Bungubox Sanctuary Blue Sailor Professional Gear Fountain Pen: 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.)

When Bungubox announced their limited edition Sanctuary Blue Sailor Professional Gear fountain pen, I was immediately smitten: blue and green, sparkles, unusual white finials, and a wee, little raden turtle on the cap finial. I sent an email right away and bought the pen.

It arrived from Japan in a Sailor clamshell box, the outer cardboard sleeve decorated with the turtle theme.

Inside was a card explaining the origins of the pen. It is based on a green-blue ink called Sanctuary Blue. Off the coast of Enshunada, Japan, the sea is a deep blue color. That color, and the beach's white sand and sea turtles, became the inspiration for the pen.

The pen is Sailor's Professional Gear model. It is 128mm/5.04 inches capped, 115mm/4.5 inches uncapped, and 150mm/5.9 inches posted. It weighs 25 grams (capped and inked).

I absolutely love the colors of this pen. The cap is translucent blue with gold sparkles and gold trims.

The white finial provides a striking background for the little raden turtle twinkling in the sun. This detail makes me happy every time I look at it.

The cap ring is engraved with "Bungubox Sanctuary Blue" and tiny turtles.

The body of the pen is translucent green with gold sparkles, and twin gold rings adorn the barrel where it meets the grip and above the bottom finial.

A cartridge/converter filler, this pen is supplied with a unique converter that has a white knob to match the white finials on the pen.

The nib is a 21k hard medium-fine. It is engraved with an ink bottle because the pen is based on an ink color. I wish the nib had a turtle engraving instead.

I usually don't order anything smaller than a medium-fine with Sailor nibs because they can be scratchy (or, as some say, "They have feedback.") This nib is super smooth and writes like a Western extra fine.

Because the pen is small and light, it is a joy to write with. I can write for long periods of time without any fatigue. I inked the pen with Taccia Sabimidori (reviewed here) and wrote the alphabet and a section from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

I love doing doodle patterns, so I attempted one I saw on Instagram (mine didn't turn out nearly as cool as the original, but oh well). Sailor nibs are wonderful for drawing because they are so fine, and I love how juicy this particular nib is.

Unfortunately, the Sanctuary Blue pen is sold out. However, the good news is that Bungubox now has an English-based online store so you no longer have to email them to place an order. The store currently has a few special Sailor models in stock: the Mangata, the Omotesando, and the Hello San Francisco. You'll also find the gorgeous Bungubox inks in special bottles on the site.

For a person who typically likes larger pens, I've grown quite a collection of Sailor Pro Gears. They are a bit like candy--colorful, shiny, and sweet. It's hard to resist these jewels, and the nibs are impeccable.

(I purchased the Bungubox Sanctuary Blue fountain pen with my own funds.)

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Fountain Pens as a Left-Hander

As much as I have enjoyed writing with pencils during my newfound left-handedness, I have struggled with using fountain pens. Why is that?

For starters, fountain pens are a more rigid writing experience. There are rules - such as the angle of attack with the nib, and the correct amount of pressure on the tines - that other writing instruments don't have.

In my case specifically, my preference for very fine nibs and nibs with a sharp edge (think cursive italic) work against me as I try to learn to write with my left hand. Now, life-long lefties should have no trouble with fountain pen nibs on the far ends of the writing spectrum. But coming in fresh, after decades of opposite hand writing, is more of a challenge for me given my current nib inventory.

So, how do I make my left-handed fountain pen writing experience more enjoyable? Use bigger nibs.

I knew exactly which one I'd go for too, seeing how I own so few of them. It's hard to beat Pelikan nibs when you are looking for an ultra-smooth, wide line, so I grabbed my M800 Demonstrator with a medium stub nib and inked it up with Akkerman Dutch Masters 05 Israel's Zeeblauw to play around with.

For comparison, I matched it up against my Leonardo Momento Zero Grande with a stock extra fine nib, inked with Akkerman 28 for good measure. This is normally one of my favorite all-around writing nibs when writing righty, but I haven't gotten along with it as well from the opposite side.

The difference was immediately clear to me. My extra fine lines were shaky, and my medium stub lines had that nice “I’m just learning to write left-handed” look that I've come to enjoy. Like my pencils.

My writing state requires larger nibs for now. That's why pencils work so well, and why wider tipped fountain pen nibs do too.

I do miss my regular handwriting, and I hope to get back to it around the New Year. But until then, I'll keep learning about what works well for me now, and why. Maybe I'll try out gel pens next?

Pineider Avatar UR Demo Fountain Pen in Amber: 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 Pineider Avatar Fountain Pen is made of a new material called "UltraResin" (thus the UR in the title). According to the pamphlet included with the pen, UltraResin is a mother of pearl compound resin that is resistant to breaks, oil, ink, variations in temperature, and UV rays. The company compares it to celluloid, stating that it has all the features of celluloid without the problems, such as crystallization and susceptibility to heat.

The pen comes in a classic-looking cardboard box, which contains the pen, the pamphlet, and instructions.

The Avatar is 3D engineered so that it can be assembled without any glue. Trims are palladium plated, including the bottom tip.

The clip is designed to resemble a quill and is spring loaded.

The cap band is engraved with the Pineider name and the skyline of Florence, Italy.

Using a sealed magnet, the cap locks securely merely by placing it onto the barrel--no twisting or fiddling necessary.

A converter is included with the pen. It has the Pineider logo on it and an ink level gauge as well.

Measuring 5.79 in/147mm (capped), 5.24 in/133mm (uncapped), and 6.46 in/164mm posted, the Avatar is a medium-sized pen. It is rather heavy at 30 grams (capped/posted) and 17.8 grams uncapped/unposted. The cap posts securely but makes the pen unbalanced in the hand. I liked the weight and balance of the pen unposted.

For comfort, the grip is covered in rubber, which does make it easy to hold while writing. However, ink somehow seeped beneath the rubber grip and stained it. Pineider's website states that the grip can be replaced easily, but I have no idea how to remove it.

I'm quite confused about the nib. The pamphlet included with the pen states that the nib is a "large N6 Demi Flex." However, both the Pineider website and Goldspot identify it only as a steel nib. It has a futuristic look to it with the Pineider name engraved decoratively on both sides of the nib.

If this is supposed to be a "Demi Flex" or "Semi Flex" nib, it certainly does not live up to the name. There's absolutely no give to it at all. I tried applying some pressure to produce line variation and this is what resulted:

Otherwise, the fine nib writes smoothly, even though the tines are a bit misaligned.

I used Bungubox Sweet Potato Yellow to create my writing samples. The ink flowed well, and the writing experience was pleasant. However, the cap apparently doesn't seal completely, because after leaving the pen unused, I experienced hard starts--actually no starts. I had to force ink down into the nib unit in order to begin writing again. Other than that problem, I experienced no skipping, scratchiness, or other issues.

The Pineider Avatar is a beautifully designed pen. You can really appreciate the engineering that went into it when you examine it closely. The palladium plated accents complement the pen, and I particularly like the easy on and off cap.

Although the rubber grip offers a soft and stable surface for your fingers, the fact that ink can get underneath and stain it is disappointing. I'm not particularly fond of the ink level measurement on the converter and don't see why it's necessary at all, especially with a demonstrator pen.

I haven't tried dropping the pen to see if it lives up to its "almost unbreakable" description, but the UltraResin material does seem substantial in the hand. That said, the company's claim that UltraResin is comparable to celluloid isn't convincing, at least for the demo models. The opaque models (in various colors) look a bit more like celluloid.

You can purchase the Pineider Avatar UR in Amber for $157.95 from Goldspot.

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

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