Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Sailor Professional Gear Earth Fountain Pen Review

I am a huge Sailor fan. This is known. So when Sailor announced last year’s Sky model, I went big. I went way out of my wheelhouse and bought my first King of Pens model. And it is amazing.

At the time, the Earth model had just been announced as the second in this special edition series, but wasn’t available yet. Did I just lock myself in to buying the complete set of these pens? And what is after Earth? Wind and Fire?

I liked the visual of Earth when I first saw it, but it was a little too gold for me to commit to a King of Pens model once again. I received this Pro Gear model on loan from Goldspot to try out though, and I have to say it is pretty great.

What makes it so great? I think Sailor’s Professional Gear shape and size is one of the best all-around fountain pen models on the market. It is the perfect combination of weight, balance, quality, and choice for nearly anyone. One of the two I own is always finds it way into my rotation.

With the Earth, you get what at first looks like a brown barrel with gold hardware, but closer inspection reveals red undertones, and importantly in my book, some transparency. The body of the pen is generally solid, but the end of the cap and the grip section transition into a lighter, see-through color. It is a really nice effect.

The 21k nib is fantastic. This model is an H-MF so the firmness and line width is nearly ideal for my handwriting. Sailor nibs aren’t glassy smooth, and this one has the normal feedback I expect. It was flawless on the page, but you know the nib is there.

I did have one issue with this pen, and I wonder if it is a one-off situation, or if it appears on other units. In some areas around the gold cap band it looks like the barrel finish or coating went a little wild during manufacturing. I didn’t notice it at first, but if you look closely you can see that there is some bleed onto the gold hardware, giving it a tarnished look. I didn’t try to get it off because I don’t own this pen. If I am spending this kind of money I would ask to have mine checked before it shipped for a clean cap band. (UPDATE: Thanks to the commenters below, this is an issue Sailor caught and has since corrected.)

That bug aside, I love the Pro Gear as a daily writer. It has everything I look for in a fountain pen, Earth, Sky, or any of the dozens of other options.

My thanks to Goldspot for loaning me this pen for purposes of this review.

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Posted on October 31, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Sailor, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Kaweco Special Nib Holder + Nib: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Kaweco Special Nib Holder is made of anodized aluminum with a matte black finish. It has an octagonal shape that tapers at the end. Although the holder is made of metal, the matte finish and octagonal shape make it easy to hold. The metal gives the nib holder some weight, and it feels balanced in the hand–not too heavy and not too light.

The Kaweco Special comes in a plastic box that can be used for storage.

Nibs can be inserted anywhere along the circle of the nib grip. In the photo below, you can see rust on the nib holder. I believe this is rust transferred from the nibs (which rust quite easily) and not the metal parts of the holder rusting.

The nib holder comes with a Leonardt 30 pointed nib. It’s a fairly stiff nib that writes a fine line.

I wanted something more expressive, so I purchased a Brause 361 Steno Blue Pumpkin Calligraphy Nib that has more flexibility.

Both nibs write fairly smoothly, but because the tips are sharp, you can definitely catch the paper on upstrokes. The Brause nib offers a great deal more flexibility and I prefer writing with it. But the Leonardt nib is good for basic writing and sketching.

The nibs are easy to insert into the holder, but I have to use rubber gloves to remove them. The nibs are sharp and slippery. They are also prone to rusting, so you need to rinse and dry them off after each use (I learned this the hard way). The blue plating on my Brause nib is flaking off, but these aren’t exactly high-end nibs. I don’t expect them to last long.

I love dip nibs for ink testing because you can simply rinse the nib off between inks rather than having to fill a piston or converter. It saves time and a lot of ink. The downside of using dip nibs, especially if you’re not accustomed to writing with them (like me), is that the ink can come out much wetter than it would with a fountain pen nib. So the ink appears darker and, in some cases, it feathers, when it would not do that in a regular pen.

The Kaweco Special Nib Holder with the Leonardt 30 nib is $36.00 on JetPens. If you want a more flexible nib, I recommend the Brause Blue Pumpkin which is $1.80 also on JetPens.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 28, 2016 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kaweco, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Delta Unica Matte Black Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Delta Unica is my first exposure to the Delta brand, so it's fair to say that I didn't know what to expect. I've always seen Delta pens at the pen shows over the years, but I've never purchased one. They have some amazing, eye-grabbing designs, but nothing ever screamed "buy me" while at the shows. Well, I'm happy to say that my first experience with the Delta brand has been very positive.

While some of the Delta lines feature bright, colorful bodies that jump out as you walk by, the Unica is a matte black pen with subtle features. The matte finish on the pen creates a soft glow instead of a distinct shimmer, and the gunmetal trim adds character and a tasteful antique look. When looking at the pen, it looks like it has some heft, but upon picking it up, I'm surprised by how light it is.

The texture of the pen body is smooth but grippy, and it does a great job of resisting fingerprints. For black pens, this is a huge win.

Unscrewing the cap takes about one full rotation, and the action is smooth when removing the cap. One complaint I have with this particular unit is that putting the cap back on the pen can be a bit inaccurate. It sometimes misses the threads or becomes slightly cross threaded, which means you have to back up and try again. Not a big deal, but something I wouldn't expect from a pen at this price range. I'm guessing it's probably just a single defect in my pen, not the whole line.

The gunmetal clip is really strong, and features a small wheel at the end of the clip to aid in sliding across fabrics and latching on. With my pen, the wheel doesn't actually turn, but it's a nice aesthetic feature.

The shape of the pen is fantastic. The widest diameter is at the very top of the cap, and the smallest diameter is at the bottom of the pen body. It's thick, but not too thick. For my hands, it's a great size for writing. I use it exclusively without the cap posted, but that's the case for most of my pens. If you want to post the cap, it fits snugly at the end of the pen body.

As far as length goes, it's a fairly normal length for fountain pens. It's a tad longer than my Karas Kustoms Ink, and a bit shorter than a Lamy 2000. It was interesting to compare the finishes of the Delta versus the Lamy. They're really different, but beautiful in their own way.

Under the cap, there's a large nib hiding out with some beautiful scroll work and a nib point designation. The section is smooth and slightly tapered, and I find it to be very comfortable. For my grip, the cap threads do not interfere with my fingers. Like I mentioned before, this finish resists fingerprints, and it also maintains excellent grip through long writing sessions.

This pen comes with a standard international short cartridge, but it also comes with a nice cartridge-converter in the box so you can ink it up with something exciting. I chose a bright Akkerman blue to offset the unassuming matte black exterior.

The only branding on the pen is featured on the cap directly under the tip of the clip. "DELTA ITALY" is embossed at the bottom of the cap in a tiny size. It's really minimal, and I love it.

Overall, the pen feels really well made and comfortable. I have no qualms with throwing it in my bag or pants pocket. I'm interested to see if the finish changes over time with use.

Now, how does it write? With a reputation of a long line of Italian pen makers, you would expect to write wonderfully, and it certainly does. Straight out of the box, this pen has been smooth and delightful. It delivers ink consistently and can also be uncapped/unused for quite a while before starting to dry. I've never had any slow starts or skipping, and it can deliver the ink as fast as I can write or scribble.

This is a fine point nib, and it's right on the money in terms of line width. It's a smooth writer, but it does make some slight scratching noises on most papers. I'm not sure why it makes these noises, but I'm not very concerned about it since the writing performance is great.

The nib is a steel unit with little to no flex. The amount of pressure needed to flex the nib will result in deep indentions or tears in your paper. So, if you're looking for a flexy Italian fountain pen, look elsewhere (hint: Omas).

This is a fantastic pen, and I'm very pleased with how it's performed so far! If you're like me and have passed several Deltas at the pen shows because you're not very familiar with them, do yourself a favor and stop for a look next time! They have some great offerings and they're solid performers.

The Delta Unica in Matte Black is the most affordable Delta model (typically for under $80), so it's an excellent entry point to test the waters. Matte Black is the only color option, so keep that in mind as well. Goulet Pens have the Delta Unica in both a fine and medium point, so check them out if you're interested!

(Goulet Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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