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Comparing the Flat Top Pens from Sailor and Pilot

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
In the past I've posted about the Pilot, Sailor and Platinum "Balance" style pens but for this series I'd like to concentrate on the Flat Top ones. Platinum does not offer a similar selection under their branding so for this it will be just Sailor and Pilot. I will begin with the larger ones first.

The Sailor series starts with the King of Pen Pro Gear while from Pilot I will look at the Custom (why is it not a Custom Heritage model) 845. Both will be black with gold furniture.

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First the BORING DETAILS.

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In the past I have reviewed a Pilot Custom 845 in Vermilion and found it a difficult and confusing pen. I really wanted to like it but found it was one of the few pens I simply could not enjoy so sold it. That one had a BB nib so I ordered a Medium nib black version and this one I found far more pleasant, yet still a difficult and confusing pen. It's really close to being a great pen but still falls short when compared to other somewhat similar pens I own.

The Urushi on this versions has greater depth than the vermilion urushi but still nowhere near the depth found on a Platinum Izumo or Nakaya. This example is still moderately wet but no where near the gusher of the vermilion and the medium nib is smooth, controllable and responsive. But while there were no discernible seams on the section of the vermilion whether checked with a loupe or by feel, this on definitely has seams and they are prominent enough to catch with a fingernail. I have a 743 that uses the same section but as with the vermilion the 743 has no discernible seams on the section.

If this is supposed to be the best pen marketed under the Pilot brand why can they not deliver one where you do not see or feel the seams on the section?

As with the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear this is a cartridge/converter and uses Pilot's proprietary versions.

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The Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear being reviewed is the basic resin/plastic model. It is slightly shorter than the Pilot Custom 845 when capped, unposted or posted but also considerably wider.

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Like the Pilot Custom 845 the KoP Pro Gear is a cartridge/converter pen and uses Sailor's proprietary versions.

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Notice how much more metal there is compared to the inside of the Pilot Custom 845.

BUT... it is precisely that extra metal that makes this pen one of the absolute finest pens I own. That extra metal sits forward of where the pen body sits on the webbing between my thump and hand when writing. That gives the pen a slight forward bias in balance. Yet The cap weighs 12.8g while the section with a cartridge inserted weighs 12.8g. That means when used posted the balance point falls exactly at the webbing between thump and hand and the pen feels weightless. The only pens I can think of that balance so well are the Sheaffer pens built on the PFM/Legacy model, Montegrappa Classicas, Aurora Hastil and the ST Dupont Orpheo/Olympios.

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The pen also fits perfectly in my shirt pockets and has perhaps the best, most pocket friendly clip I've ever found. Unfortunately the Pilot Custom 845 uses the ball end Custom clip that is among the most pocket unfriendly clips I've found but more on the when we move on to the other sizes.

In summary; I can find absolutely nothing I'd change on the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear and the Pilot Custom 845 once again while there is absolutely nothing truly bad about the 845 is is even more disappointing that they did not take the few extra steps that would have made it a GREAT pen.
 
Thanks for the reviews and comparison. I've often seen the Sailor Pro Gear and wondered how it compares to the 1911 in terms of quality and feel in hand.
 

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
Thanks for the reviews and comparison. I've often seen the Sailor Pro Gear and wondered how it compares to the 1911 in terms of quality and feel in hand.

I found they feel about the same but the Pro Gear form factor fits better in shirt pockets.

The rest of the family
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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Where was this thread hiding? Not sure how I missed seeing it ... oh right, I had foot surgery that Thursday. :blushing:

Very informative, great photos, and I learned a lot. I didn't even know there existed a King of Pen Pro Gear. I'm lucky enough to have tried the giant King of pen in ebonite -- whew, what a pen! I still like the cigar shape of the Montblanc style but I can see myself with regular black Pro Gear 130mm.

Enjoy those!
 

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
Where was this thread hiding? Not sure how I missed seeing it ... oh right, I had foot surgery that Thursday. :blushing:

Very informative, great photos, and I learned a lot. I didn't even know there existed a King of Pen Pro Gear. I'm lucky enough to have tried the giant King of pen in ebonite -- whew, what a pen! I still like the cigar shape of the Montblanc style but I can see myself with regular black Pro Gear 130mm.

Enjoy those!

The "Balance" shape pens are also great.

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In size, the Pilot 743 or 823 are about the same length as the Sailor 1911 KoP but again, skinnier.

From top" Platinum Izumo, Sailor 1911 KoP ST, Nakaya Portable Writer, Danitrio Takumi, Pilot Custom 743
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I really do love the Sailor pens.

jar, what's your take on the more esoteric nibs they offer (besides the typical F, M and B)?
 

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
I really do love the Sailor pens.

jar, what's your take on the more esoteric nibs they offer (besides the typical F, M and B)?

Specialty nibs are, well, specialty nibs. They are designed to do some unusual function. If you need a tool for that function then they may be great.

A few of their nibs though do come across as "I bet I can get people to actually pay for this" projects.

However if you plan on writing in a western script or print they really offer little.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I really do love the Sailor pens.

jar, what's your take on the more esoteric nibs they offer (besides the typical F, M and B)?

Specialty nibs are, well, specialty nibs. They are designed to do some unusual function. If you need a tool for that function then they may be great.

A few of their nibs though do come across as "I bet I can get people to actually pay for this" projects.

However if you plan on writing in a western script or print they really offer little.

I have a number of the Sailor specialty nibs. My favourite for daily use is the naginata togi, which I could best describe as a "ninety degree stub" where you get a thin vertical stroke and thick horizontal; this is offered in a "MF", "M". and "B" ... it appears that the MF is the one with the most line variation, and it's the one I have (several of them, in fact.) Unless you need a fine nib for small handwriting, it's one I would say would make a good daily-use pen.

I have dabbled a bit in other Nagahara nibs, and on the whole found them enjoyable to use, but generally with a very large line that makes them hard to use for lengthy use or dense note-taking as I have to increase my font size to avoid one big blur. If you would use a 1.5mm stub nib in daily use, then these would fit right in as an enjoyable alternative. My one other concern is that these are thirsty nibs, and only come with the Sailor converter rather than a REALO piston-fill, so you have limited use before needing to refill. (That may or may not be an issue ... decide for yourself based on your own needs.)

The one Nagahara nib that seems ... pointless ... is the Concorde nib. Basically they take a naginata togi and bend it over so you only write with the very tip, and get no line variation. Don't bother with that one; just get a normal 1911 nib in whatever thickness you want.

Bottom line ... I would strongly urge you to get a MF naginata togi.

(Beware of getting a "naginata nib" ... "naginata" is a Sailor term for the size of the whole nib, being longer than a normal nib, which reminded the makers of a mediaeval Japanese spear/halberd called the "naginata". So, a longer/larger nib is sold as "naginata". But those have the regular B/M/F tips. If you get a "naginata togi", that is where you get a naginata nib with the specialty tip, which is what you want. You can also get a "naginata sai-bi togi" which is super-extra fine, in case you need to sign your name on a grain of rice.)



Sailor Specialty Nibs | Classic Fountain Pens
 
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