Questions About The Sailor Pro Gear Realo (And Nibs)

[Shavely Manden]

I'm starting to think that my current grail pen might be a Sailor Pro Gear Realo with a Naginata Togi or Naginata Emperor. I've been driving myself a bit batty researching said pen, so here are a few questions that are bugging me:

 

* Is the Realo a true piston filler just with a small ink capacity or is it a captive converter? I've seen it variously claimed to be either...the former's fine, I don't especially care about ink capacity and really like non-c/c filling systems. If it's a captive converter, though, I figure I might as well go with a c/c model.

 

* Would it be prudent for someone who's never used a nice Sailor nib to skip straight to the Naginata series, or should I try out the normal 21kt nibs first?

[zchen]

Realo is a true piston system. The reason the capacity is small is due to the fact the ink containment is a separate tube inside the barrel and not the barrel itself.

Here is a link of Realo disassembly, which clearly show the piston system that is not a converter.

 

*I really think the captured converter rumor needs to die.

 

The other small difference between the Realo and the regular Pro Gear is that the Realo incorporates the spring loaded inner cap (similar to Platinum's slip and seal). This spring loaded cap is only found on Realo, King of Pen, and Promenade models, it has not yet been applied to the regular 1911 and Pro Gear models.

 

As for the nib, it's really up to you. The regular nibs are different than the Naginata in feel and use.

 

I am a Sailor fan and like them all.

Edited May 11, 2016 by zchen

[JonSzanto]

The other small difference between the Realo and the regular Pro Gear is that the Realo incorporates the spring loaded inner cap (similar to Platinum's slip and seal). This spring loaded cap is only found on Realo, King of Pen, and Promenade models, it has not yet been applied to the regular 1911 and Pro Gear models.

 

And this is why I love both my Pro Gears and my Platinum 3776s: they just never dry out! I've got two of each, and they are, in their own ways, spectacular pens.

 

I also concur on zchen's thoughts on the nibs. The two specialty nibs impart a very different writing characteristic, one that requires more attention from you as a writer. You shouldn't be looking at them as some kind of nib upgrade, you should simply be deciding what style nib you would like according to the style of handwriting you produce, or would like to produce.

[Calabria]

Realo is a true piston system. The reason the capacity is small is due to the fact the ink containment is a separate tube inside the barrel and not the barrel itself.

Here is a link of Realo disassembly, which clearly show the piston system that is not a converter.

 

*I really think the captured converter rumor needs to die.

 

The other small difference between the Realo and the regular Pro Gear is that the Realo incorporates the spring loaded inner cap (similar to Platinum's slip and seal). This spring loaded cap is only found on Realo, King of Pen, and Promenade models, it has not yet been applied to the regular 1911 and Pro Gear models.

 

As for the nib, it's really up to you. The regular nibs are different than the Naginata in feel and use.

 

I am a Sailor fan and like them all.

I'm not sure that the separate tube rather than a barrel containment system qualifies as a "true piston filler." While it's much better than the notoriously puny Sailor converter, I still don't think the Realo qualifies as a piston filler on the level of, say, Montblanc or Pelikan. When filling the pen it also feels a bit plasticky, like a converter built into the body of the pen. Edited May 12, 2016 by Calabria

[JonSzanto]

I'm not sure that the separate tube rather than a barrel containment system qualifies as a "true piston filler." While it's much better than the notoriously puny Sailor converter, I still don't think the Realo qualifies as a piston filler on the level of, say, Montblanc or Pelikan. When filling the pen it also feels a bit plasticky, like a converter built into the body of the pen.

 

The fact that they may have implemented it in a different way is not relevant, nor is any subjective judgement as to who makes the best piston filling systems. The bottom line is that it is not a removable piston-operated converter, it is an integral piston-filling system.

[zchen]

Exactly, if you are going to use that kind of arbitrary criteria then you cannot call any Pelikans that has a striped binde as a true piston filler, nor modern Aurora 88 and Optimas, nor Delta Stantuffos.

 

Btw, the Bexley Poseidon Magnum II holds the same amount of ink as a Realo, that is also a true piston system.

Edited May 13, 2016 by zchen

[Willis]

I love my pro gear realo. It doesn't have the heft or presence of a 149 or an m1000, true, but it is an exquisite piece of craftsmanship nonetheless . If you haven't seen it already, there's a great YouTube video by pelahale about his king of pen realo with a naginata togi nib. Unfortunately, those are very rare (k.o.p. Realo). In my experience, the emporer tab just makes for a very wet writing pen, which may or may not matter be a positive for you. As far as the difference in writing experience, the naginata togi is going to be much more of a unique feel when compared to a regular nib. It has a quite toothy pencil like feel, which I enjoy, though some do not. If you get it in a medium fine it's quite easy to use for normal writing. It gives a slightly italic effect to your writing. Myself, I like to draw, so nibs like that are wonderful for their expressive quality and the range of line width they can deliver. Regardless of what you choose, you can't go wrong with sailor unless you're someone who doesn't enjoy their particular writing feel. It's certainly smooth, but it has an intentional feedback that some don't care for.

[dchatter]

I echo the opinions expressed above, and confirm that the Sailor Pro Gear Realo II is an excellent piece of work in terms of quality of materials, workmanship, and the nib. Sailor, for some inexplicable reason, does a rather poor job of advertising (at least in English) the vacuum mechanism that they have put in their pens; for instance, I was unaware of it till long after I bought the pen although I suspected its presence from minute 1. This mechanism works like a charm, and makes the pen a good travel companion even though the ink capacity is about half of that of a Pilot 823. The piston mechanism in the Realo is quite good, and I find filling/cleaning rather enjoyable. I do not complain about the specific size and shape of the Realo.

 

The medium nib in my particular Pro Gear Realo gives a pleasant feedback that I like quite a bit. The lines that this pen puts down appear to be marginally narrower than the lines that my Platinum 3776 Century pens put down on the same paper. However, all my Century medium nibs are more juicy than my Pro Gear Realo: while none of the pens have skipped during normal writing, if I draw horizontal and vertical lines very quickly with identical light pressure, the Century pens show no perceptible line variations during the strokes and the feeds keep up like a charm, while the Realo's feed does not always keep up, especially on the vertical upstrokes. This feature may be a defect of my particular pen, but I don't mind because such fast strokes are unnecessary during normal writing.

 

And while I'm blabbering about nibs, let me state that I'm in love with the Platinum 3776 soft fine. However, I do wish that Platinum had built its Century pens with similar quality materials as the Sailor Pro Gear. Ideally, I would be willing to shell out a considerable sum of money to get a Platinum 3776 soft fine nib on a Sailor Pro Gear Realo, but then that's wishful thinking...

Edited May 15, 2016 by dchatter