Workhorse

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned my workhorse pen from Classic Fountain Pens in Los Angeles, the Sailor 1911 Large. Anyone familiar with past pages of this blog will already know that Sailor fountain pens take a prominent place in my fascination with pens. No need to review my impressions of Sailor in general. Six different Sailor models are in constant rotation at and around my desk, but the 1911 Large is my never fail, always-a-joy fountain pen.

The 1911 Series was introduced by Sailor twenty-five years ago to mark the company’s foundation. Over the years, variations on the initial design have come out periodically, though it has not varied greatly. Of course, they’ve always had the great Nobuyoshi Nagahara designing the nibs, and that standard is unfailingly consistent. The chances are almost ninety-nine percent certain that a Sailor nib will give satisfaction right out of the box. Most of my Sailor nibs are unmodified and I’m happy with that. The medium 21k gold nib on my 1911 Large was modified to fit my preferences by John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens, and he worked magic on that fountain pen. If anyone is considering a Sailor pen, I strongly recommend John at www.nibs.com.

Specifics on the 1911 Large…

MODEL NAME: 1911 Color 2021

NUMBER: 11-9201

MATERIAL: PMMA Resin

FILLING SYSTEM: Converter and cartridge

NIB: 21k gold in a wide range of sizes

The design of the pen is traditional and measures 5.5 inches capped, weighing 24 grams. It comes in yellow, blue or red, with gold trim and pocket clip. There are double bands on the cap, which has a rounded black top, minus the familiar Sailor anchor logo. Mine is yellow, and slightly reminiscent of the old 1928 Parker Duofold Mandarin.

I refer to my 1911 Large as the workhorse because it writes page after page, day after day without the smallest slip. The medium nib is very wet, and you would think it might guzzle ink, but that isn’t the case. The ink flows smoothly with good economy. I was writing a letter this morning that turned out to be several pages, and looking back on those pages at the end, I felt the pen deserved some praise. It lays down line after line, day in and day out, forever looking and feeling like the acme of fountain pen writing. Kind of wish I had the blue and red models as well.

Sailor in the Dumps

Time for me to growl a little about a troublesome fountain pen. Anyone who has read more than a couple of the posts on this blog will already know that I am a devoted fan of Sailor, avid for both their inks and their fountain pens. It has been a long time since I left the house without at least one Sailor pen in my pocket. I have six Sailor pens, and five of them are nothing short of the cat’s meow.

Oh, but that pesky Sailor 1911 Mid-Size can be a devil. It’s one I bought online three years ago at Classic Fountain Pens, Inc., located in Los Angeles. I had earlier purchased another 1911 from them, that one in the large size, and I was so pleased with the crafting of the nib, I immediately wanted another in a different color and size. In my experience with Classic’s nibster, John Mottishaw, he has always given me exactly what I asked for in a nib. In fact, I wouldn’t dream of putting any blame on John for the irritating nib on my 1911 Mid-Size.

Downstrokes are the problem, and as many as ten times on one page, the pen will skip. I’m not sure if you can see them clearly, but in the photo of the poem, I have indicated with a red dot places on the page where the pen skipped and I had to go back and re-write those letters. Well, seven times in the space of seventeen lines is too much for me. Considering my five other Sailor pens, even one time is too many. It happens only with the 1911 Mid-Size. I have taken the pen to a clinic where Nobuyoshi Nagahara took a look at it, made a few adjustments, and suggested that the 14k nib might be one reason for the problem. I didn't really understand that because I have steel nibbed pens that don’t skip, as well as a Sailor Professional Gear with a 14k nib that never skips. I have cleaned the nib as well as can be done safely, I have tried a dozen or more different inks, I have altered my grip and still the pen skips on the occasional downstroke.

Despite it all, I do like the Sailor 1911 Mid-Size, but the 14k M nib is giving me a headache. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would welcome them.