14K or 18K gold nibs and I see much difference in smoothness between the grades. Truthfully, I find my 3776 Century F nib and, CH912 w/ PO nib, Justus 95 F nib to be the smoothest pens I have and all of them have 14K nibs. I've used Pilot 18K nibs as a comparison and they don't seem any superior.

 

I've looked for threads and videos but no real comparison of Sailor's 14K and 21K nibs. And considering the price difference is about $100 for the same pen with different nibs, I'm also curious to know if the difference is worth that amount.

 

Thanks!

[Dr.Grace]

I don't believe there's any difference in how the nib feels. I think the 21K nibs are larger and are offered on the larger size pens. The 14K are OK as long as you're comfortable with smaller pens.

 

Also, I find that the main reason to buy a Sailor pen is for the specialty nibs, like the Naginata-togi or Concord. I've found their regular nibs to have a narrow sweet spot, and for some people they can feel toothy.

[Jezza]

The large size 1911/Pro Gear pens only come with 21k nibs. However, the smaller 1911M and Sapporo versions come with 14k nibs AND 21k. The latter 21k versions seem unique to Japan's domestic market. I have a 1911m with a 21k medium. It's nice, but no nicer than the 14k Sapporo I used to own. It comes down to size. If you want the larger version, you will get a 21k nib. All Sailor nibs also tend to have a pronounced "foot" to the tipping material. This is true of both 21k and 24k versions.

[Bounce792]

What do you mean by "foot" to the tipping material?

 

No difference in ink flow or feed system except to account for the sizes for the nibs?

 

Thanks!

[Jezza]

I mean that in my experience, Sailor nibs tend to have a flat spot on the bottom of the nib as opposed to a completely rounded tip. As a result, my Sailors tend to be a little bit more sensitive to changes in writing angle. The feed, however, looks to be the same in the 14k as in the 21k except for scale.