Sailor Naginata Togi (M) X Conid

[EliH]

First off, here are some photos:

• Nib: http://imgur.com/2vPuwy4
• Writing Sample: http://imgur.com/t7WFQ4X
• Comparison with Sailor B: http://imgur.com/DW2lT1X

Hello all, I hope you are well during these strange times. Today I have a short review of my impressions of Sailor’s contemporary Naginata Togi Medium nib. I have been using it for the past month or so as a daily writer.

Now, Sailor Naginata Togi nibs and I have a long relationship built upon longing and reluctance. I’ve always wanted one, since getting the chance to try one years ago. They write beautifully, but the prices have been getting a little wild over the last few years. Recently I sold off most of the pens I hadn’t been using, trimming my collection down to a pair of Conid AVDA Phis and an old 146 that I use as a ‘can-I-try-your-pen?’ pen. With the Conids, I have a few Sailor nibs I rotate through, and this NM is the most recent addition to their ranks.

Now, I got the chance to try one of the modern Naginata Togi nibs while living in Barcelona, but I waited until I returned home to Canada to purchase one as the price was ever so slightly better and I had the opportunity to purchase it from Wonderpens—best stationery shop in Canada folks, full stop.

The modern rendition of the grind is spectacular, and a true equal to the originals I‘ve had the pleasure to use. They write wet, really wet, and I would not have the patience to use one in a Sailor body with their tiny converter, so a Conid was a must for me. The feed does a spectacular job at keeping up, aided I am sure by the sheer volume of ink in the Minimalistica’s reservoirs. The nib performs as advertised, though I should note that the line variation has no practical use in regular western cursive scripts. Personally, I use a higher writing angle to make corrections or small notations. The feel of this nib is unlike any other Sailor nib. The sweet spot is massive, the tunes have some play to them affording some pressure-based variation, and the feedback is unique among Sailors. If a Sailor Fine is a sharp HB pencil lead, and a Sailor Broad is a fairly sharp H or F pencil lead, then the Naginata Togi Medium is a well used B or 2B pencil lead. It sings across the paper without ever feeling scratchy. Run the flat of your finger nail across a teak tabletop, that’s what it feels like. Sonorous, soulful, and spirited, this is a generation nib.

I don’t truly know what else I can say, about the nib or it’s performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

[SpecTP]

That looks very interresting.. congrats on melding the two together

[A Smug Dill]

Your writing sample is yet another 'nail in the coffin' speaking against my ever spending money on a new (modern) Naginata Togi nib, but all the same I sincerely thank you for sharing the information, which aids my (and others') due diligence!

[EliH]

No worries, happy to share.

 

In all honesty, I’ve sold off the nib already. The feel of it on paper was incredible, with a more Namiki no.50 style feedback than most Sailors—auditory as opposed to physical—but in the end it just was not practical for me. I won’t hang on to a pen I can’t use for normal writing.

 

So, in the end, my waffling back and forth for years on whether or not to purchase a Naginata Togi was more fun than actually owning the pen.

 

It is what it is.

Your writing sample is yet another 'nail in the coffin' speaking against my ever spending money on a new (modern) Naginata Togi nib, but all the same I sincerely thank you for sharing the information, which aids my (and others') due diligence!

[whichwatch]

I thought your post was really interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience. Mine is somewhat related.

 

My favorite pen to use at my desk every day is a Conid Bulkfiller in which I installed a Ralph Reyes Proem nib. Ralph is an artisan who specializes in stacked nibs (up to 9 nib stacks!) that he sold at pen shows only, although as of the last few pen shows to be held I hadn't seen Ralph around. My first nib from Ralph was called "Sequel" which was like a Sailor Cross Point but inverted. Since I love to write broad I asked Ralph for the same but inverted and he delivered what he called Proem, which is very much like the Sailor Cross Point. It writes very broad in normal position and Fine to Extra Fine when reverse writing. I love being able to get these diametrically opposed line widths by simply turning the pen over and without having to change my normal writing angle. Pictures and writing sample are posted below.

 

I have a King of Pen Cross Point nib and also a King of Pen Naginata Togi that I actually am considering selling because I like the combination of Conid Bulkfiller with Reyes nib so much. I sure hope pen shows start up again and that I get to see Ralph again real soon!

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B745CA9FF-390A-4178-8824-4A0208140B51%7D/origpict/IMG_3361.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B487EE329-9F5B-4F36-BD70-B0667D9788C3%7D/origpict/IMG_3362.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BE21839F8-579F-426F-8268-9E270E5791BF%7D/origpict/Conid.jpg

[EliH]

I have had my eye on Ralph’s work for a good while now, though I rarely make it to penshows so I’ve yet to make a purchase. I love what he does, and that he’s willing and eager to constantly innovate and experiment, while paying image to the greats that came before.

 

I especially like that his nibs are no.6 size, as that opens the door to using them in a Conid Minimalistica, or a Regular in your case. I’m not a fan of larger nibs, personally, so the Kingsize paired with a Nagahara KOP specialty nib was never really something I seriously considered. I would like to pick up one of Ralph’s Cross Concord nibs—not sure what he calls them—because, as you say, having access to such staggering line variation without having to change your writing angle is wonderful.

 

All that being said, at the end of the day I do have to admit that I am a bit of a workhorse speaker. I find that the pens that stick around in my collection all host Japanese Mediums and Broads. I know what I like, I suppose.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and the lovely writing sample and photo.

I thought your post was really interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience. Mine is somewhat related.

 

My favorite pen to use at my desk every day is a Conid Bulkfiller in which I installed a Ralph Reyes Proem nib. Ralph is an artisan who specializes in stacked nibs (up to 9 nib stacks!) that he sold at pen shows only, although as of the last few pen shows to be held I hadn't seen Ralph around. My first nib from Ralph was called "Sequel" which was like a Sailor Cross Point but inverted. Since I love to write broad I asked Ralph for the same but inverted and he delivered what he called Proem, which is very much like the Sailor Cross Point. It writes very broad in normal position and Fine to Extra Fine when reverse writing. I love being able to get these diametrically opposed line widths by simply turning the pen over and without having to change my normal writing angle. Pictures and writing sample are posted below.

 

I have a King of Pen Cross Point nib and also a King of Pen Naginata Togi that I actually am considering selling because I like the combination of Conid Bulkfiller with Reyes nib so much. I sure hope pen shows start up again and that I get to see Ralph again real soon!

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B745CA9FF-390A-4178-8824-4A0208140B51%7D/origpict/IMG_3361.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B487EE329-9F5B-4F36-BD70-B0667D9788C3%7D/origpict/IMG_3362.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BE21839F8-579F-426F-8268-9E270E5791BF%7D/origpict/Conid.jpg

[mroctober]

I know this pen is not very practical but I love it and would love to have one