Sailor B, Twice As Juicy In A Conid

[EliH]

https://gph.is/g/Z2mM7rW

I am absolutely loving this combination at the moment.

 

My current workhorse pen, a Conid Minimalistica AVDA Phi, outfitted with a Sailor B, writes perfectly for my hand. The nib certainly writes wetter than it would in a Sailor body, but by no means is it a firehose. It’s inked with Tsuki-yo and the paper used in the clip is Tomoe River (the thicker 68gsm) in a Breeze notebook made by Taroko Design.

[TheDutchGuy]

 

 

Sailor B, Twice As Juicy In A Conid

 

Wetness depends on the interplay between nib, feed, ink reservoir and ink. That’s why I cringe when people try to make a pen wetter by spreading the tines. This will only work if the tines are too close together. In my experience, dryness is usually caused by residues of manufacturing oils or by surface tension issues in the ink reservoir and/or the feed.

 

A Conid with a Sailor nib is a thing of beauty . Congrats! Enjoy yours!

Edited February 23, 2020 by TheDutchGuy

[EliH]

 

Wetness depends on the interplay between nib, feed, ink reservoir and ink. That’s why I cringe when people try to make a pen wetter by spreading the tines. This will only work if the tines are too close together. In my experience, dryness is usually caused by residues of manufacturing oils or by surface tension issues in the ink reservoir and/or the feed.

 

A Conid with a Sailor nib is a thing of beauty . Congrats! Enjoy yours!

 

Exactly! I would say cringe is a bit of an understatement, especially when they’re splaying expensive nibs...

 

thanks for the comment, I’ll put the pen to good use!

[gerigo]

 

Wetness depends on the interplay between nib, feed, ink reservoir and ink. That’s why I cringe when people try to make a pen wetter by spreading the tines. This will only work if the tines are too close together. In my experience, dryness is usually caused by residues of manufacturing oils or by surface tension issues in the ink reservoir and/or the feed.

 

A Conid with a Sailor nib is a thing of beauty . Congrats! Enjoy yours!

TheDutchGuy, thanks for this information. It is extremely helpful.

 

I have a couple pens that have ink sacs and giant ebonite feeds and find ink flow quite variable. Sometimes its super wet, and sometimes it can be drier. I don't seem to have this problem with pens that have modern feeds and converters. Is this normal and what can I do to have these pens have a more consistent ink flow?

[TheDutchGuy]

I have a couple pens that have ink sacs and giant ebonite feeds and find ink flow quite variable. Sometimes its super wet, and sometimes it can be drier. I don't seem to have this problem with pens that have modern feeds and converters. Is this normal and what can I do to have these pens have a more consistent ink flow?

 

 

Vintage pens with ink sacs (button fillers, lever fillers) are a different animal. Your pen seems to have a breathing issue; the pen has trouble exchanging ink for air, so it gradually gets drier. Agitating it (i.e. by tapping it with a finger nail) will ‘force’ air into the pen which makes the pen write again, for a while. Tuning the nib will not solve it; that only works if a pen is consistently too wet or too dry _and_ if the dryness isn’t caused by air exchange issues, the feed, the ink reservoir, the ink itself or any combination of these four. To solve air exchange issues, you’d need to open up the pen and closely inspect the nib, feed, section and sac, establish the cause of the issue and solve it. Opening a vintage pen can be tricky and I’d advise against it unless you really know what you’re doing. A good craftsman might be able to fix it for you at a reasonable cost.

[gerigo]

Thanks!

[TheVintagelife]

Yeah my Sailor bold in an Indian ebonite (Ranga) body also writes wetter and fatter (and hence smoother) than I remember it doing with the parent Pro Gear. Not sure I am perfectly happy with that. At least for me, I prefer finer writers (this nib is one of only 2 bold nibs I own, the other one also Japanese and hence not too bold), but the parent Pro gear at cracked at the joints, hence the nib needs a home, and in the absence of a nibless sailor body, this is the only option for now!

[como]

That sounds like a great setup! Does the outfit use an ebonite feed instead of the plastic one on your Sailor nib? If so, that could explain the better flow. I ordered an ebonite feed/housing for Bock 250 combo for my Conid Monarch Minimalistica, to fit a Jowo #6 18k nib ground to a wet stub. Hope I will be happy with it. Enjoy your pen! By the way, if only I could find a Sailor nib without buying the pen ;-)

https://gph.is/g/Z2mM7rW

I am absolutely loving this combination at the moment.

 

My current workhorse pen, a Conid Minimalistica AVDA Phi, outfitted with a Sailor B, writes perfectly for my hand. The nib certainly writes wetter than it would in a Sailor body, but by no means is it a firehose. It’s inked with Tsuki-yo and the paper used in the clip is Tomoe River (the thicker 68gsm) in a Breeze notebook made by Taroko Design.

[EliH]

That sounds like a great setup! Does the outfit use an ebonite feed instead of the plastic one on your Sailor nib? If so, that could explain the better flow. I ordered an ebonite feed/housing for Bock 250 combo for my Conid Monarch Minimalistica, to fit a Jowo #6 18k nib ground to a wet stub. Hope I will be happy with it. Enjoy your pen! By the way, if only I could find a Sailor nib without buying the pen ;-)

 

The pen uses the standard plastic feed from Sailor, the housing is ebonite, made by Flexible Nib Factory. I don’t think there are any custom Sailor feeds out there at the moment. Their plastic feed is pretty top-tier. I think you might see a difference with an ebonite feed compared to the standard Bock 250 feed, as the latter leaves a bit to be desired. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

 

i too wish one could find a way to purchase Sailor nibs without paying for the body too. If only.

[como]

Hi EliH, thank you for the info. That's interesting. Now I just saw that the Bock 250 housing for Sailor nibs does not come with a feed. My housing comes with an ebonite feed, which is why I initially just assumed that yours too. Very cool setup. Enjoy! For those who like to play with nib options, Conid is a indeed good candidate.

 

The pen uses the standard plastic feed from Sailor, the housing is ebonite, made by Flexible Nib Factory. I don’t think there are any custom Sailor feeds out there at the moment. Their plastic feed is pretty top-tier. I think you might see a difference with an ebonite feed compared to the standard Bock 250 feed, as the latter leaves a bit to be desired. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

 

i too wish one could find a way to purchase Sailor nibs without paying for the body too. If only.

[Willtato]

I recently acquired a Pro Gear KOP in Medium. I was originally expecting a fine in western standards. To my surprise, the flow was very juicy. Not a gusher by any stretch of the imagination, but A LOT more than one would expect. The flow contributes to the overall thicker than expected of the Japanese medium, though I believe the nib is just tuned a smidge bit wider. Any more ink and I wouldn't be as happy.

Ink was the sailor manyo Haha.

I paid £400 for the pen, and it's the most expensive pen I've ever owned, and the best feeling too. It's asking me for it to be my daily carry, but I'm honestly a bit worried for it.