Sailor 1911 Profit Ivory (Pictures)

[Aurko]

Sailor 1911 Profit, Fine Nib, Ivory Body

I realize there are several reviews of the Sailor 1911 Profit, but I don't seem to see many pictures of the ivory body. I decided to put in my two cents and also have some reference pictures available for anyone else who wants to check out the pen before buying. The pictures I have seen prior to receiving this pen made it difficult to determine whether or not the pen was a bright white or a true ivory. I can happily say that it's a lovely off white colour and that I am very pleased with it. What follows is my picture heavy mini review. I would highly recommend the pen, and it is honestly my favourite pen overall (I had a burgundy one that I have sadly misplaced). The pen came with a standard Sailor box, that seems price appropriate, a converter, two cartridges, and an instruction manual. The pen was a birthday present from my girlfriend, and I appreciate it a lot. She's far too kind to me and indulges my hobby.

 

The Review:

 

Appearance and Design: 8

The classic cigar shape of the pen is fitting, though admittedly uninspired. I very much like the ivory colour and I think it's a step up from white. It looks like a nice warm pen, and the gold trim only adds to the appeal. The clip is also classic and uninspired, but far from ugly. It fits with the pen and all in all it looks very classy. In my book, it does get bonus points for being ivory coloured. If you don't care for the colour as much as I do, I would say the design is a 7, since it's unoriginal but well executed.

 

The Pen

DSCF6769 by makey95, on Flickr

 

The Trim

DSCF6774 by makey95, on Flickr

 

Construction and Quality: 9

The pen feels very well made, and is very sturdy. The threads where the cap screws on are smooth and rounded, and they never interfere with the grip. There's not a single loose part in the pen, and it seems sturdy enough to take drops while capped. The resin body feels durable, and nothing about the pen seems cheap. The nib and feed are friction fit, and they can easily be pulled out, but they're not loose at all and are a snug fit.

 

Nib and Feed

DSCF6777 by makey95, on Flickr

 

Weight and Dimensions: 10

The pen feels like it's made to be posted, and once posted feels perfectly balanced. Unposted, it is a tad too short for my hands, and feels rather light. Capped the pen measures around 5.25" and uncapped it is about 4.625" unposted. Posted, the pen is about 6" long. The diameter of the grip seems to be around .375". It is a medium-light pen, but I can write with it for hours at a time without my hand tiring.

 

Nib and Performance: 10

Honestly this is my favourite modern nib/favourite non-flex nib. I've tried a few flex nibs that come close to being the joy that this one is, but even they pale in comparison. It is honestly one of the most enjoyable writing experiences that I have experienced. For such a fine nib, it is extraordinarily smooth and has almost no feedback, but still enough to let you feel the paper enough to enjoy the ride. The feed does a superb job of keeping up and it never has any hard starts or skips. The nib wrote immediately, even after being left out to take the photographs.

 

The Nib

DSCF6783 by makey95, on Flickr

 

The Feed

DSCF6775 by makey95, on Flickr

 

Filling System and Maintenance: 7

The pen uses a cartridge converter system, and despite that has great ink flow. The converter does not hold all that much, but it's certainly enough to last several days of note taking. Having a cartridge converter system makes maintenance easy enough, but the friction fit nib and feed makes cleaning out the pen a breeze. Just take it apart, wash it, dry it, and it's quick and easy to move from a black ink to say a light yellow-orange. Normally I would give cartridge converter pens a 5, utterly average, neither good nor bad, but the ease of maintenance warrants a higher grade.

 

Cost and Value: 10

This tends to be highly subjective, but for a pen that I consider to be the best writing experience, with a marvelous fine nib, easy maintenance, and perfect balance, I would say that the $100 that my girlfriend paid for it was reasonable. I would be personally willing to pay the full U.S. price for this pen (with tax, around 180 dollars).

 

Conclusion:

Highly recommended, if you couldn't tell. A word of warning, every once in a while I do see a Sailor 1911/Pro Gear or two out of the box (I've worked with a few over the years) with misaligned tines, but that's usually a quick fix. I have never seen a Sailor 1911 Standard that, once aligned, does not write smoothly. The majority of Sailors that I have seen write perfectly out of the box.

 

Writing Sample/First impression review (Muji Notebook)

DSCF6787 by makey95, on Flickr

 

 

Final Words:

Thanks for reading, feel free to mention your own thoughts on the pen, the colour, or my pictures. I tried my best to accurately pick up the colour of the body. I cannot thank my girlfriend enough for the gift, and I know it will see a lot of use. The only thing that I'm worried about is staining the ivory body. I've been looking into leather pen slips/holders for this pen, and I would appreciate any cheap but durable recommendations. I would like around 10 dollars, 15 maximum for the holder. I hope the review was informative.

[Silvire]

Absolutely beautiful. The ivory does complement the gold nicely.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Aurko]

Thank you! I really enjoy the warmth the ivory colour adds to the pen.

[Alain Nuberg]

Very cool, I just received my rhodium trimmed one as well. I like it so much I want one in almost every colour.

[Aurko]

I actually want to get one in every colour, at some point in my life (far from now). Just to display, and a few to write with of course!

How does the one with Rhodium trim compare? Is that also an "ivory" colour? In the pictures that I saw online, it seemed to be closer to a pure white colour.

[theverdictis]

Sailor is definitely my next choice of pen.

[Scootz]

I didn't think I'd find the ivory appealing, but that is a very attractive pen, especially with the gold trim. Congratulations on a very nice birthday present!

[Alain Nuberg]

  On 5/19/2014 at 12:15 PM, Aurko said:

I actually want to get one in every colour, at some point in my life (far from now). Just to display, and a few to write with of course!

How does the one with Rhodium trim compare? Is that also an "ivory" colour? In the pictures that I saw online, it seemed to be closer to a pure white colour.

No, its black and rhodium trim. I will take a picture and post it here after I'm done smoking my pipe Need to take advantage of this beautiful weather.

 

Edit: here are the pictures. Apologies for the unfocused nib, I don't know how to take good photos yet.

 

 

For size comparison the Lamy Safari, 1911 Standard and the Platinum #3776.

 

Edited May 20, 2014 by Alain Nuberg

[Aurko]

Those are some very nice pens! Is that the limited edition 1911 Standard with the Naginata Togi nib?

Does the white Lamy stain easily? I've been meaning to give one as a gift, but I'm afraid of it staining over time.

 

It can be very hard to take a good picture of a nib, especially given how shiny they are. I personally try to use indirect lighting (shine a very bright light in the other direction, preferably against white paper or a white wall to reflect enough light back) to avoid glare on the nib, and using the macro setting on the camera is a must. I'm not sure what camera you're using, but most cameras have a macro setting to take pictures of nibs. I hope that's useful!

[4x4xpens]

An interesting looking pen. Thanks for the review. (I'm also loving that white Lamy. Had no idea those were available).

 

One thing I wasn't quite clear on though. Is the pen body resin which is ivory coloured or actual ivory, or something else?

 

Thanks

 

AJ

[Alain Nuberg]

  On 5/20/2014 at 11:56 PM, Aurko said:

Those are some very nice pens! Is that the limited edition 1911 Standard with the Naginata Togi nib?

Does the white Lamy stain easily? I've been meaning to give one as a gift, but I'm afraid of it staining over time.

 

It can be very hard to take a good picture of a nib, especially given how shiny they are. I personally try to use indirect lighting (shine a very bright light in the other direction, preferably against white paper or a white wall to reflect enough light back) to avoid glare on the nib, and using the macro setting on the camera is a must. I'm not sure what camera you're using, but most cameras have a macro setting to take pictures of nibs. I hope that's useful!

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

The Lamy is just glossy plastic so anything can be wiped off very easily. The 1911 is not a LE, just standard with a HF nib. I wonder if they make it in SF as well...

[Aurko]

  On 5/21/2014 at 6:27 AM, 4x4xpens said:

An interesting looking pen. Thanks for the review. (I'm also loving that white Lamy. Had no idea those were available).

 

One thing I wasn't quite clear on though. Is the pen body resin which is ivory coloured or actual ivory, or something else?

 

Thanks

 

AJ

 

The pen body is definitely resin. Ivory is ill suited to making pens and is prone to cracking and is vulnerable to the temperature. Not to mention the ethics involved with actual ivory.

 

 

  On 5/21/2014 at 11:10 AM, Alain Nuberg said:

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

The Lamy is just glossy plastic so anything can be wiped off very easily. The 1911 is not a LE, just standard with a HF nib. I wonder if they make it in SF as well...

 

Thank you! I'm glad to know that it doesn't stain easily. I just remember seeing a few posts about baystate blue horribly destroying the white Lamy Safari, but I don't know if that extended to some other inks too.

 

And sadly Sailor does not make any soft fine nibs. They compensate for that by having a very wide range of special nibs, all of which are fun and interesting! I have tried a good deal but I haven't had the chance to own one yet. I know that currently Sailor is offering a Sailor 1911 standard with a specialty 21k nib. They're Black with rhodium trim and another colour that I forget. with rhodium trim.