Vintage Sailor Precious Wood - 2 Variations

[aggoo]

This is my first review, and needless to say, won't be very good, but one has to start somewhere.

 

My collection is big enough (not in the hundreds yet) I feel it is time to share it with other enthusiasts; after all that's part of the appeal of this wonderful hobby.

 

Apologies upfront for my exceptionally poor photography skills. I have neither the skill, patience, inclination nor equipment to produce photographs of acceptable quality, but please feel free to advise me on improvement strategies using a Samsung Galaxy S6.

 

 

For my first review I have chosen 2 lovely vintage Sailors from the Precious Wood series. I am still trying to research these pens in greater detail, but one would appear to be a very early example from the mid 1960s and the other perhaps the late 1980s. Bruno Taut's blog http://estilofilos.blogspot.com.au/ is an exceptional resource for all things Japanese, and I credit him with much of the information posted here on these pens.

 

 

 

The Precious Wood series was introduced in 1968 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Meiji period in Japan. The first pen was apparently made in ebony wood, but many other designs followed in plain ebony and ironwood as well as decorative maki-e designs of varying complexity. The basic architecture has remained the same throughout the years until the current Precious Wood series was released, which is based on a different platform, so to speak. I do not have any of the modern pens, but they appear simpler and perhaps lower quality. They are definitely a lot cheaper than the original series retailed for. The original series does live on today in exquisitely decorated maki-e versions retailing for $10,000 and up!!!

 

 

The 2 pens featured here are quite different beasts in nearly all facets. The older pen is a simple lacquered wood - Ironwood I think, but the lacquer is rich and glossy. It may be clear urushi, but I wouldn't honestly have a clue. It seems more fragile perhaps, but that may be through use and age rather than its original construction. The nib is a very springy, yet quite firm 18K gold fine, and reminds me of a Waterman Master 18K I used to have. I'd say it's the geometry of the nib rather than the alloy in this case. The same nib and section appears on more common Sailor pocket pens from the 1960s, which is what leads me to believe this is such an early pen. The clip is also unusual, being a curved design with a split down the middle. This is the only Precious Wood example I've ever seen with this type of clip. This pen is 138mm long and weighs 25 grams. It somehow feels lighter though, because it is so well balanced.

 

 

 

The other pen is altogether more modern in feel. This may be because it has never actually been inked and used. I have dipped it and it writes a Japanese medium very smoothly and has a much softer feel to the nib. The nib is a semi-hooded design in 21K gold. All the other pens I have seen in this series feature the same style nib, but can be in 18, 21 or even 23K gold. In build quality I would compare it vary favourably with a St Dupont. It has the same super precise and damped sensation when capping as a St Dupont Olympio. Those who have a Dupont will know exactly what I'm talking about. It just seems very solid. Even though it shares the same dimensions and is only 2 grams heavier than the early pen, it feels considerably sturdier and chunkier in the hand. I'd venture to suggest the extra weight is in the nib/section and this is why it feels this way. I must say, I'm not a fan of lightweight pens in general. The clip is the normal one found on these pens being a deeply engraved straight clip. Unusual, but delightful and another reminder that this is not the average fountain pen.

 

 

 

I suppose this pen is built with ebony wood as a base for the special Japanese lacquer. It is perfectly black and I cannot see any grain to my eyes, but since all of these pens are built on wood rather than ebonite, it must be ebony underneath. All the decorated versions I have seen have used some form of maki-e. These range from basic, flat and simple designs costing about $800 to the pens referenced earlier utilising multiple techniques, lots of gold powder and costing many $$$$. My pen has no gold powder at all, and is decorated in an unusual form of coloured rings of different designs.

 

 

 

I contacted Sailor about this pen a few years back and although they didn't have much information, they told me it was called Koma Nuri, and is a technique found on Japanese lacquer-ware designed to emulate a spinning top! A quick google images search for this term will show you similar designs on plates, bowls etc. They thought the pen dated to the late 80s, and would have been produced in maybe low double figures at a price of 100,000 Yen. You can tell it is handmade because the design is not uniform all the way around but the finish is perfectly smooth. As with all Urushi it only show's its true brilliance in bright light or sunlight. It can appear very dull and lifeless under fluorescent office lighting. Interestingly, the plain Ironwood pen still looks beautiful under the same conditions.

 

 

 

I hope this wordy review proves useful to someone. Anybody with interest in these sorts of pens should check out the blog I referenced earlier. I have emailed Bruno for his opinion on these 2 pens and to see if he has any further information. Maybe I'll be able to do an update later.

[visvamitra]

Nice pens, thank you for the review.

[mongrelnomad]

Lovely review of lovely pens. I have an ebony like yours - modern, though, with maki-e and an 18k nib - and it is exquisite.

 

Enjoy them with good health.

[aggoo]

Lovely review of lovely pens. I have an ebony like yours - modern, though, with maki-e and an 18k nib - and it is exquisite.

 

Enjoy them with good health.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Would love to see yours. These are so nice and different compared to standard Sailor offerings, although my only other Sailor is a 1911. Maybe a KOP would be of similar quality.

[rwilsonedn]

Thanks for a thoughtful and informative review of two very interesting pens. And welcome to FPN! With contributions like this one you will make a lot of friends here, I think.

ron

[jmccarty3]

Thank you for your excellent review of these two interesting pens. Hope you will continue.

 

I like the second pen's semi-hooded nib, reminiscent of some of Montblanc's designs. The section inlays call to mind those of the Parker 61, although Zogan inlays also are seen on Japanese pens (they are an option on Nakayas).

 

I remember seeing the scrolled engraving on Sailor clips years ago in catalogs from Fahrney's and other sources. I've always though the pen would look much better without the engraving.

[aggoo]

Thanks to all who have commented kindly about this review. It's most encouraging and I think I'll try another one soon.

 

The semi-hooded nib is pretty, and it actually writes in a similar fashion to a Parker 65 - think very soft and slightly springy. Nothing like a Parker 51/61 in character, as those are real nails. I've sold all of mine, except for a solid gold 61, which is amazing, but I have a few 65s and they are very pleasant writers, similar to this Sailor..

 

The only MB hooded nib I've ever used was on a 72. I must say, it was one of the most amazing nibs I've had, but it's gone now . It was much springier than this Sailor.

[mongrelnomad]

 

Thanks for the kind words. Would love to see yours. These are so nice and different compared to standard Sailor offerings, although my only other Sailor is a 1911. Maybe a KOP would be of similar quality.

 

 

I only have a dodgy photo sent to Sailor prior to repair (the pen, with a few of its brethren, is now in Hiroshima for a tarnished cap)...

 

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj189/urban_alchemist/IMG_3718.jpeg

[raivtash]

This is a great review. I will soon have a Japanese SHEAFFER/sailor pen in this model. My pen is similar to the maki-e pen but carries the sheaffer logo and uses a sheaffer triumph nib unit. I will post a photo when I get the pen. Can’t wait …

[raivtash]

Here you go