Sailor Sapporo Review

[Spratticus]

Sailor Sapporo - medium nib, rhodium trim

 

 

First Impressions:

The pen comes in a very nice box that has a soft cushion. It is a noticeably small pen in length, but not so much in breadth. The sailor logo is on the end of the cap and would be easy to recognise in a shirt pocket. The black plastic/resin and silver coloured trims makes for an understated, but elegant looking pen. This pen also goes by the other appellation sailor professional gear “slim.” I also believe it comes in a mini version.

 

 

Appearance:

http://www.nibs.com/SailorSapporoRhodium.htm

This site says the diameter is 9.48mm (section) and 12.03mm (barrel). Capped 12.4cm, posted 14.2cm (4.87 inches and 5.60 inches respectively for those still in imperial ) and it supposedly weighs 19.7g. As I said before, it is a small pen and if you have large hands it would be uncomfortable to write with. For me, it is probably the perfect size. The cap screws on (first pen I have that does is) and I’ve found it gets a bit annoying to open and close. But this is a minor quibble. The image shows it compared to the ubiquitous pens Lamy Safari, Waterman Phileas and Parker 51 for an easy comparison.

 

 

Nib:

This is where the pen shines. The nib (14k gold and in this case, rhodium plated) is incredibly smooth, not too wet not too dry and doesn’t skip. It writes relatively finely compared to my other medium nibs. The image below shows it compared to a Parker 51, Waterman Phileas (m) and Lamy Safari (m). I don’t know what nib my Parker 51 has, but I assume it is fine or xf. The inks used in all pens is Waterman Florida Blue except the Lamy Safari which uses Noodler’s Black.

 

 

Filling system:

Typical cartridge/converter. The converter seems to be pretty well made to me and holds a fair bit of ink for such a small pen. Not much more to say here.

 

Price:

I bought mine from melpens for $137 US. I’d also like to say melpens is an AWESOME ebayer!

 

Overall:

I think it is worth the money, if your hands are smallish that is. The full size sailor professional gear ($230 US) has a 21k nib and is more intricate, would be much better for those with large hands. If you don’t own a Sailor, I would really recommend getting one soon. I can’t stress how good the nib is.

 

Please excuse my handwriting and lack of skill with a camera

Edited May 23, 2009 by Spratticus

[MikeW]

Nice job!

 

I recently bought one of these from engeika on Ebay (another reliable seller, btw) and have been very pleased. When posted, it is much bigger than you expect - otherwise it would have been too small for me.

 

You have also hit the nail on the head, the best part is the nib (like most Sailor pens). After all, isn't that the most important part anyway?

[Spratticus]

Nice job!

 

I recently bought one of these from engeika on Ebay (another reliable seller, btw) and have been very pleased. When posted, it is much bigger than you expect - otherwise it would have been too small for me.

 

You have also hit the nail on the head, the best part is the nib (like most Sailor pens). After all, isn't that the most important part anyway?

 

I agree about the length. I find it far too small with the cap off. It's like its a totally different pen when posted.

[dashreeve]

Nice review. I actually use the pen unposted more often, but seem to write better when posted. I have 4 of these and every one is a consistent writer, best nib / feed combination I have found in this price range.

[bardharlock]

My Sapporo is my current favorite pen. I love everything about it. It seems to me that it is meant to be posted as the balance is superb when I do post it. I actually prefer my Sapporo to my Professional Gear mostly due to the nib being better for me and my tiny writing.

[MikeW]

I should have mentioned this in my earlier post but I also have the Sailor King of Pens Pro Gear - it's quite a whopper of a pen; nevertheless, I can write comfortably with it (posted or not) and with the Sapporo when its posted.

[aneis]

Huh. I actually dip-tested an XF Sailor Sapporo in a store just a week ago. I was disappointed with the toothiness I felt, so I tried a Professional in F. Still toothy! I decided to hold off and purchased a Pelikan M400 instead.

 

I was really pretty confused because of all the great things I've read about Sailor nibs.

 

Also, I really wish they'd offer the Sapporo in all the colors they offer its bigger brother in. Not all pens have to be black!

[cl0123]

Thanks for the review, especially the writing samples with a couple of other pens + nibs for comparisons. I am reading here and there and have the impression that the Japanese nibs write narrower than western nibs, in general. Your writing sample validates that. I just bought a Lamy fine nib (inked with Noodler's Concord) but the line delivered is still a bit thick to me. It's time to look into Japanese nibs.

 

With Aloha,

 

Clarence

[Spratticus]

Thanks for the review, especially the writing samples with a couple of other pens + nibs for comparisons. I am reading here and there and have the impression that the Japanese nibs write narrower than western nibs, in general. Your writing sample validates that. I just bought a Lamy fine nib (inked with Noodler's Concord) but the line delivered is still a bit thick to me. It's time to look into Japanese nibs.

 

With Aloha,

 

Clarence

 

The photograph doesn't really show it that well - the differences are much more pronounced in reality. Without actually doing any measurements, at a guess I would say the Sailor Sapporo (M) line width is about 2/3 that of the Lamy Safari (M).

[tonysameh]

I'm waiting mine in the mail.

I got a F 1911 and it was too fine for me.

This time I got M.

If it is too broad, I'll be very upset

[limesally]

I'm waiting mine in the mail.

I got a F 1911 and it was too fine for me.

This time I got M.

If it is too broad, I'll be very upset

 

I hope it works out for you. I actually do find the F a little finer than I like, and the M a little too broad. I think the MF would be perfect. If I buy another pen, it would be in that width.

 

That said I'm using my Sapporo a lot now, because of the F width I use it for editing and making margin notes.

[polaris]

I find the Sapporo too small for my hands even with the cap posted. Its a shame as it has a wonderful nib. I started off with a fine which had too much tooth for my liking so I ended up with the medium fine nib.

[missnibs]

Size is a bit of a throwback but practice makes perfect. I'm lucky to have small hands (well that's one advantage of being a girl, I guess! ) yet I too think that this pen could have been a teeny bit bigger - which is why I think it's a pity that sizing up immediately means paying twice as much for a Professional Gear...

 

Anyhow, nib-wise, the Sapporo packs enough "power" to compete with any of the pricier pens out there. I have a smooth, not overly wet broad nib which does indeed write more like a medium.

Edited July 2, 2010 by missnibs

[tuotuo1121]

I have one of these pens, they write as good as MBs, but if the length would be longer.

Pics are bit blurry

[elvawenn]

I just got mine in F nib from engeika (ebay) a few weeks ago - and so far as a sketch pen it's lovely to use. I have a few gripes though - the barrel can be a bit too narrow (just a teeny bit) to grip for long periods of time, and I have small ladies' hands. I use it posted (which has the perfect weight) and unposted it seemed too light. But the nib performs admirably. Really reliable, and the F nib a western EF. I wish I'd gotten the EF nib, but hey, maybe that's for my next Sailor purchase. A 1911 maybe?