Sailor Fountain Pen Maintenance Kit 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 Sailor Fountain Pen Maintenance Kit arrives in a small blue cardboard box. Inside are a 3ml plastic syringe with two attachments: a blunt metal syringe pipette and a plastic nozzle attachment for cleaning. In addition there’s a soft cleaning cloth.

The attachments serve two different purposes. The metal syringe pipette is used for drawing up ink from near-empty bottles. You simply screw the pipette onto the syringe and stick the unit into the ink bottle.

The syringe pulls a full 3ml of ink into the syringe. You can use this to fill your converter or an empty, clean cartridge (just be careful not to press the syringe too hard or too quickly or you’ll have a mess on your hands).

The cleaning nozzle also attaches to the syringe. After rinsing your nib unit thoroughly, fill the syringe with clean water.

Insert the nozzle into your nib unit and press gently. The water will flow through the nib unit and clean out any remaining ink.

Although you can use a baby nasal aspirator (what I call a “nose sucker”), you don’t have as much control over the flow of water through your nib. The syringe/nozzle unit works much better because it allows you to apply gentle pressure.

The cleaning cloth is just a simple, soft cloth for wiping your barrel or mopping up leftover water.

Keep in mind that the Sailor Maintenance Kit is intended only for Sailor or Nagasawa brand pens. Although you can certainly use the metal syringe with any ink bottle and cartridge/converter, the cleaning nozzle is made to fit Sailor nib units only.

You can purchase the Sailor Fountain Pen Maintenance Kit from JetPens for $16.00, which seems a bit expensive to me. You can purchase ink syringes with metal pipettes pretty inexpensively from other retailers. However, if you have a large Sailor collection, this kit might be worth the cost since it comes with a nozzle sized specifically to clean Sailor nibs.

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

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Posted on April 3, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under Sailor, Fountain Pen Maintenance.

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 404 - Maybe a Pen Canoe

I went on a tiny shopping spree for National Pencil Day, and shared all of the loot that I picked up. I also laid out my current thoughts on fountain pen inks, which is a topic I have had varying opinions on over the years. What is my latest kick, and why? I try to sort that out here.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Ooni: Bring the world’s best pizza to your own backyard. Use the code THEPENADDICT for 10% off.

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Apica CD Premium Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Last week I reviewed the Apica CD Grid Notebook, a thrifty gem with a quality that far outpaces its price. Today I'm reviewing its elegant cousin, the Apica CD Premium Notebook. The word "premium" gives us the first clue as to the difference between this notebook and the CD Grid. This one costs a bit more. But it's still a very good price at $13.75. Considering the book's excellent quality, it's still a bargain.

This notebook is much thicker than the CD Grid, with 96 pages that can be used on both sides. The paper itself is heftier, too, at 86.5 gsm. The primary thing that this paper is known for is its silky smoothness. There is almost no texture to the paper at all, so your pens will glide over it like butter on hot glass. And pick any pen you want, because this paper can handle just about any of them, even watercolor. The Sharpie dotted through a bit, but it wasn't even a full bleed-through. That smooth surface does mean a longer dry-time, however.

The cover on the Premium is a thick cardstock. This cover isn't textured at all, but has a lovely metallic print scrollwork, with the handy advice, "Choose the paper like you would a good pen." This whole notebook was specifically designed for picky users. I mean, of course, discerning paper connoisseurs like ourselves. The binding is thread and glue, reinforced with fabric tape. The signatures are very small, making for crisp, even binding, and they're joined with thread that matches the red color of the cover. The thoughtful binding also allows this notebook to lay flat on any page.

It comes in ruled, grid, and blank pages, with blue, red, or black covers. This red version has 5mm grid with a lovely faint grey print that won't distract or fence you in, if you choose to disregard it.

This is probably more notebook than one would need for school notes, and a bit too small for a novel, but it's perfect for a journal, bullet or otherwise, and it would make an excellent commonplace book. The paper also makes it a great ink and pen testing book. The A5 size will fit perfectly into most notebook covers, though it's sturdy enough that it doesn't necessarily require one.

I'm always impressed with the Apica line, and this fancy CD Premium Notebook is another gem in their lineup. I highly recommend it.

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

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!