Are Japanese Pens The Best Value?

[maverink]

yes i love my pilots platinums and sailors they are value for money compared to pelikan or MB

[Dr.Grace]

 

A Pelikan 250 (in my avatar) and a Lamy safari were my only pens from 2007 to 2014. In that space of seven years I used the Pelikan 250 for several hours a day or about 20 pages. I used the Lamy safari to grade.

 

In seven years I never thought about my trusty pens. They just worked. Then once this last May I had a hair removed from the Pelikan. At the same time, Tim Girdler reground the nib to a stub as the medium nib was a bit worn. That pen still works great, has never leaked a drop, has no nib creep, funky pistons. I am convinced it is indestructible. It just works and works.

 

The Lamy Safari unfortunately sprang a leak and has become a bit of a pita in the last six months.

 

It was while I was getting my Pelikan 250 fixed this past June that I held a blue striped M600, which led me to a white tortoise. Which led me to FPN. Which led me to Which led me to two Nakayas.

 

I plan to use these Nakayas until they fall apart. For me value means the pen is quasi indestructible and gives me joy with its beauty over time. The joy and beauty component of my Japanese pens' value is a reality.

 

I'll know in ten years if my Japanese pens last over time given the kind of labor they will do for me.

 

Great story!

[paulliao99]

Hi there, I'm brand new to the forum and this will be my first input.

 

At the current exchange rate, if you can bid and win some auctions on Yahoo Japan Auction (Make sure it's from a private seller, they do not add the 8% tax) or just buy straight from Amazon Japan or Rakuten Japan, then it's great value. However, I'm in the midst of placing an order with Nakaya and it seems that they are basing their prices on 100Yen to US$1.00. Well, the current rate is 117 Yen to US$1.00 so that is not exactly correct. When we're talking about pens in the tens of hundreds...that 17% is quite a lot of difference...and frankly, I think that's cheating. I've pointed out that to the contact person at Nakaya and we'll see what they come back with. I've asked them to charge me in Yen, that way, they don't loose and I don't loose 17% for no reason.

[maverink]

paulliao welcome to the forum congrats on the first nakaya buy have you tried the 3776 century??

[paulliao99]

Hi Maverink, thank you for the welcome.

Yes, I currently have 2x 3776s, one is the church blue and the other is the Chinkin. Unfortunately I'm buying pens more based on aesthetics than how they write. My Nakaya will be based on a current product but in different color...so it's "original"...HA... Though here in Asia, the 3776 tip is considered the best nib to write Kanji in (Chinese characters), but...frankly I think my Lamy Safari writes better than all my pens...

Edited November 21, 2014 by paulliao99

[Taiko]

What would be the recommendations for a first-time buy into the Sailor market? The Pilot's seem to come in every price range, yet the Sailors seem a little higher priced? If this is correct, is the difference worth the additional cost?

[KBeezie]

What would be the recommendations for a first-time buy into the Sailor market? The Pilot's seem to come in every price range, yet the Sailors seem a little higher priced? If this is correct, is the difference worth the additional cost?

Sailors do come in a variety price ranges too... the problem is finding them outside of the Japanese Market. Also many retailers outside of the Japanese market can't carry Sailor pens unless they carry their entire selection (Which is why GouletPens doesn't carry them for example, they would, but they'd have to stock their entire offering to qualify as a retailer for them, which is kind of unreasonable in my opinion).

 

I've had two sailors.

 

A modern Sailor 1911M (M= standard size) with a 14K Zoom nib. It was ok, wasn't too crazy about the zoom nib, I probably would have been happier with Fine-Medium or such. I prefered the feel of the Platinum Century 3776 which is slightly larger than the 1911M but roughly the same shape and weight. Plus the Century 3776 can be purchased in Japan for $90 shipped to the US as opposed to $176 or so.

 

The other one I had breifly was a vintage Sailor Pocket Pen (probably from the late 60s) which like my Pilot Elite pens from the 70s (and like some of the older Platinum pocket pens) is very comfortable for me to hold and easy to pocket. But the nib on that sailor pocket pen which was 14K was very very very smooth, great flow with a tiny bit of spring to it. I ended up trading it however for my Pilot Long Murex (1978) which has been a pen I was eyeing for a few months, and because it takes the same cartridge/converter as my existing Elites.

Edited November 24, 2014 by KBeezie

[wikeh2004]

I have been very satisfied with almost every modern Japanese pen I've bought - Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, Namiki, etc. Consistently good quality, consistent writers, and good bang for the buck. I have a few European pens, some modern and vintage, and agree that for an equivalent pen, you definitely pay more. There are inexpensive European pens that work well, like Lamy, but in most cases the price points are higher for European pens. Good American made pens are also higher priced. (not talking foreign-made American branded pens).

 

I was in Japan and Okinawa for a two-week trip last fall, and was journaling with a Platinum Preppy. Unfortunately, the Preppy decided that it didn't want feed ink halfway through the trip, but I found a Kokuyo stationary store not far from our hotel in Okinawa City. I looked over their limited selection of fountain pens, and although I hadn't planned to buy anything, I found a very reasonably priced Pilot Young Rex pen with a medium nib (3,000 yen). I bought it and used it very happily for the remainder of the trip. Wished I'd bought a few more pens from that shop, especially when I returned and found out that the US retail price was substantially higher than the Japanese price for the ones I saw there. :-)

[Algester]

Sailors do come in a variety price ranges too... the problem is finding them outside of the Japanese Market. Also many retailers outside of the Japanese market can't carry Sailor pens unless they carry their entire selection (Which is why GouletPens doesn't carry them for example, they would, but they'd have to stock their entire offering to qualify as a retailer for them, which is kind of unreasonable in my opinion).I've had two sailors.A modern Sailor 1911M (M= standard size) with a 14K Zoom nib. It was ok, wasn't too crazy about the zoom nib, I probably would have been happier with Fine-Medium or such. I prefered the feel of the Platinum Century 3776 which is slightly larger than the 1911M but roughly the same shape and weight. Plus the Century 3776 can be purchased in Japan for $90 shipped to the US as opposed to $176 or so.The other one I had breifly was a vintage Sailor Pocket Pen (probably from the late 60s) which like my Pilot Elite pens from the 70s (and like some of the older Platinum pocket pens) is very comfortable for me to hold and easy to pocket. But the nib on that sailor pocket pen which was 14K was very very very smooth, great flow with a tiny bit of spring to it. I ended up trading it however for my Pilot Long Murex (1978) which has been a pen I was eyeing for a few months, and because it takes the same cartridge/converter as my existing Elites.

Indeed sailor's offering for the lower price ones can compete with pilot and platinum crystal, hiace neo, le coule, pro color 500 to name a few but majority of sailor retailers in the USofA I notice go straight for the gold nibbed ones the 21 and 18kt nibed ones most likely which explains the higher price and sailor japan is no exception if they have the 14kt ones then rarely do I see the promenade in their offering (concerning the retailers outside japan) which can properly compete with the 3776, custom 74, heritage 91, standard 10000 and so on But ye.. i feel like paying 160USD retail is... Eh... Aint cheap compared to the 100USD japanese retail

Edited November 25, 2014 by Algester

[KBeezie]

I feel like paying 160USD retail is... Eh... Aint cheap compared to the 100USD japanese retail

I never really got an answer from any of the retailers as to why the price is nearly 200%, like is Platinum for example charging that price for exports, or is that the fixed price most of the retailers outside of Japan are keeping it at? (kind of doubt the latter since least someone domestic would be trying to sell for much less if they could). I can understand maybe 20-30$ on top of Japan's own MSRP but 80$-100$ more? So I've been curious if that's the doing of the manufacture or distributor, or if that's the doing of the retailers.

[Dr.Grace]

probably a "MAP" (minimum advertised price), which is something certain manufacturers require. This used to be more common in the US than it is now. IDK why. Seems anticompetitive.