Sailor 1911 Large Review

[Honeybadgers]

 

 

Is the piston functionality the reason why you don't like the Realo?

 

Not really. I don't love the piston, but I was actually just kind of disappointed in the size as well, and the nib performance.

 

The medium had a bit of baby's bottom, the fine is just... kinda boring. It writes well, but it doesn't have as much personality as I was hoping. I like firm nibs, but I like them very, very fine, so I think I'd probably appreciate it more if I had an EF option in the pen, but the realo's finest option was an F. And it's kind of an fat F, too, for a japanese pen.

 

It's also just kind of in the "meh" medium pen size range for me. I was hoping it'd be closer to what I now know the KoP is. It's a nice thickness for an everyday pen, but it's kind of awkward in its length, feels like it must be posted to be used, instead of just being long enough to be used unposted but posts deeply enough to be used both ways (a-la most all gold nib pilots)

 

The piston was a little disappointing in that the end of the pen is kinda small and slippery and the piston is not very smooth nor does it hold a ton of ink and the white material of the piston discolors very easily and that just kind of irked me.

 

Just overall... I was not impressed with it when for broadly the same money I got a pilot custom 823 with a falcon nib. It feels like a $150 pen, not a $250 pen.

 

I like the pencil like feedback on the smaller, cheaper pens, but I just feel like that 21k nib has less and less personality as the pen gets more expensive, yet writes nearly identically. I'd sat the $25 young profit skeleton demonstrator writes nearly exactly the same as the $250 realo, and the young profit has a cool full demonstrator body and clear feed with the same good quality fit and finish.

 

I do really like the 1911 standard though. I like how small and agile that pen is by comparison to the kind of "bleh" size of the large.

 

My opinion is very odd though. The 1911 large is actually a good pen, I just personally don't love it.

Edited May 17, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[IndigoBOB]

The worst thing is getting a pen with a baby's bottom.

 

Sorry to hear about your pens. That sounds very frustrating to say the least.

 

Youtube reviewers have my enthusiasm going for the 21k nibs. I'm looking forward to trying one with that Sailor Feedback.

[Honeybadgers]

Here's a video of my medium

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO8o6oydxyk

[IndigoBOB]

I look forward to trying the Sailor 21k nib because I actually began to dislike how smooth my PIlot custom 74 Medium was.

 

On fountain pen friendly paper I found myself subconsciously pressing down on the nib to feel feedback with the c74-M. And though I do find that buttery smoothness to be good for cheap paper, and also for using finer nibs which I'll try in the future...

 

...that experience made me appreciate feedback more. I was considering a Platinum 3776, which I heard has the most amount of feedback among the Pilot Pen Makers, but I had enjoyed the Mike Masuyama nibs from Franklin Christoph so so much that I wanted to try Sailor nibs,

 

Not only does the praise the 21k nibs receive by youtube reviewers drive my enthusiasm, but the way I see people praise sailor nibs evokes memories of Masuyama F-C nibs.

____________________

 

That is a nice video. You can hear that feedback, well. That's too bad it didn't work out for you. At least you know what you like and don't like. It's gotta feel right for ya.

 

I like pens that size honestly, and I have above average male sized hands. I like a pen that's compact that I can use unposted and posted without being long. The Pilot Prera gave me an appreciation for posting pens, but it was close to unusable unposted.

[MuddyWaters]

Here's a video of my medium

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO8o6oydxyk

 

Nice handwriting and the ink looks like a nice combination with the paper. Looks like a candle lit writing session

[Honeybadgers]

I have no idea why my camera sometimes just decides "KAY EVERYTHINGS GONNA BE ORANGE TONIGHT"

Edited May 17, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[Olya]

I have no idea why my camera sometimes just decides "KAY EVERYTHINGS GONNA BE ORANGE TONIGHT"

What camera did you use? (Just curious, I have no tips unfortunately!)

[KyleClapton]

the realo and 1911 large are identical, save for the filling system.

 

Honestly, the realo's filler is not very nice to use, nor does it hold a lot of ink. I'm not overly in love with either of my realo's. I really am not in love with the medium.

 

I thought realo's filler has large ink capacity. Some of my friends recommend me to use piston filler pens when I told that I am tired of refilling my pen when I am in a mood of writing. How do you compare between converter capacity and piston filler capacity?

And do you have any problem with cleaning the realo? I really concern of the ink cleaning

[gmax]

There is some information on ink capacity here...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/209626-realo-versus-cartridge-converter-sailor/

 

A Sailor cartridge holds more ink, and in my opinion the standard cartridge filler is better balanced than the Realo because of the metal threaded element near the front.

 

The Realo nib and feed are friction fit, so these can be pulled out for cleaning, but it is still a tedious process.

Edited June 12, 2019 by gmax

[KyleClapton]

There is some information on ink capacity here...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/209626-realo-versus-cartridge-converter-sailor/

 

A Sailor cartridge holds more ink, and in my opinion the standard cartridge filler is better balanced than the Realo because of the metal threaded element near the front.

 

The Realo nib and feed are friction fit, so these can be pulled out for cleaning, but it is still a tedious process.

Thank you very much. It surprised me! I always though piston filler should carry more ink than converter or cartridge. If the ink cartridge can hold that much of ink, then why we don't reuse the empty cartridge as converter, right? Last year, when I came back home for New Year Holiday, I forgot to bring converter for my pens, and I was so lazy to got to some stationery shop in my neighborhood (it is really hard to find one in that area), so I use the syringe to fill ink in used cartridges to re-use them. And it worked perfect!

Thank you very much. Now I know what I should buy next (definitely not realo or piston filler pen)

[samasry]

Thank you very much. It surprised me! I always though piston filler should carry more ink than converter or cartridge. If the ink cartridge can hold that much of ink, then why we don't reuse the empty cartridge as converter, right? Last year, when I came back home for New Year Holiday, I forgot to bring converter for my pens, and I was so lazy to got to some stationery shop in my neighborhood (it is really hard to find one in that area), so I use the syringe to fill ink in used cartridges to re-use them. And it worked perfect!

Thank you very much. Now I know what I should buy next (definitely not realo or piston filler pen)

 

Using Sailor cartridge lasts considerably longer than the converter, almost 2x. I use both daily and this has been my experience with both.

It would be nifty to find out some method to cap the cartridge, then, it becomes really awesome. So in case u run out at work, u dont have to use a syringe to fill it at work.

[A Smug Dill]

It would be nifty to find out some method to cap the cartridge, then, it becomes really awesome. So in case u run out at work, u dont have to use a syringe to fill it at work.

Why not just carry a pack of unopened Sailor ink cartridges, then? Sailor sells ink in cartridges for its kiwaguro, souboku and seiboku pigment inks, as well as ten different colours of dye ink in its formerly-designated-Jentle product line.

[samasry]

Why not just carry a pack of unopened Sailor ink cartridges, then? Sailor sells ink in cartridges for its kiwaguro, souboku and seiboku pigment inks, as well as ten different colours of dye ink in its formerly-designated-Jentle product line.

 

Frankly, I have not sampled ink from Sailor other than the black ink that comes in the cartridge with the pen, and I did not like that shade of black. For me the simple pilot black for example would beat the Sailor black hands down. Perhaps I should try your advice and sample some of the ink from Sailor.

I think when it comes to ink, I have just settled quick on Asa Gao from Iro, and Waterman serenity blue. I like these to such a degree that, anytime I compare other ink to them it falls short. I use blue 99% of the time. Thanks for the advice though, my friend. I like the fact that you always have new ideas to enrich the conversation.

[A Smug Dill]

I use blue 99% of the time. Thanks for the advice though, my friend. I like the fact that you always have new ideas to enrich the conversation.

My pleasure!

 

Sailor souboku (which I reviewed) and seiboku pigment inks are, subjectively, among the best inks I've ever used (well over 150 different inks). Lots of potential for shading (with the 'right' writing instruments) and rich sheen, and completely waterproof once dry, such that even the sheen will survive a 60-minute soak, and I've rarely seen any feathering or bleed-through from either of those blue-black inks on Rhodia, Leuchtturm, Apica, Maruman, Kokuyo or even Muji paper.

[KyleClapton]

 

Using Sailor cartridge lasts considerably longer than the converter, almost 2x. I use both daily and this has been my experience with both.

It would be nifty to find out some method to cap the cartridge, then, it becomes really awesome. So in case u run out at work, u dont have to use a syringe to fill it at work.

Thanks a lot for your advice. Cartridge is now my first option of choice.

[Honeybadgers]

 

I thought realo's filler has large ink capacity. Some of my friends recommend me to use piston filler pens when I told that I am tired of refilling my pen when I am in a mood of writing. How do you compare between converter capacity and piston filler capacity?

And do you have any problem with cleaning the realo? I really concern of the ink cleaning

 

I tend to clean the realo by pulling the nib/feed and using a syringe to shoot water into the barrel.

 

The piston holds more ink than a converter, but it just feels like it holds a lot less than other piston fillers. 1mL is awful compared to a pelikan M200, lamy 2000, pilot CH92, TWSBI 580, etc.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[samasry]

My pleasure!

 

Sailor souboku (which I reviewed) and seiboku pigment inks are, subjectively, among the best inks I've ever used (well over 150 different inks). Lots of potential for shading (with the 'right' writing instruments) and rich sheen, and completely waterproof once dry, such that even the sheen will survive a 60-minute soak, and I've rarely seen any feathering or bleed-through from either of those blue-black inks on Rhodia, Leuchtturm, Apica, Maruman, Kokuyo or even Muji paper.

Thank you for the link. This is a lovely blue black ink. I plan to give it a try. I have tried the Pilot blue black early in my FP journey but quickly moved to the Iro family of blue from Kon peki , tsuyu kusa (both of these did not do it for me) and finally settled on Asa Gao as my daily blue ink with infrequent detour to Waterman serenity . Recently I noticed blue black compared to blue does show serious changes in intensity and shading with the flow and wetness of the ink, and this is really interesting to try. Thanks for the pointer.

Edited June 17, 2019 by salmasry

[samasry]

Thanks a lot for your advice. Cartridge is now my first option of choice.

 

Best of luck