Sailor 1911 V 1911M Review

[Bigeddie]

Hi All,

 

Long time lurker here, thought it was abut time I contributed.

 

I recently started a new course at uni, which has meant quitting my job and giving up some pay. It also means a lot of writing. This has led to an investment of a large proportion of my last pay cheque in pens and ink I read up on a lot of reviews here before spending anything, I hope this will be of use to people.

 

I know I was confused between the actual difference in the Sailor 1911 and the 1911m (m for midsize, also called the Sailor Profit), both pens reviewed well and I wasn't sure which one to go for. I bought the 1911m first on ebay at about £70 from engeika (engeika_finest_japanese_pen) - no affiliation but I would recommend, and a few days later picked up the 1911 at auction from the same seller for around £80. I paid an extra £10 postage on each pen for shipping to the UK. (I've subsequently bought another 1911m for my mother for Christmas, at auction it was around £50 shipped!) Please note that the 1911 is finished here with gold trim, the 1911m with silver trim; both sizes are available in both finishes.

 

Many of the things about the two pens are the same, both are fantastically built, both are C/C fillers and both come packaged in the same solid but understated blue sailor box. the following are the differences.

 

Physical Size:

1911 Dimensions: Length Capped - 141mm; Posted - 154mm

1911m Dimensions: Length Capped - 135mm; Posted - 147mm

The length of both pens is comfortable for my quite large hands, with the cap posted there is some girth as the top of the cap rests in your hand rather than the body of the pen. The 1911 is noticeably bigger, although there's not much between them in terms of comfort.

 

1911m and 1911 capped.

 

For comparison; 1911m, 1911, MB146 posted.

 

For comparison; MB146, 1911, 1911m, Parker Sonnet, Pilot 78g

 

Nibs:

The 1911 is a 21k gold nib, the 1911m is typically 14k although it is available with a 21k. Certainly between the two pens that I have, the 1911 nib is noticeably smother than the 1911m. I don't think that this is a result of the nib material, so much as the length of the nibs: the 1911 21k is about 22mm long, the 1911m 14k about 20mm. That extra 2mm makes a lot of difference in terms of the softness of the nib on paper, neither pen has much in the way of flex, the 14k is more of a nail, but a pleasant nail.

 

Both nibs are Hard-Medium, although the 1911 writes like a medium-fine, and the 1911 like a fine. I prefer finer nibs to broad and purchased after reading Japanese nibs tended to be one step narrower than European. From my experience this certainly seems to be the case.

 

1911 (gold) and 1911m (rhodium) nibs.

 

Aesthetics:

The only visable design differences between the two pens seems to be the clip, the rhodium is a smoothed angular design, the gold is in three steps. Not that it's a big difference.

 

Conclusion:

I am pleased with both pens, having used them over the last month or so I don't think I could say that I have a favourite. The 1911 tends to be filled with a functional colour, and the 1911m with something more interesting (PR Chocolate at the moment) certainly neither pen is disappointing, the major difference between the two is the smoothness of the nib and the difference in width. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either pen for the prices I have paid. If I could just have one it would be the 1911 (full size), it's the definitive 1911 and the smoothest nib I have experienced.

 

I hope people find this post useful, all feedback is welcome.

Thanks,

Ed

[Penong]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the helpfull review. I have a 1911m and am contemplating a 1911 as the next purchase so the review and partcularly the comparitive photos are welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Russell

[PacificCoastPen]

I bought a sailor 1911m from www.nibs.com and it is one of my favorites. Great pen, great nib. I couldn't be happier.

 

Good review.

[kcoen52]

Was definitely looking to sailor for my next pen; a 1911 in burgundy in fact. Thanks for the review

[saketb]

+1 on the 1911 in burgundy. The best thing about this pen is that the nib housing is of the same colour as the barrel.

 

engeika on ebay - highly recommend.

 

Great review.

[UkeDan]

Very cool comparison. I have a 1911M and small hands. Mine is a F. Smooth as all but much "finer" than any of my other fines (Peli 400 and Sheaffer Craftsman). I'm using Diamine Lavender and Sailor Jentle Black to good avail. Any other good inks for a sailor F nib???

[anaximander]

Very useful comparison. Thanks for posting. I got my first Sailor a few months ago and opted for the 1911m in red with a fine nib. Amazing pen! Filled almost constantly with J. Herbin Pearle Noir. Right now it's the only Japanese pen in my collection, but it has made me curious about others.

 

I know it took me a lot of thought to figure out whether I should order the full-size or mid-size 1911. I think your review will make the decision easier for some people.

[jde]

Good review. Very cool that you show us these two pens together!

The differences are very clear.

 

Sailor is famous for their nibs. I've only tried their 14K nibs and was not

more impressed for their smoothness over other pens. I look

forward to checking out the 21K nib to see what that's about.

[tanalasta]

Good review. Very cool that you show us these two pens together!

The differences are very clear.

 

Sailor is famous for their nibs. I've only tried their 14K nibs and was not

more impressed for their smoothness over other pens. I look

forward to checking out the 21K nib to see what that's about.

 

Thank you for the review and the size comparisons. They will certainly prove useful to people considering one over the other! I have not really noticed much difference when testing the 14k v the 21k nibs although prefer the larger, full sized pens. Sailor's speciality nibs are also quite unique and highly regarded - I personally feel the naginata togi N-MF nib is one of the most delightful, tactile nibs I have ever used.

 

Sailor are also well known for quite smooth EF nibs that are finer than their Western counterparts - short of a custom grind, needle points out of the box are hard to find.

 

The Sailor is lighter the MB 146 due to the lack of a piston mechanism ... I think I did a comparison somewhere on FPN ...

 

+1 for recommending nibs.com - he will ensure your pen writes perfectly on arrival!

[dgturner]

Thank you so much for the side-by-side size comparison with different pens (I have a Parker 75 [similar in size to the sonnet] and the Pilot 78G]). I can now be confident that I will be OK getting a 1911M new rather than trying to cram a 1911 Full-size into my budget.

[tinta]

For a seriously small-handed person like myself, a side-by-side comparison of similar pen models is of great value.

Nice work "Bigeddie".

I was fortunate enough to buy my first 1911-M in a well stocked brick & mortar shop, where they had both sizes on hand.

There is a fair jump in size between the two 1911s, once you actually handle them.

At least, that's been my experience.

[zoli]

Nice review.

 

It's rather difficult to choose which one to buy - maybe it would be the best to get both of them - But if I had to choose it would be probably the large one as it seems to be a little bit smaller than MB 146 (which I find just a little bit bigger than what I need).

 

Thanks!

[y_bauluck]

Thanks a lot for the size comparison

[rochester21]

This review is very interesting, i enjoyed the size comparison and nib comparison, both very relevant. I intend to buy a sailor, initially wanted the 1911 large, but after reading this i think i prefer the medium size, with the slightly stiffer nib. It`s much cheaper too- so thanks for posting this !

Edited October 2, 2012 by rochester21

[autopsy]

I've got a Sailor 1911 Large in Matte Black with Rhodium Trim with a medium nib (http://www.nibs.com/Sailor1911MatteBlack.html). It's gorgeous, and it writes like a dream. The nib is springy, juicy, and perfect! It writes better than the Platinum President I had in the same sized nib.

[kauloltran]

I don't like how the section tends to unscrew from the barrel whenever I unscrew the cap. It's rather annoying.

[tinta]

One of my 1911-Ms has a nib-unit that tends to loosen with some of my mid-size barrels. Just by keeping an eye on this nib-unit & snugging it up "gently" each time I uncap, seems to take care of this problem.

A tiny dab of dense Silicon grease on the male section threads may also help. My other eight 1911-Ms don't loosen at their section.

[branodncooley92]

Great review.

[A.Henry]

Hello,

 

Very nice review with excellent photos. Your comments have been most helpful at the present time even though your review goes back several years. Thank you.

 

A.Henry

[Peregrinator]

I am thinking of buying the Sailor 1911 Fresca BlueL. My question is on selection of the nib. I like a finer nib and have and EF on my Pilot M200 that works well. What size of Japanese nib would correspond to that? Thanks as always.