Sailor Jentle Apricot Orange Ink Review

I mentioned my disdain for red fountain pen inks recently, but orange and I have a great relationship. I may not use it as frequently as my beloved blue black inks, but orange will always have a place in my rotation when warranted.

Sailor Jentle Apricot Orange is a true, bright orange. On the white Rhodia DotPad page it really pops. While it may not have the variance in shading of Noodler's Apache Sunset, it has moderate shading in its own right, showing a range of orange with hints of yellow. It goes down light and a bit dry from the nib and dries into what is shown in the photos.

In the realm of alternate fountain pen inks Sailor Jentle Apricot ranks right near the top for me. What non-standard colors are your favorites? I'd love to check them out!

Sailor Jentle Blue Black Ink Review

If it hasn't become clear by this point let me lay it out for you in no uncertain terms: I love blue black ink. I use it in every style of pen where it is available, especially fountain pens. Why? Anyone can use a basic blue or black ink. Using blue black shows that you put a little extra thought into your ink selection while still keeping it sane. I love wild, vivid colors as much as everyone else, but for daily use it is blue black all the way.

Sailor Jentle Blue Black is one of the recent additions to my ink collection and it has me perplexed. It is a well respected ink and is highly rated by many. For me, I think I am having a hard time coming to grips with where the color falls in respect to the other blue black inks I use regularly.

As I look at the pictures now I think the shade of blue black looks fantastic, but I distinctly recall more of a "meh" feeling when first inking the page. It is possible I didn't get the proper perspective by judging the ink immediately - there are often changes the longer ink sits. I want that initial satisfaction though, which I do get from other inks. Do you wait a certain amount of time before rating your inks?

I will be giving Sailor Jentle Blue Black a longer look in a wider variety of pens, especially finer nibs. That too makes a difference in how much I like a particular ink. I have been swayed by performance in an EF nib more than once and I look forward to seeing what else this ink can do.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

My Fountain Pen Education: The Sailor Professional Gear and Sapporo

There were two things I knew heading into the Atlanta Pen Show: 1. A Sailor was at the top of my wish list, and 2. The likelihood of me coming home with one was almost nil.

The reason for number one was thanks to my good friend Thomas. You see, he didn't just send me one Sailor to try out. That wouldn't be his style at all. Instead, he sent me three: A Sailor Professional Gear 21K EF nib, a Sailor Sapporo 14K EF nib, and a Sailor Sapporo Mini 14K F nib. All are black barrels with Rhodium trim - my perfect setup.

From the outside, you might think this is just another standard, high-quality Japanese pen, and you would be right. The barrel construction and fit and finish of the pen are top-notch. What makes this pen a standout though is the nib. I have never used anything like it before, or since.

Sailor's nibs are considered some of the best, if not the best, in the world. I can't say why without actually visiting their factory and discovering their secrets, but I do know from my short time with them these nibs are elite. The extra fine nib is so smooth it has to be used to be believed. I was enamored with them, which is why the Sailor brand sits at the top of my wish list.

The Sailor Professional Gear is the largest and heaviest of the models I tested, and was my favorite. The size is perfect without being too large or intimidating, and the 21K gold nib is just wow. I don't know what else to say besides how impressed I was with this pen.

The Sailor Sapporo checks in slightly smaller and lighter than the Pro Gear (similar to the Pilot 91 compared to the 912), but is excellent in its own right. In fact, it might be the first one I purchase. The 14K nib makes it more reasonably priced compared to its bigger brother and there was no noticeable difference in writing performance.

The Sailor Sapporo Mini is the smallest of the group, but packs the same punch as the standard Sapporo in design and performance. It is one of the nicer mini fountain pens I have used, but unfortunately it was recently discontinued.

As great as all of these pens are, I should be able to purchase one pretty easily, right? That brings me to point number two from the start: They are not easy to come by. I would have loved to run across a vendor selling the Japanese Sailor line at the Atlanta Pen Show but was out of luck. They are readily available on eBay, but all ship from Hong Kong or other Far Eastern outposts. You can also find a few Asian-based sites that that have good prices and ship to the US if you want to go that route.

If you want to keep it close to home, in my case the US, I know of one well-respected vendor that stocks the full Sailor line (among other hard to find Japanese pens) and that is Nibs.com. Warning: If you browse around their site please hide your wallet before doing so. Don't say I didn't warn you. If you know of other US-based sites with the full Sailor line please let me know in the comments section.

I am anxiously awaiting the day when I pick up my first Sailor. I imagine it will be in the very near future.