Sharing my simple joy - pictures of my pocket pens

[PithyProlix]

1 hour ago, Chi said:

 

I have exact same silver platinum You shared. I believe it is made of aluminum and have silver, gold, two versions. 

 

My aluminum pens are much lighter so I think it is actually steel. This Platinum also seems to be about the same weight as my all-steel bodied Elite. I wasn't aware of the gold version. 

[Chi]

@PithyProlix this gold version is only made in aluminum. It is in gold with black stripes. I have one in my initial picture of Platinum plate. It is right next to its silver counter part.

[PithyProlix]

On 1/24/2022 at 8:41 PM, Chi said:

@PithyProlixI have not yet encountered a colorful elite yet. Mine are all classic blacks with gold trims.

 

Well, you do have the all-steel, cross-hatched version. 😉 

 

I found this one last month - with a Custom-style nib. 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Chi said:

@PithyProlix this gold version is only made in aluminum. It is in gold with black stripes. I have one in my initial picture of Platinum plate. It is right next to its silver counter part.

 

Gotcha. I haven't seen those aluminum pens here yet. 

[Chi]

@PithyProlix I love those custom style nibs especially after I learned the date codes! It's so satisfying to figure when they were made!

[PithyProlix]

Here's one I received yesterday that is interesting. It's an original Sailor Mini, which is the first modern pocket pen model, coming out in 1963. You can read more about them here:

• https://pocketpens.wordpress.com/2017/04/12/sailor-mini-鋁蓋黑桿-大鐵迴紋針筆夾-14k尖-2/
• http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/pocket_pens.htm
• https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2015/03/sailor-1963.html

The date code here is "DE", which means 1963 May. This predates the Sailor Minis on Richard Binder's Japanese Pocket Pens page. I haven't seen any other date codes for this early version with a hooded nib (later versions had a fingernail nib). Does anyone know of an earlier one? And does anyone know when Sailor started manufacturing them?

 

There is no marking visible on the nib but it looks to be gold, not gold plated. I haven't inked it yet to see how it writes. It came with a virtually empty cartridge with the old Sailor logo - the same logo as the cap's.

 

It may be hard to see in the pics but the cap is a shiny gold color, typical of many less expensive Japanese pens of the time. This one sold for 1000 yen and supposedly targeted the student market. Coincidentally, I also received a February 1964 Pilot L-100 yesterday that is almost the exact same salmon pink color and same color cap, also priced at 1000 yen (the Pilot has a 14k nib so I suspect this competitor Sailor pen has the same). (Speculation: Perhaps the salmon pink color was popular among Japanese students of the time?)

 

These pics were done pretty quickly. The one with the cap off comes closest to the actual color of the barrel and section on my phone screen but is too red/pink on my laptop display.

 

 

 

[Chi]

@PithyProlix nice find! My mini so far are all black. But I have seen a few different colors. I have been searching and waiting on other beautiful colors too, like baby blue, blue-green.

[Chi]

Quick Update,

 

Changed ink in my 21K Zoom, I have decided to ink it with one of my favorite shading ink, Sailor Ink Studio #280.

Coincidentally, after testing a lot of brown inks,  I have picked Sailor Ink Studio #680.

[PithyProlix]

7 hours ago, Chi said:

@PithyProlix nice find! My mini so far are all black. But I have seen a few different colors. I have been searching and waiting on other beautiful colors too, like baby blue, blue-green.

 

I got a cute blue-green one yesterday - not a Mini but a somewhat later Sailor pocket pen. I will try to post some pics soon. The nib is fantastic and has the Sailor pencil-like feedback in spades. 

[PithyProlix]

6 hours ago, Chi said:

Quick Update,

 

Changed ink in my 21K Zoom, I have decided to ink it with one of my favorite shading ink, Sailor Ink Studio #280.

Coincidentally, after testing a lot of brown inks,  I have picked Sailor Ink Studio #680.

 

Nice. The zoom nib + high shading ink = yes, yes, yes.

 

(But, damn, those Sailor Ink Studio inks are expensive.) 

[PithyProlix]

8 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

I got a cute blue-green one yesterday - not a Mini but a somewhat later Sailor pocket pen. I will try to post some pics soon. The nib is fantastic and has the Sailor pencil-like feedback in spades. 

 

Maybe not blue-green - not sure - probably just green. (?) My phone camera was struggling with the color, jumping around with some automatic white balance, I think. Frosted silver cap. The photo colors look pretty close on my phone screen.

 

A simple pen with a wonderful nib - feels exactly like writing with a nice, soft pencil. The ink - an old black Sailor cartridge - might have a large contribution to that feel. (?) Only nib markings are the Sailor logo on one side and '14k' on the other.

 

Date code JF = 1969 June

 

 

 

[Chi]

10 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

Nice. The zoom nib + high shading ink = yes, yes, yes.

 

(But, damn, those Sailor Ink Studio inks are expensive.) 

 Hahaha… so true! But after I started using them, I find out that there are a lot of interesting sheening and shading inks hiding behind those numbers. Eventually, I probably will try sample them all.

[Chi]

[awa54]

6 hours ago, Chi said:

 

 

Interesting, I have an oversized (at least for that time period) Sailor with a similar section design.

In fact it came with an extra large cartridge fitted as well, both longer and larger diameter, but with normal Sailor interface diameter.

[Chi]

6 hours ago, awa54 said:

 

 

Interesting, I have an oversized (at least for that time period) Sailor with a similar section design.

In fact it came with an extra large cartridge fitted as well, both longer and larger diameter, but with normal Sailor interface diameter.

 

@0@ that is very cool! I really like the design of this section. It feels very modern and industrial which is very different from other Sailor Minis.

 

Is yours still a pocket pen? like a bigger version of pocket pen, lol

[awa54]

2 hours ago, Chi said:

 

@0@ that is very cool! I really like the design of this section. It feels very modern and industrial which is very different from other Sailor Minis.

 

Is yours still a pocket pen? like a bigger version of pocket pen, lol

 

When I get my pen stuff settled in at the new house I'll try to get some photos; it's a bit larger diameter and slightly longer than most late 1960s(?) Sailor cartridge fill pens.

[PithyProlix]

14 hours ago, Chi said:

 

How well does it write? And what's the ink, please?

[Chi]

11 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

How well does it write? And what's the ink, please?

It is really smooth writing experience  But probably a little to pointy for Tomoé River 52g paper. I have to be carful not to poke a hole when writing. 
 

I carried this with my traveler’s notebook, so I use sailor souboku pigment deep blue cartridge. 

[Chi]

29 minutes ago, awa54 said:

 

When I get my pen stuff settled in at the new house I'll try to get some photos; it's a bit larger diameter and slightly longer than most late 1960s(?) Sailor cartridge fill pens.

that will be great! Thank you very much.

[PithyProlix]

13 minutes ago, Chi said:

It is really smooth writing experience  But probably a little to pointy for Tomoé River 52g paper. I have to be carful not to poke a hole when writing. 
 

I carried this with my traveler’s notebook, so I use sailor souboku pigment deep blue cartridge. 

 

Mine's not so smooth, even after tweaking the nib a bit. I have Herbin Rouille D'Ancre in it - perhaps it needs a more lubricated ink. [EDIT: I take that back. Just tweaked a little bit more and it feels good now but nothing special.] I also have to be care not to poke holes with it ...

 

I have another Sailor pocket pen with the same bent clip (same pen as the 3rd pen down in the Sailor section of Richard Binder's page on Japanese pocket pens - the one with the black section) - I guess a year or two more current - and that one writes like a dream. But the nib is a completely different fingernail-type nib.

 

Thanks.

[Chi]

@PithyProlix you are more than welcome.

 

I have pretty good luck with my sailor pocket pens but not with platinum. A couple of them had flow issues and I sent them back to the pen shop I got them from to be adjusted. 
 

the most scratchy one I have experienced is probably my Center 14k fine.