Sailor Chalana- The Cutest Little Pen!

[jet9]

I am fan of small pens and I like my Chalana for quick notes/5 year journal entries! Thanks for reviewing it.

[InkofLife]

Thank you for the review! I purchased one of these recently and it is exactly as you review, adorable but a little confounding. I keep it in my Filofax pen loop for making agenda notes at the moment. It's good to tuck into a small place.

[Jackson]

  On 9/24/2016 at 5:44 PM, thiagojp said:

The leather case is nice, a bit big for the pen, though. I haven't really used this pen much, since it's so tiny. Can't really recommend it as a user pen, more like an oddity.

The only case I've found that fits my Chalana is this leather sleeve from Rotring...

[taimdala]

Coming WAYYYYY late to the party …

I purchased my first Chalana at the Triangle Pen Show in 2018. Nik Pang had a turquoise-lacquered one that I just couldn’t pass up. I have small hands so the skinny build of the pen did not inconvenience me at all. I liked it so much, I pulled the trigger a burgundy-lacquered one on eBay. 

I now have a pair and that’s plenty enough. 

My only beef with the pen is how absolutely TINY the cartridge/converter is. I do long-form journaling with my pens and I feel that the Chalana would run dry after a couple of pages.  

And yet … I love them anyway. They stay in the pen drawer on my desk for safe keeping. I may not use them as often as I’d like but it just makes me happy to have them. 

[Number99]

  On 5/17/2015 at 10:59 AM, Algester said:

well at least I'm glad they didnt reattempt to pull off a 23.9kt gold nib

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  On 5/18/2015 at 5:02 AM, Ink Blotto said:

The 750 should refer to the gold content, 75% or 18k.

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Maybe this is what you are talking about.

SAILOR CHALANA GRACILE Fountain Pen 24K nib.

(Actual search terms "セーラー万年筆 シャレーナ グラシール 24k")

 

I have a Black Lacquer 14k, a Teikin OEM steel gold plated nib, and a Chinese copy fountain pen.

The Black Lacquer 14k was unused and has not been inked. The Teikin OEM fountain pen wrote like a Sailor F nib, not extra fine... The Chinese copy fountain pen comes with a different converter and writes like a Western F nib. In any case, it is too slim to be comfortable as a writing instrument, so I keep it as an ornamental pleasure pen, but it still satisfies my desire to own one.

 

I think that the transaction price on Yahoo Auctions has dropped since the production of special cartridge inks and converters was discontinued and their stock *disappeared from Sailor shop.

 

*A few months ago, I got a reply on another thread that it was available in the US.

Edited September 29, 2024 by Number99

[donnweinberg]

I bought an NOS Chalana on eBay almost a year ago.  It has the smooth brushed stainless steel (?) finish and came only with a single cartridge.  I haven’t inked it up yet.  I purchased it just to have one, as I am impressed with how much can be done in such a small package.  I was inspired to get one and some other very small fountain pens after reading about such pens in the Fountain Pen Journal (Paul Erano).

[donnweinberg]

  On 3/30/2025 at 5:12 AM, masao said:

這筆很好，我擁有三支，另外它也生產過同款式的鋼尖版，我收了12支以上，筆桿則有金屬與塑膠二種。

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English translation of your message, masao?

[inkstainedruth]

I plugged it into Google Translate, and according to that site, the English translation is:

 

This pen is very good. I own three of them. In addition, it has also produced a steel nib version of the same style. I have collected more than 12 of them. The pen barrel comes in two types: metal and plastic.

 

Hope this helps.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting issues

[donnweinberg]

Thanks for the translation, Ruth.  A collection of 12 of the Chalana fountain pens is substantial.  I hope at some point to fill my one Chalana.  

 

Is there a converter that fits the pen, or must one use only a cartridge?  I have only one cartridge, but after I use that one up, I can refill it via a hypodermic needle with other inks.

[Dillo]

There is a slim converter that fits the pen, but it's become more and more uncommon these days.