Great deal on Sailor King of Pen

[lionelc]

thanks @deuter, love a good deal

[J-tec]

I have to thank all of you in this thread for keeping it going. I pulled the trigger back in late April / Early May and got a KOP M nib for $360. It has completely changed my writing experience in my morning journaling - so much so that I'm selling all of my other pens now as that's it for me. I think I'm a KOP only guy from now on. Never thought such a pen could completely blow my mind but it happened. I bought a used split ebonite nib MB149 thinking that would be my grail pen/always go-to pen, no comparison - selling it as soon as it gets cleaned. I swapped the converter for one of Sailor's refillable cartridges with a ink syringe and solved that insane ink consumption issue.

 

THANK YOU ALL for keeping this updated and on top of this specific pen, it has opened my eyes to a whole new world. With that said, it's at $420 right now and has been for the past few weeks (I've been checking) - Amazon Link

[Merrick]

7 hours ago, J-tec said:

I have to thank all of you in this thread for keeping it going. I pulled the trigger back in late April / Early May and got a KOP M nib for $360. It has completely changed my writing experience in my morning journaling - so much so that I'm selling all of my other pens now as that's it for me. I think I'm a KOP only guy from now on. Never thought such a pen could completely blow my mind but it happened. I bought a used split ebonite nib MB149 thinking that would be my grail pen/always go-to pen, no comparison - selling it as soon as it gets cleaned. I swapped the converter for one of Sailor's refillable cartridges with a ink syringe and solved that insane ink consumption issue.

 

THANK YOU ALL for keeping this updated and on top of this specific pen, it has opened my eyes to a whole new world. With that said, it's at $420 right now and has been for the past few weeks (I've been checking) - Amazon Link

Once you get a KoP, if it clicks with you there’s very little that can compare. I’d probably be happy with a few Sailors and Platinums and little else if push came to shove. Maybe some custom bodies for the Platinum nibs since their plastics aren’t the highest quality. 

[RJS]

On 5/11/2024 at 12:25 AM, RJS said:

The old one looked nicer...

Having handled the new one vs the old one side by side now, I can say my opinion has changed. I like the new logo better, though I thought the busy looking old nib was also attractive.

[RJS]

20 minutes ago, Merrick said:

I’d probably be happy with a few Sailors and Platinums and little else if push came to shove. 

I'd agree with this, if I was allowed some Pilot/Namiki pens also. I'm not sure I'd actually sell all my other pens, but the pens I add to my collection from now on will be mostly Japanese. I know this is somehow a divisive opinion on these boards, but it's hard to understand why.

[RJS]

On 4/21/2024 at 5:40 PM, Mercian said:

This sounds an awful lot like the VAT scam that WH Smith used to pull on the customers of its airside (i.e. legally outside the country, and therefore Duty-free) airport shops here in the UK.

 

As ‘Deutsche Post’ is now just one part of the private, for-Profit, ‘DHL Group’ business, I suspect that the company may be subjecting its captive-market ‘customers’ to a similar wheeze.

 

N.b. you must of course bear in mind that I am not only a curmudgeonly old geezer, but also one who now has a nasty rash starting to develop around the edges of his Tinfoil Hat 😉

Royal Mail have clearly been alerted to DHL's keenness to charge every parcel, so now give a list of instructions on their website to follow to dodge them, which includes the necessity to list every parcel as a gift if you want to avoid charges, even if you're sending yourself your own items (or a family member is sending your items to you). Even then you'll probably still get charged, as I have been 100% of times so far, but at least you can dispute it if the gift box is ticked and you filled everything out perfectly.

[Mercian]

6 minutes ago, RJS said:

I'd agree with this, if I was allowed some Pilot/Namiki pens also. I'm not sure I'd actually sell all my other pens, but the pens I add to my collection from now on will be mostly Japanese. I know this is somehow a divisive opinion on these boards, but it's hard to understand why.

I too don’t understand why anyone would get upset about another person’s personal preferences.

 

I mean, I personally don’t like the look of gold-coloured trim on black pens, but I don’t get upset if somebody else loves that look. (Which is a good thing for me, because lots of people do!)

Also, as my handwriting is a cramped and hastily-rushed scrawl, I personally don’t like nibs that are very broad - but I don’t think that people who prefer broad nibs are in any way ‘wrong’.

 

I would get upset if somebody wished/tried to restrict/remove my ability to buy the pens (or anything else) that suit my personal tastes, especially if their ‘reasoning’ is only that those preferences are different to their own personal preferences.

But somebody expressing their desire to buy e.g. a black pen with gold trim and a very broad nib isn’t restricting my ability to access pens that suit my personal preferences.

So, why should I feel any need to get upset about it? 🤷‍♂️

[RJS]

Just now, Mercian said:

I too don’t understand why anyone would get upset about another person’s personal preferences.

 

I mean, I personally don’t like the look of gold-coloured trim on black pens, but I don’t get upset if somebody else loves that look. (Which is a good thing for me, because lots of people do!)

Also, as my handwriting is a cramped and hastily-rushed scrawl, I personally don’t like nibs that are very broad - but I don’t think that people who prefer broad nibs are in any way ‘wrong’.

 

I would get upset if somebody wished/tried to restrict/remove my ability to buy the pens (or anything else) that suit my personal tastes, especially if their ‘reasoning’ is only that those preferences are different to their own personal preferences.

But somebody expressing their desire to buy e.g. a black pen with gold trim and a very broad nib isn’t restricting my ability to access pens that suit my personal preferences.

So, why should I feel any need to get upset about it? 🤷‍♂️

Agreed. Two folks felt it necessary to insult me for my opinion/ecperiences this week, on these boards. One went as far as to insult the intelligence of anyone that finds fault in any product. I agree with you and don't see why pen opinions could upset someone.

[Merrick]

1 hour ago, RJS said:

I'd agree with this, if I was allowed some Pilot/Namiki pens also. I'm not sure I'd actually sell all my other pens, but the pens I add to my collection from now on will be mostly Japanese. I know this is somehow a divisive opinion on these boards, but it's hard to understand why.

 

Definitely seems odd given that no one gets flack for collecting multiple models of a single vintage pen or any other collecting niche I've seen. I'm with you, I don't look much at European/American/Chinese pens anymore. The only ones I'm somewhat interested in outside of Japan are a few of the Indian ones.

 

Edit: Oh do you mean the pushback you got on the Lamy nib QC in the Mitsubishi buys Lamy thread? I don't see anyone there telling you that you are wrong for preferring Japanese pens.

[RJS]

10 minutes ago, Merrick said:

 

Definitely seems odd given that no one gets flack for collecting multiple models of a single vintage pen or any other collecting niche I've seen. I'm with you, I don't look much at European/American/Chinese pens anymore. The only ones I'm somewhat interested in outside of Japan are a few of the Indian ones.

Indian pens? I bought an Indian ink a couple of weeks ago, but no pens from there yet. Any recommendations? The Endless Alchemy ink I got, Wizard's Pencil, was top notch, by the way.

[Merrick]

Just now, RJS said:

Indian pens? I bought an Indian ink a couple of weeks ago, but no pens from there yet. Any recommendations? The Endless Alchemy ink I got, Wizard's Pencil, was top notch, by the way.

I've wanted to try Endless Alchemy!

 

I haven't used any Indian pens yet so I cannot recommend any to you, but I want to try at least one Ranga pen and a Magna Carta 650 at some point.

[RJS]

14 minutes ago, Merrick said:

I've wanted to try Endless Alchemy!

 

I haven't used any Indian pens yet so I cannot recommend any to you, but I want to try at least one Ranga pen and a Magna Carta 650 at some point.

I'll buy another of their inks soon. The bottle is what attracted me to them, but I'm glad the ink inside lives up to it. Great shading on Iroful paper, and an attractive shade of grey that has been impeccably well behaved on a variety of papers. The packaging is also thoughtful, and I appreciate the care and attention that went into it.

[womble21]

On 6/13/2024 at 4:12 PM, RJS said:

Royal Mail have clearly been alerted to DHL's keenness to charge every parcel, so now give a list of instructions on their website to follow to dodge them, which includes the necessity to list every parcel as a gift if you want to avoid charges, even if you're sending yourself your own items (or a family member is sending your items to you). Even then you'll probably still get charged, as I have been 100% of times so far, but at least you can dispute it if the gift box is ticked and you filled everything out perfectly.

That sounds quite useful. Would I be able to ask for a link please? I can't seem to find it on their site.

[RJS]

14 hours ago, womble21 said:

That sounds quite useful. Would I be able to ask for a link please? I can't seem to find it on their site.

Frustratingly, I'm not sure how to find it again. When the most recent parcel arrived and we had to pay for it, it came with a DHL sticker with a QR code attached, with a FAQ in German listing reasons the charge might have occurred. There it listed the fact that only parcels that ticked the "gift" box could avoid charges with them. The page had a link to Royal Mail, which contained similar information about sending to Germany and DHL's policies.
 

Edit: My partner showed me the pages on her laptop. I'll ask her after work if she can find them again in her history. (The packaging has gone.)

[Chimera01]

On 6/13/2024 at 8:02 AM, J-tec said:

I have to thank all of you in this thread for keeping it going. I pulled the trigger back in late April / Early May and got a KOP M nib for $360. It has completely changed my writing experience in my morning journaling - so much so that I'm selling all of my other pens now as that's it for me. I think I'm a KOP only guy from now on. Never thought such a pen could completely blow my mind but it happened.

Same thing happened to me. If you're a Sailor KOP person, then that's it. I also really got into the Cross Peerless 125, whose nibs were all made by Sailor [and some of which can be picked up for quite reasonable prices second-hand].

[Merrick]

While the King of Pen is my favorite pen, I would not say it's completely ruined me for all other pens. It has however ruined me for most pens with nibs below #6 and almost all nibs that are nails. Not entirely in either case but between the King of Pen nib and the experience I've had with the Platinum 3776 Soft Fine nib, I will only be pursuing larger size bouncy/soft nibs from now on.

[deuter]

My Sailor KoP Medium nib arrived today, still early days but I was planning to sell my KoP brond but both write so differently I don't feel like selling it.

The line width difference between the two is marginal.

[mke]

8 hours ago, deuter said:

I was planning to sell my KoP

 

Good luck with that. I had a KoP for sale, the only person interested offered 140-170 USD if it included free shipping. The second-hand market is more or less down.

 

[deuter]

8 hours ago, mke said:

 

Good luck with that. I had a KoP for sale, the only person interested offered 140-170 USD if it included free shipping. The second-hand market is more or less down.

 

I decided to send the Medium nib KoP back for a refund. It’s too close to the broad in the line width and also a little rough compared to my surprisingly well tuned broad.

[Karmachanic]

10 hours ago, deuter said:

It’s too close to the broad in the line

 

I found this video from Yoseka helpful.