Sailor High Ace Neo V. Sailor Lecoule

[elippman]

Howdy,

 

I have never dipped into Sailor fountain pens and am considering giving them a try, but I don't have much of a budget for it and most of what I hear about them is about pens that cost more than $150. I won't be getting any of those soon, so I was wondering what people might recommend at the lower level. A quick glance through Jetpens reveals that they do have several lower-end options. The one that immediately caught my eye was the Lecoule, as the body is visually impressive. However, after reading this review, I'm conflicted. The Lecoule does cost almost $20 more than the Neo, and I'm generally one to balance everything on nib quality. Granted, I like thick pens over thin pens as a rule, but if there's no difference between the Neo nib and the Lecoule nib, I would go the Neo route. However, although it wasn't really addressed in the review, the nibs do look quite different, so I can't imagine that they perform the same. Anybody have experience with both pens that could help me decide?

 

Thanks!

[KellyMcJ]

I don't, but the neo really appeals to me and I will likely pick one up before too long!

[Olya]

I have both and both are great writers. Price isn't necessarily a factor for a good writing instrument. Eg the Lecoule and the Clear Candy (now discontinued it seems) share a nib, but the price difference is there. The Lecoule's body feels nicer, sturdier, than the Clear Candy though. The major difference in nibs is that the HighAce Neo is a fine and the Lecoule an MF, so the Lecoule is smoother and a hair broader. The Lecoule nib is also bigger and prettier looking, but flow & performance is great with both. Both are lightweight pens, the Neo is just quite slim, comparable to a Parker Jotter. The Lecoule is the same size as the Sapporo/ Pro Gear Slim (maybe a difference in 1mm or so tops - but I doubt it, seems to be exactly the same size), so the Lecoule will give you an idea about how the Sapporo feels. If I'm not mistaken, the Procolor 500 is also the same size as the 1911 Standard, so there you have also a cheaper alternative that's in dimensions the same as the more expensive line.

I haven't had any issues with either, so don't let one (or even a couple of) bad reviews deter you from buying a great pen; there's always a lemon!

[Mech-for-i]

Personally I would not go for any of them. None of them really are bad or having any problem, its just that at the price they are, there are just better pens out there from many made and models.

[Mrpink]

I didn't like either but thats just me. Their gold nibs are a different story though. Save your money for them. If I had to, it would be the lecoule (Sailor's Prera).

[elippman]

Personally I would not go for any of them. None of them really are bad or having any problem, its just that at the price they are, there are just better pens out there from many made and models.

 

Just out of curiosity, what do you think are some comparably priced pens to the Lecoule that are "just better"?

 

Also, I have heard a good deal about the gold-nibbed Sailors. I would go that route if I had the budget to jump from $15 or $30 to $150+, but that won't be for quite a while (barring some unforeseen financial windfall). Of course, if anyone knows where to buy a gold-nibbed Sailor at a much lower price, I'd be happy to hear it!

Edited June 21, 2017 by elippman

[Morphling27]

I'd honestly save if you want to try Sailor.

 

A quick look on the electronic bay, (ebay), shows many 1911S models at $100. Some have even a best offer and you could plead your case I'm sure and get it for less. Most reasonable offers I've given on there are typically accepted. I even saw just scrolling the first page a 1911 with a music nib, brand new for $110.

 

I lied and looked through more after I posted (I LOVE shopping for pens and love Sailor). I see a new one for $80, granted it's from Japan but they ship within a week most times. Shipping is $10 and that puts it still well under $100

 

The Sailor gold nibs are a dream. My 1911S is the older style, but it's my top or second best writer depending on the situation.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Morphling27

[sciumbasci]

Posting to bump and follow.

[elippman]

OK, you're starting to convince me. So much love for the gold nibs! I must admit that I'm not used to looking to ebay for pens. I tend to shop at the pen stores, not out of any ideological commitment, but more out of fear for what I might get on ebay. But I did look and saw the ones you were referring to. Maybe I will save up if I can get one around $100. That will still be the most I've ever spent on a pen, but you have to take the next step at some point, I suppose.

[gerigo]

I would agree with quite a few people here. I have the Lecoule. The lower end Sailors that don't have the gold nibs aren't representative of the writing experience Sailor delivers. If you really want to get the Sailor experience, save up. They smaller 14 k Sailor Pro gear slims are just above $150 I believe. If you can't wait, try and Young Profit. These have the gold nibs in a smaller simpler pen. I bought mine in Japan for around $70. Try looking around to see what you can get these for here.

[elippman]

OK, so I guess that brings me to my next question: Nib size. I don't use Japanese pens a whole lot. I have a few, but most of my pens have German nibs. Faber-Castells tend to be my favorites. Most of my writing is grading student papers, but if I got a $100+ pen, I might be looking for more than the fine/extra-fine types I usually need to write in margins effectively. What type of gold nib should one look for? How does it affect line width? Should I aim for something like a music nib?

[KellyMcJ]

OK, so I guess that brings me to my next question: Nib size. I don't use Japanese pens a whole lot. I have a few, but most of my pens have German nibs. Faber-Castells tend to be my favorites. Most of my writing is grading student papers, but if I got a $100+ pen, I might be looking for more than the fine/extra-fine types I usually need to write in margins effectively. What type of gold nib should one look for? How does it affect line width? Should I aim for something like a music nib?

A music nib will be like a stub; too wide for marginalia.

 

Other than that I don't know. Do you want any flex? I would think flex could make writing very small difficult but I could be wrong. Also not all flex or softness is created equal.

[Mrpink]

My faber castell loom medium is the same width as the Sailor 1911 broad. This is generally speaking, different inks and paper will change it. The Montblanc toffee brown makes my Sailor 1911 line width thinner than the FB Loom with Pelikan ink in it. Your nibs and paper will vary to everyone though.

[elippman]

So flex is the next place I was going to go with this. It seems like the answer to the line variation problem, and I know that a lot of gold nibs are a bit flexible (but also easily springable). I would say that FPR flex nibs are some of my favorite nibs to write with, precisely because slight pressure produces impressive variation, so I could go from margin writing to letter writing and both look decent. Are there any sailor nibs that are designed as flex nibs? Or do we just rely on the flexibility of the gold material?

[Mrpink]

They have speciality nibs which provide line variation, check the site there's a few there. There is the cheapo fude nib but the novelty wears off quick. These pens are more for East asian text. But no, you do not flex a Sailor. If you see anyone doing so then it better be an abusable pen.

[elippman]

Good to know. Then, I guess the next question is back to nib size. Since Sailor and the Goulets seem to have some irreconcilable difficulty, there's no Nib Nook to which I can turn to see what a Sailor Medium looks like compared to a Sheaffer medium, let's say. One thing that attracted me to the Lecoule is that there is a M-F nib. I've never encountered a nib that was labeled that way and was curious what kind of line it would put down, as I usually find that my line width preferences run somewhere between medium and fine. With the gold nibs that I've seen, though, I don't see M-F as an option. How do I know what I'm looking at?

 

Also, as I look at the zoom nib and the music nib on the Sailor website, I can't really tell--are they stubs? I have a Noodler's music nib, but I have a feeling we're not in the same ballpark, and it doesn't have that squared off look anyway. So that's my weirdness, I suppose. I like stubs and the like for writing letters. I tend to look to something finer for grading papers, but I usually shy away from things that are so fine that they produce lines that look anemic.

[Mrpink]

F nib 0.3 and the MF is 0.38. And the M is 0.5.

Those speciality nibs are nowhere near a stub. I would just watch some vids, sbrebrown made a couple of them and read the reviews here. They can be a big mistake buying those nibs if you don't know exactly what is going on. They need proper handling.

There is also Sailor music nib but that also needs proper handling. The Platinum is the best music nib as far as I know but it is double the price...