Guest Review: Sailor HighAce Neo Fountain Pen

(This is a guest review by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape.)

I am a fountain pen noob. Just to make everyone clear that I am in the beginning stages of branching out into fountains pens. The Sailor HighAce Neo is only the third fountain pen that I have tried with the prior successes of both the Platinum Preppy and the Lamy Safari fountain pens. Both of those were good pens but I wanted something similar to the look and feel of standard gel pens. Once I saw the Sailor HighAce in orange I was hooked. I had to have it due to its thin uncharacteristic size of typical fountain pens and the affordable price. Plus the fact that I have an obsession with the color orange.

I would have to say if you like fine micro tip gel pens like the Hi-Tec-C, the F nib on the Sailor HighAce Neo is where it’s at. I was in love with this pen with the first stroke that I made, it was so fine and precise. I was surprised how quickly it started to work the second I inserted the blue-black cartridge. There was no need to wait for the ink to load to use this pen or to test the nib out on a scratch piece of paper. It was good to go from the very start. The Sailor HighAce Neo has the option of using a cartridge or the converter. I went with the cartridge since it’s simple to install and there is no ink mess to deal with.

The appearance of the pen alone makes if look more expensive then it really is. The body of the pen is made up of satin plastic resin with the cap made from lightweight aluminum. One of the more interesting features of the pen is quality click sound the cap makes when you close the pen after each use. Knowing the cap is closed on a fountain pen is key here to avoid the ink from drying out as well as preventing any unwanted messes with any stray ink from the nib. Posting the cap on the back of the pen makes another satisfying click into place allowing you to know that it is secure. When posted, the cap provides a fine balance and weight to the pen that feels just right in your hand.

Another great feature of this fountain pen is that fact that there is little to no bleed through on many different types of paper I’ve tried. Most other fountain pens that I have seen are restricted to using a certain type of paper due the bleed through. The Sailor HighAce works perfectly in this capacity and with the ink flowing off to the page without having to worry about the page behind it.

One of the problems that I have with this pen is that the lightweight aluminum cap can be easily scratched up if you are not carefully with it. Putting the pen in your pocket with a pair of keys would not be recommended unless you like the worn look of scratches. Another slight problem is the glossy black plastic grip that could use a bit of texture to it. It can be a bit slick to grip onto for long periods of time but for the most part works fine.

The Sailor HighAce Neo is definitely the fountain pen that I would highly recommend to any beginner fountain pen user out there. If you are attached to micro tip gel pens and want to try fountain pens, then this pen is your first stop period. At $16.50 on Jetpens, this really is a great affordable option to branch out into the world of fountain pens.

Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pen EF Nib Review

Kaweco makes some of my favorite products on the market, bar none. The Kaweco Al Sport has been a long time favorite and still ranks up there as one of my most used pens. It fits my needs perfectly for a compact fountain pen, but when I saw the Kaweco Liliput I knew one would make it into my arsenal before long.

The Liliput brings to the table an even smaller, more compact barrel compared to the Al Sport. It is still a fully aluminum body, and, even more importantly, uses the same exact stainless steel nib. I went with the EF nib on my Liliput (also available in F, M, and B) which is the first Kaweco EF nib I have used. It is now my go-to nib for any and all future Kaweco purchases. It is firm and produces a tight line, but does so while being one of the smoothest nibs I own. It is so impressive I have started to swap out some of my other Kaweco nibs for the EF.

One of my favorite features of the Liliput is the threading on the end of the barrel which allows you to post the cap solidly. Due to the size of the pen it is almost mandatory to post the cap to write comfortably. I completely missed this feature when ordering the pen, and only when I got it in hand did I realize the threads were in place. Good job me!

With the Liliput it all boils down to one thing: How are you going to use this pen? If you are going to be writing notes all day in class or in the office, you might want to look at a larger barrel pen. But if you are looking for a high-quality portable fountain pen for writing on the go, then the Kaweco Liliput should be on your short list.

Several of my pen friends have reviewed the Liliput, including Gourmet Pens, From the Pen Cup, No Pen Intended, and Pen Addict guest blogger Ben Dahl. Be sure to check out their great reviews as well. P.S. - We all like the black barrel.

Monami Super Gel-Q Gel Ink Pen 0.4 mm Blue Black Review

I teased my review of the Monami Super Gel-Q a couple of weeks ago on Twitter and mentioned then that I wanted to spend more time with it before posting my review on the the blog. Well, time has been spent and I think I am able to paint a better picture now than when I first bought the pen.

I purposefully set low expectations for this pen before testing it out. Why? First of all, I don’t have a lot of experience with the Monami brand. Secondly, it looks like they are borrowing heavily design-wise from the Pilot Hi-Tec-C and Uni-ball Signo DX. My experience in the past with pens that fit this criteria usually haven’t been positive, so thus the low expectations.

So, with that background out of the way, how did it perform? Initially, much better than I imagined. It wrote so well and was so nice to use I kept stopping, looking at the pen, and asking “is this really happening?” It was happening all right. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I took it to work to continue testing it out. And then …

… the other shoe dropped.

Have you been around long enough to remember my review of the Zebra Sarasa Stick? I had high expectations for this pen since I am a huge fan of the regular Zebra Sarasa line. The Sarasa Stick was great at first, but all of a sudden the line would dry up in the middle of writing. Sometimes it would come back, sometimes it wouldn’t. As I continued to use the Monami Super Gel-Q the same exact thing started to happen.

I was upset because I thought I found another great everyday use pen. I scribbled and scribbled but I still haven’t been able to get as good of a line as I did in the photo above. My lettering looks great that picture, and I want it back!

I’m not giving up hope yet though. Sometimes a pen needs a break to get started down the right path again. Plus, I have a black 0.4 mm that I haven’t used yet so maybe this is a one off issue. My recommendation? Try one, but just one. They have several great colors to choose from but I wouldn’t go buying up six or so right out of the gate. If that one works well then dig a little deeper.

Just remember to keep your expectations in check.