Sailor HighAce Neo Clear Fountain Pen Review

In the conversations I have around beginner fountain pens, the Sailor HighAce Neo usually gets left out. Rightfully so, which I will elaborate on as we go, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun pen to use and great in the right situation.

The HighAce Neo has been around for years, even warranting a couple of guest reviews on this very blog. I enjoyed the orange model myself when it first became available. Two clear barrel models are now available, with the black cap version the one in my hands for review.

You will notice immediately when picking up the HighAce Neo how light it is. The plastic barrel is no frills, with an ice-type finish and a smoke grey section. The black aluminum cap lends to the lightness. Put this pen in a pocket or a bag and you will forget it is there. That is good, but could end up bad if it makes a trip through the washing machine.

The nib is what makes this pen a consideration. I’ve had bad luck with the fine steel nibs found on Sailor’s other entry level pen, the Clear Candy, but every HighAce Neo I have used has been perfect. The nib is firm without being a nail, and as smooth as you would hope a fine Japanese nib would be. The line output is clean and sharp.

While there is no real problem with the pen on its own, it happens to play in an increasingly crowded field. For a time, the Platinum Preppy was its only competition, and a far superior one at that at a fraction of the cost. More recently, the Pilot Metropolitan came in and is dominating the beginner fountain pen market with its combination of price, style, and performance. It’s almost impossible to beat as a first fountain pen.

So where does that leave the HighAce Neo? Sailor has its fans, and for those who need a cheap, portable way to use their waterproof Nano Black and Blue Black inks, then this is your choice. Many people swear by this ink, and this is a way to take it on the road when heading out to write or sketch.

If you want the best beginner fountain pen, choose the Pilot Metropolitan. If you are a fan of Sailor and their ink cartridges then you may find the HighAce Neo a pleasant surprise.

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

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Fantastic Nibs and Where to Find Them

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

All fountain pen aficionados know that the soul of a pen is its nib. No matter how beautiful the body of the pen is, if it doesn't write well, it loses its purpose in life. I've chosen some of my favorite nibs and why they are, in my view, fantastic. With one exception, all the nibs below are factory nibs that worked perfectly straight out of the box. Although I own spectacular nibs ground by nibmeisters, I wanted to focus on nibs that anyone can buy without special grinding.

Pilot Metropolitan Fine

Many people say that the Pilot Metropolitan is the gateway pen to fountain pen addiction. I have to agree. The nib is steel but smooth and uncomplicated. I've bought three Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pops, and all three write consistently well.

Pilot Retro Pop Fine Nib

The turquoise Retro Pop is my all-time favorite grading nib coupled with Diamine Marine (less scary than red). Smooth, perfect flow and $15.00–what is not to love? You can find these pens with their stellar nibs at many vendors, including JetPens.

Lamy 2000 Makrolon Fine

I got my Lamy 2000 through Massdrop, and, unfortunately, the original nib was awful. One of the tines was longer than the other and the pen was unusable.

Lamy 2000 Fine Nib

But, because Massdrop is an authorized dealer, Lamy changed out the bad nib for a good one at no charge, and now this is one of my favorite writers. Lamy 2000s can be found at JetPens, Goldspot, Goulet, and, occasionally, Massdrop.

Franklin-Christoph Marietta with a Gold Masuyama Medium Italic

I love Franklin-Christoph fountain pens. I would buy one of each if I could. The best part is you can get a pre-ground nib by nibmeister par excellence Mike Masuyama, without having to stand in a long line at a pen show or get in his business queue (which is months long).

Franklin-Christoph 18K Gold Medium Cursive Italic Nib

This is one of my favorite writing pens. I opted for the gold Medium italic and it is just terrific–no scratchiness, just beautiful, precise lines. You can get Masuyama nibs on virtually any Franklin-Christoph model.

Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA Nib

I reviewed this pen a few months back on Pen Addict. As I said in that review, there's nothing really remarkable about the pen itself since it's a typical black pen.

Pilot FA Nib

Nevertheless, what makes this pen stand out is the FA nib. The FA nib has wing cut outs on the nib that allow the pen to flex, giving you an almost-but-not-quite vintage flex experience. I bought my Pilot Custom 912 on Amazon, but you can also find them at Goldspot and Goulet.

Pilot Custom Heritage 823 Medium

The Pilot Custom 823 is one of those pens that almost everyone adores. Its vacuum filling system, size, and simple beauty are all a testament to the pen's popularity. But the thing that sets it apart from all the other cigar-shaped fountain pens is its huge, gorgeous nib. I love this nib.

Pilot 823 Medium Nib

Here's the key, though. If you want a smooth writing experience with the 823 nib, I recommend you go with a medium (or larger) nib. With extra fine or fine nibs you may wind up with something scratchy that digs into the paper. It's not that Pilot extra-fine or fine nibs are bad, but they are much finer than Western pens and the medium nib on my 823 writes like a true fine–one of the smoothest fine nibs I own. Goldspot and Goulet carry these pens as do many other vendors.

Graf von Faber Castell Intuition Terra Cotta Oblique Medium

In order to get a factory oblique medium nib, I had to purchase this nib from Martini Auctions (no American vendors stock these nibs). The price for the pen was definitely competitive (less than some American vendors without the OM nib), so I didn't mind the fact that it took a little longer to obtain from overseas.

Graf von Faber Castell Oblique Medium Nib

It has a nice crisp line but none of the strict positioning that can come with a cursive italic nib. I like obliques since I tend to hold my pens at an angle. The Graf von Faber Castell Intuition in Terra is difficult to find these days, but you can get other models. I'd suggest Martini Auctions if you're interested in nibs other than the standard medium.

Sailor Cross Concord

I reviewed this nib a couple of months ago along with the Sailor Cross Point. The Concord is definitely my favorite of the two because its standard position writes like a normal fine nib. But if you want some swishy, fat goodness, you just flip the pen over and glide away.

Sailor Cross Concord Nib

Sailor Specialty nibs are expensive and right now are difficult to obtain. You can order them from nibs.com and now from Anderson Pens.

Omas Ogiva Factory Italic

This is the smoothest italic I've ever used. I don't know if it is just a medium or broad nib whose tip was chopped off (it certainly doesn't seem to have tipping), but that seems to be the case (see the discussion on FPN here and here).

Omas Ogiva Factory Italic Nib

Regardless, it writes as smoothly as Ella Fitzgerald singing "Summertime." Sadly, since Omas is now out of business, it's much more difficult to purchase any of their pens, especially those with special nibs. Keep an eye out for sales on FPN and other Internet sites.

Montblanc Heritage 1912 Fine

This nib isn't huge and it isn't ornate, but it writes beautifully. Of course, you wind up paying a premium for the pen, not because of the nib, but because of the safety pen mechanism and the Montblanc name.

Montblanc Heritage 1912 Fine Nib

I love the retro-feel of this pen (see my review here). It's substantial and heavy (the barrel is made of metal), but the nib has a vintage spring to it that makes it a joy to write with. I bought my Montblanc Heritage 1912 from a seller on FPN. It's available through Montblanc and occasionally other online vendors.

Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with Factory OBB Nib

Although I prefer the M600 size Pelikans, I bought this beauty from Rick Propas. It was part of a collection he was selling and came with a factory OBB nib at an unbelievable price. It is a spectacular writer, inked with Pelikan Edelstein Amber (the only pen lucky enough to warrant that ink).

Pelikan M400 OBB Nib

It's getting more and more difficult to find Pelikans with italic or oblique nibs, especially the BB and BBB size, so you either have to buy vintage or seek out vendors that have these nibs in stock. Expect to pay a hefty amount for one of these Pelikan nibs. Classic Fountain Pens is one source for special-sized Pelikan nibs. You can also contact Rick Propas to see what he has in stock.

Nibs can be hit or miss depending on the fountain pen brand. I've had bad luck with Visconti and Kaweco nibs. I've read several discussions about the lack of size consistency of Pelikan nibs. Lamy nibs tend to get rave reviews or the exact opposite, which I'm sure is a quality control problem. I've even read reviews of bad Nakaya nibs–something I never thought possible.

The reality is that nibs don't always write well straight out of the box. Every user's experience may vary. It's always possible that you will get a poorly aligned nib, or a feed that doesn't offer enough flow for a particular nib, or tines that are different sizes, or a nib that is just plain scratchy. That's why it's always good to read return and exchange policies for fountain pens. When you buy from individual sellers rather than vendors, you may not get a refund if the nib is not to your liking. So, as one of my pen friends wisely suggested, if you buy a used pen, factor in the cost of a nibmeister along with the cost of the pen.

Sailor Specialty Nibs 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.)

Ever since I discovered the Sailor Specialty Nibs page at Classic Fountain Pens, I spent hours looking at each nib and its characteristics, fascinated by the different shapes and styles. The prices always threw me for a loop, though, so I just looked and coveted.

I finally found a pretty good price on a Sailor Pro Gear with a Cross Point nib on Engeika. It took several weeks to arrive, but the wait was worth it.

I loved the lush broad lines it made–so glorious with sheening and shading inks. But I couldn't write with the nib upside down. You're supposed to be able to write fine lines with it, but mine just cuts into the paper.

I discovered why, after taking macro shots of the nib: the tines are misaligned. This doesn't affect the broad strokes, but it definitely makes the nib unusable for fine lines. I'm going to have to send the nib in for work.

In the meantime, a person on Fountain Pen Geeks offered a Sailor 1911 with a Cross Concord nib for a steal. I knew the Concord, with its beak-like nib, could write fine on one side and do the luscious lines on the other, so I bought the pen.

So, now I have two Sailor Specialty Nibs.

The two nibs are similar in what they can do: write fine strokes with the nib in one position and broad strokes in the other. The Cross Point nib in the normal position writes broad strokes.

Cross Point Nib

The Cross Concord is the opposite. Personally, I prefer the Cross Concord because I can pick it up and immediately use it like a normal fountain pen. If I want the broad strokes I turn it upside down. With the Cross Point, you have to hold the pen with the nib upside down if you want to write fine strokes.

Cross Concord Nib

Because my Cross Point's tines are misaligned, I can't compare the two pens' fine strokes. But I can compare the broad ones. They are similar in width (if not exactly the same). You can vary the width of the line of both nibs depending on the angle you hold the pen. If you wish, you can even mimic brush strokes with the nibs.

The Sailor Specialty Nibs are clearly designed for Japanese calligraphy, not western writing. But, I've found they work great for writing Hebrew. I'm no calligrapher, but I love the nice thick lines I can make for Hebrew lettering.

Yes, there are Hebrew/Arabic nib grinds for this purpose, but they aren't all that versatile if you write primarily in cursive. With the Sailor nibs, I can write Hebrew letters with the broad side and turn the nib over and write cursive English.

These nibs are also great for drawing. I'm no artist, but I could see how people who like to sketch with ink would love these pens. You can paint with the broad side and sketch details with the fine.

The nibs themselves are works of art. The double-layer nibs, the scroll work, the beautiful 21K gold, all combine to make for an exquisite nib. You can get the specialty nibs with an extra bar on top that increases the ink flow, but I think it ruins the aesthetic of the nib. So far, I've had no need for increased ink flow.

The one negative about these nibs is that they are limited to Sailor pens. It's not that I have anything against Sailors, it's just that their converters are tiny. They just don't hold much ink (0.5ml). Even the Sailor Realo (a piston fill pen) doesn't hold much more (0.9ml). When you're doing broad, juicy strokes, you can blow through a small converter of ink very quickly.

Another limitation of Sailor pens is the lack of choices in pen color. Finding a Sailor with a specialty nib in any color other than black is difficult, and you have to be willing to pay a premium. If you want one of the fancier Sailors with a specialty nib expect to pay close to $1,000.

I purchased my boring black Pro Gear from Engeika for $390. The Sailor 1911 with a Cross Concord would normally be $535, but I got it for around $300 as well.

Pros

• These specialty nibs really are special. No other manufacturer makes anything like them.
• They are extremely versatile. You can write fine and broad and in between and use them for sketching.
• These nibs are great for certain types of calligraphy and even for Hebrew (which I know is very important to most people).
• Sailor specialty nibs make great ink testers because they show off the ink in both fine and super broad strokes.

Cons

• The nibs are only available on Sailor pens which have small ink capacity.
• Sailor pens with specialty nibs are quite expensive.
• You don't have much choice in colors unless you're willing to pay almost $1,000.
• Sailor recently suspended orders on these nibs so quantities are currently limited.