Sailor Compass 1911 nib actually smooth?

[Skydiver]

I recently picked up a Sailor Compass 1911 to round out an order, as well as satisfy curiosity about the shape/form factor of an actual Sailor 1911. Based on various reviews I've read and seen, I was prepared to be disappointed by the feel of the nib of the Compass. When I got the pen and inked it up with some Robert Oster Green Lady, I was very very surprised while trying it out on Rhodia and Tamoe River. It was was quieter, smoother, and had less feedback than all my other pens: Pilot Explorer (F); Platinum Preppy (EF) and (F); TWSBI 580 (EF), Eco (EF), Go (1.1 Stub); Lamy Vista (EF). The only pen that was smoother was my Platinum Preppy (M). It was only when I tested on regular paper -- 18 lbs laser paper -- that the Compass fell to the bottom of the heap exhibiting the often described pencil on paper feel.

 

Did I just get lucky with this particular pen's nib and ink combination? Or is my grip or writing style just well suited for this pen? Or do I simply just not have enough experience yet being only about a month into this hobby?

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Skydiver
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[A Smug Dill]

The type of steel nibs, which are only made in the MF width grade, on the Sailor Profit Jr. (known as 1911 Jr. in overseas markets, and sometimes Compass who knows where) and Lecoule models simply cannot be considered representative of fountain pen hobbyists' collective idea of “Sailor nibs”.

 

While not being as smooth as, say, Faber-Castell's steel nibs on the Essentio, Loom, and Ambition models, those particular Sailor steel MF nibs don't produce (quite) the signature “pencil-like” kinaesthetic feedback, for which Sailor's (14K, 18K, and 21K) gold nibs in various (nib body, or physical) sizes — ‘medium-sized’ 中型 on the Profit Standard and Professional Gear Slim, ‘large-sized’ 大型 on the Profit21 and Professional Gear (‘Classic’), and ‘extra-large-sized’ or ‘oversized’ 超大型 on the King Of Pens models — are well-known.

[Skydiver]

I understood that the Compass' nib wouldn't be a good representation of the famous Sailor nibs, but then the reviews I had read and seen were saying that the Compass' nibs were just "meh". They also said that Compass nibs were scratchier or had more feedback, and better nibs could be found in much lower priced pens. It's why I was kind of surprised by what I found in my hands.

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Skydiver said:

They also said that Compass nibs were scratchier or had more feedback,

 

I have used four Profit Jr. (here's one) and four Lecoule pens (here's one), and I haven't found a single MF nib on those to be scratchy or produce more feedback than, say, a Sailor 14K gold MF nib on a Pro Gear Slim or Promenade.

 

1 hour ago, Skydiver said:

and better nibs could be found in much lower priced pens.

 

That's completely irrelevant to review or assessment of the pen model's qualities and performance as a writing instrument, in my opinion.

[Lithium466]

I had a Profit Jr and certainly found the nib unremarkable (like the whole pen, actually), but not scratchy.
Meh would describe my feeling about the pen pretty well, and contrary to the more polarising feeling I had about a 1911 standard with 21k nib (which I initially hated, and have now come to like more), I didn't feel like coming back to that Profit Jr much after the first supplied cartridge was empty.

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Lithium466 said:

I had a Profit Jr and certainly found the nib unremarkable (like the whole pen, actually),

 

What really impressed me is its cap seal effectiveness. I eyedropper-filled the barrel of my clear Profit Jr. with Noodler's Ink Blue Ghost just that once, and left it in there for over three years (but wrote with it very rarely, as one would expect with invisible ink), during which time only half of the fill had evaporated. Now, it could be that it's just the particular ink that somehow resisted evaporation so well; but I've also found my Lecoule pens (of equally cheap construction) also seal very well when capped. One was filled with Diamine Shimmering Seas ink for over six months, during which time the ink in the converter did not dry out, and there were no hard-starts and no evidence of clogging from the shimmer ink, but the pen wrote readily every time it was uncapped.

[Lithium466]

That is impressed performance! 

 

I will admit that I didn't feel like trying that and just wanted to be done with the pen   As I got it with a converter for barely more than the price of a converter alone, I shouldn't complain. You're making me want to find the pen, wherever it is, and test the cap seal effectiveness now...

[Skydiver]

Good stuff to know! Thanks for sharing.