Sailor Professional Gear or Mont Blanc 146 ?

[goodguy]

I wouldnt think twice and buy the 146 !!!

 

First the nibs.

Sailor makes smooth nibs but they are BORING again they are BORING.I cant stand their nibs because they are smooth but disconect you from the paper.They are efficient with ZERO fun.

The MB 156 has a nice nib with lots of response.The MB 146 doesnt have the best nib in the marker but they are very good and reliable nibs.

The 146 has a piston filler while the 1911 is a C/C and I love piston and will take a piston filler anyday over a C/C.

 

The material of the 1911 is good but not amazing while I love MB special resin.It feels very unique to me.

 

Lets face it the 1911 looks very similar to the 146 because it looks to me like sailor simply copied the 146.

 

Go for the MB 146.

[Bill]

... ( eg. overall build quality, durability and performance ).

...I will probably carry the MB 146 for two upcoming holiday tuxedo-wearing events in case I have a snob moment, but will have my black Omas Paragon as backup.

 

Bill

 

 

 

An Omas as a back up to an MB. Give me a break. I think that you have it backwards.

 

 

Harv

 

Whoa, that didn't come out right! Harv, in Chatter I just had fellow FPNers "pick-the-pen" for those events and I will honor their choices. Tomorrow I will carry a pearl and black Duofold Centennial. Later this month, I will carry a gold/black "51". I SHOULD have said I would carry the MB only for flashing shallow people and use the Paragon in front of people I actually love/like. Actually, the MBs will stay home.

 

A few minutes ago I set out side-by-side four black pens: Sailor 1911 full size, MB 146, Sailor 1911 Pro Gear, MB 149. I may try an experiment where I cover up everything except the main barrels and ask people to chose which two have different plastic than the other two. If I study them long enough, it looks like the Sailor plastic might be a nanomicrotad more shiny...maybe...just maybe I should throw in a couple of those freebie MB-lookalike BPs my wife brings home from the office.

 

What good is precious resin if you can't tell it is precious.

 

Having said all that, I must say that the 149 nib is a little better than average but not as good as a Sailor nor, obviously, an Omas.

 

Bill

 

[PigRatAndGoat]

I love my MB; the resin is beautiful looking, the nib writes will, so far very reliable, etc. However, the even thought he resin is pretty to look at, it just won't score points in durability, because you won't let it. If the has a chance to tough it, you'll drown the area with your wails of grief as the pretty resin gets scratched.

Sailor seems to have a good reputation around here, and their durability hasn't come under fire yet, so go for it.

The 146 would be my top choice if durability wasn't a prerequisite. (one may argue that FP's don't have to be too durable since to the constant care they will receive).

Keep in mind that I don't own a Sailor, so ignore me completely if you wish.

[wspohn]

Both are worthy pens and I don't think there is enough difference between them to give the prize to either one.

 

As you've seen, some people have problems with MB - they have conceived a distaste for their products which often transcends reason - but that is their problem, not a problem with the pens. All pens have bad examples - delivered with nibs that don't write well and need to be serviced, for instance. That signals no design flaw (although a possible lack in quality control).

 

I have several of each that are excellent writers. Both my 149 and 146 with XF nibs are smooth effortless writers, and my Sailors are great writers as well - with a wider range of nib choices, but that would only matter to you if you wanted something unusual in the way of nibs.

 

Best thing to do is give each a test run and choose whichever best pleases you. If the social stigma of being seen in public with the MB and being lumped in with all those who buy them as a lifestyle statement rather than becuse they are nice writers bothers you, then the Sailor would be the better choice. If you aren't worried about what others may think (and most people never even notice what sort of pen you are using anyway), go with whichever best pleases you.

 

FWIW I like the 1911 better than the Professional Gear, but then I have less experience with the latter, which may well have its advocates.

[georges zaslavsky]

I own two 146. One from the mid sixties with a full flexible medium oblique nib and another from the mid eighties with a fine semi flex nib. Both are extremely good writers better than Sailors I have tried, they are not brittle and are very reliable pens.

[ikondave]

A tough call. I prefer the feel of the MBs materials. My experience with both pens has been very good in terms of performance and durability. I have never had any of the problems with any of my Montblancs that I have read about here. Just like the Sailor, they wrote flawlessly from day one. Neither pen is collectible, but I would guess that the MB would hold more of its value, which could come in handy someday.

[sallywally]

I had three MB fountain pens and they just don't make a nib fine enough for me. If one wants even a remotely fine nib, Sailor is the only choice. Even the XF MBs created a mess on the paper for me - my writing's too small for them. I traded them all to John Mottishaw for a Nakaya Ascending Dragon.

[Blade Runner]

I'd definitely get the 146 because

 

1.I prefer the slight feedback and heavier ride of MB nibs compared to the slippery smooth Sailor nibs that feel character-less and are difficult to control for me.

 

2.Piston filler of the 146. Convertors can have a problem with ink sticking to walls of the small diameter convertor, and they have much smaller capacity

 

3.The Sailor nib engraving is almost an exact copy of MB. No originality.

 

4.General feel of the MB is nicer.

Edited July 4, 2010 by Blade Runner

[Julio]

Definitely Sailor. Why? "More buck for your money."

[fuchsiaprincess]

146 all the way :

 

- piston filler

- writing experience (Sailor nibs all write like nails)

- feel of the pen

 

BTW, I now have six 146s of various denominations, and have sold all my Sailors.

[Silvermink]

Seeing as this thread is from October 2007, I'm going to assume the decision's probably long been made.

[ajha1970]

sailor.VsMb149.docsailor.VsMb149.docSailor PG series Vs MB 149 i can say sailor sailor.VsMb149.docis having edge, it is Flawless and you get value for money

[olivier78860]

I have tried the Sailor Professional Gear in KOP size. The nib is far, far, far better than anything you'll find in the alps near Hamburg. But. The Montblanc has a piston mechanism which holds lots more ink than the Sailor.

But the nib on the Sailor is slightly flexible, and so smooth that a modern 149's nib behaves like a knife in comparison.

[georges zaslavsky]

I have tried the Sailor Professional Gear in KOP size. The nib is far, far, far better than anything you'll find in the alps near Hamburg. But. The Montblanc has a piston mechanism which holds lots more ink than the Sailor.

But the nib on the Sailor is slightly flexible, and so smooth that a modern 149's nib behaves like a knife in comparison.

I own 3 MB146 from the 70's-80's that outwrite any 1911 and who have semi fex to flex nibs. The nibs on sailor pens are glassy smooth but not really flexible, Omas, Pelikan, Stipula, Bexley and Montegrapa offer flexibility in their nibs. For Japanese pens Pilot, Danitrio and perhaps Nakaya are offering flexible nibs but not Sailor.

Edited January 19, 2012 by georges zaslavsky

[olivier78860]

I have tried the Sailor Professional Gear in KOP size. The nib is far, far, far better than anything you'll find in the alps near Hamburg. But. The Montblanc has a piston mechanism which holds lots more ink than the Sailor.

But the nib on the Sailor is slightly flexible, and so smooth that a modern 149's nib behaves like a knife in comparison.

I own 3 MB146 from the 70's-80's that outwrite any 1911 and who have semi fex to flex nibs. The nibs on sailor pens are glassy smooth but not really flexible, Omas, Pelikan, Stipula, Bexley and Montegrapa offer flexibility in their nibs. For Japanese pens Pilot, Danitrio and perhaps Nakaya are offering flexible nibs but not Sailor.

 

Agree regarding the older pens. But modern? My 149's nib is plain boring, compared to the F on my Professional Gear (F-B flexible); and the Visconti's HS is also far better (EF-B flexible).

On a side-note, I think Danitrio is US, not JP.

Edit : Not even mentioning one can nearly have the whole range of Professional Gear nibs for the price of a single 149 That's a lot more plastic for the same price, and quite a bunch of nibs too!

Edited January 19, 2012 by olivier78860

[georges zaslavsky]

Agree regarding the older pens. But modern? My 149's nib is plain boring, compared to the F on my Professional Gear (F-B flexible); and the Visconti's HS is also far better (EF-B flexible).

On a side-note, I think Danitrio is US, not JP.

Edit : Not even mentioning one can nearly have the whole range of Professional Gear nibs for the price of a single 149 That's a lot more plastic for the same price, and quite a bunch of nibs too!

I have tried several sailors but for me they weren't flexible as you mentionned and about viscontis their nibs are dull and they don't really offer line variation as much as Omas, Stip and Montegrappa nibs do. The palladium dream touch is not made to be flexible and if you press too hard on it, it is ruined. Visconti nibs were never known to be flexible and no professional nibmeister will define sailor nibs as flexible, glass smooth yes for sure but having tried several king of pens and 1911, they didn't offer line variation as much as did my old style pelikan m800s and my two m1000s

[sheehmi]

I wouldnt think twice and buy the 146 !!!

 

First the nibs.

Sailor makes smooth nibs but they are BORING again they are BORING.I cant stand their nibs because they are smooth but disconect you from the paper.They are efficient with ZERO fun.

The MB 156 has a nice nib with lots of response.The MB 146 doesnt have the best nib in the marker but they are very good and reliable nibs.

The 146 has a piston filler while the 1911 is a C/C and I love piston and will take a piston filler anyday over a C/C.

 

The material of the 1911 is good but not amazing while I love MB special resin.It feels very unique to me.

 

Lets face it the 1911 looks very similar to the 146 because it looks to me like sailor simply copied the 146.

 

Go for the MB 146.

+1 I have them both and find nibs comparable with no meaningful difference in terms of writability (if that's a word). The MB 146 being a piston filler with more gravitas (or girth) puts it over the top for me. Get the Sailor later. The MB isn't going to be your last pen, right?

Edited January 20, 2012 by sheehmi

[sheehmi]

Seeing as this thread is from October 2007, I'm going to assume the decision's probably long been made.

I totally agree with you; interesting debate nonetheless

[XP100]

You do know that there is a piston fill version of the 1911, as well as the Pro Gear? They're part of the Realo line.

[bicfan]

Japan for the win.