Review: @PenChalet Sailor 1911 Standard Clear Fountain Pen - Music Nib

Ah! A modern music nib! Thank you Ron from the Pen Chalet for sending this lovely Sailor to me! Don't forget peeps - you can use discount code GourmetPens at Pen Chalet upon check out to receive 10% off your purchase from now until the end of the year!

ABOUT

Body Material: Resin
Trim: Gold
Length (capped): 5.25"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 4.62"
Length (posted): 6.125"
Barrel Diameter: 0.48"
Section Diameter: 0.379" - 0.415"
Nib material: 14K Gold
Weight: 14 g
Fill type: Cartridge/Converter
Price: $156.00USD (MSRP $195.00USD)
Where to buy: Pen Chalet

PACKAGING

The Sailor 1911 Standard fountain pen arrived packaged in a blue hard case box with the Sailor logo printed on the top in gold lettering. This box was inside a white cardboard sleeve. I don't really understand the purpose of the white sleeve... to keep the box closed? Feels like a waste though. I put it to recycle. Inside the blue box, the pen is held in place by an elastic and ribbon on a felt bed. The bed is removable. There is also a cartridge, a converter, as well as a little pamphlet about the Sailor Pen Co. and your pen. Little wasted space with this packaging. I find it simple, though unspectacular. I hate having to keep packaging though, because I don't have that much space, so I prefer not to have extra cost added into the price of the pen because of pretty packaging.

APPEARANCE

The Sailor 1911 Standard (also may be referred to as the Mid-Size) is a pen that is on the smaller side, with a torpedo shape. The trim - clip, center band, and ring at the end of the pen, is all gold and very shiny. The whole pen is clear, including the cap (where some clear pens *cough cough Pilot* have grey sleeves inside the cap). This Sailor has an inner sleeve in the cap but it's also clear. If you look, you can see it, but it does not disrupt the continuity of the pen negatively. The pen flares very slightly towards the center, and tapers again towards the end of the pen. The center band is thick and is engraved with Sailor Japan Founded 1911, hence Sailor 1911! The section is clear as well, so you can see the gold trim through it, as well as the nib collar, which is black. It is smooth, with just a ring around the base of it. The converter is a Sailor converter, with chrome trim. The nib is a beautiful 14K gold nib with lovely detailing on it, as well as the nib grade indicated on it.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

Sorry about the lint. The horror...!

Again, this nib is beautiful. The detailing is lovely. I was expecting a double slit nib, being a music nib, as the Platinum #3776 Music has a double slit nib, and so does my vintage Waterman. However, the explanation is Sailor was able to produce a music nib with a single slit that still delivers a wet, stubby line. The first thing I wanted to know was whether there was any flex to this nib: there is not. There is indeed line variation as the nib is quite stubbed, but the nib itself does not flex. There is also a fair amount of feedback, but this is a type of feedback I have found typical of Sailor nibs (such as with the Zoom nib). It's not annoying, the nib doesn't catch on the paper, it just "announces" itself as you write.

I inked up with Sailor's Sei-Boku (pigmented blue-black), which is an ink that is on the dry side. Indeed, the nib puts down a really nice stubby line. I would have preferred a wetter line, personally, but maybe that's because I was expecting something like the vintage Waterman music nib I usually use, but even the Sailor Zoom nib I have is far juicier. I tried to open up the tines a little but boy are they snug! Upon some ink testing, the Sei-Boku affected the flow a little because it's so dry. Using an ink that is less dry improved the flow quite a bit.

Either way, this music nib delivers a broad, stubby line, transforming my plain handwriting into something fun and unique,which I think is great for anyone to enjoy! You can expect to burn through a converter of ink pretty fast though.

The music nib brings out shading qualities of an ink in a wonderful way! Even in what I would generally call a boring blue!

IN HAND

I think this is a great pen in hand - it's extremely comfortable, great weight, great balance. It writes well unposted but it's perfected posted because it posts deeply and comfortably. Writing for extended sessions is no problem. The girth of the pen is ideal for my grip as well, which surprised me because I can adapt my grip to almost any size of pen without issue, but this one just struck me as great in grip. Make sense? Maybe not. The point is: it is really comfortable, and it's a pleasure to write with, both in terms of how it feels in hand, but also because of the joy of seeing what the nib produces.

The clip has good spring but is tight - quite practical. It has a good length so it will clip on safely to papers/pockets.

If you are wondering whether this Standard would be suitable, or if you would need to go up a size to the 1911 Large, here are the two:

PROS 

• Beautiful aesthetics - clear body with gold trim.
• Very comfortable to write with (especially posted).
• Posts well.
• Gorgeous 14K gold nib (and you get a gold nib for this price!)
• Produces great line variation with ease.
• Makes ink look great because of shading.

CONS

• Will be on the small side for those with larger hands.
• I was hoping this nib would be really wet. I like my nibs to be a 9 out of 10 on the wetness scale. I think the Zoom nib is better for wetness. Some users prefer a moderately wet writer, in which case, the music nib is a much better choice!
• With this clear version of the 1911 Standard, the chrome converter trim is very obvious when the rest of the pen's trim is gold. If you use a cartridge, this won't be an issue, and if your pen is a solid coloured body (black, yellow, etc), this also won't be an issue. If you like clear pens like I do, you will probably notice this. However, this is not a deal breaker for me.

OVERALL

Whether you want a music nib or not (and if you don't, there's a whole slew of other nib grades to pick from), the Sailor 1911 Standard series is a really nice series to look into, especially the clear version. The gold trim on clear body is gorgeous, and it's not a huge pen - ideal for we ladies and gents that don't have giant hands. Posts deeply, writes well, 14K gold nib... and 10% off at Pen Chalet?

Pen Chalet provided this pen for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.