Sailor 1911 Realo Fountain Pen Review

This is my first Japanese Fountain Pen, and I must say, I am really impressed. I have been eyeing on this for a long time, and finally got around buying it from Pen Gallery at The Weld in Kuala Lumpur. During the time I purchased this, I had the chance to test the Conway Stewart, Churchill FP. I was going to walk out with either the Sailor 1911 or CS, needless to say I chose the former. The CS was too large and sketchy for my taste while the Sailor is a smooth sailing nib.

First Impression - A very modest packaging, no frills and decent. Glad to know I'm not paying more for fancy packaging

Design 8/10 - I love cigar shape pens. I've been crazy about Meisterstuck Series and this falls into that category. It is similar in size to the current production of 146 but close to the older 146 size, as shown here (my 146R is the older one, I suspect early or mid-90s), smaller by a few mm. Overall, a very decently designed pen, not too flashy and great for everyday use and will match most of my wardrobe. The gold however, is more 'yellow' compared to other brands I have. If only they have a platinum over black, now that I will surely get!

Construction and Quality 8/10 - Well built, good attention to detail and tightly secured when cap or posted. Nothing much to complain here.

Weight and Dimension 8/10, again this is one of the lighter pens I've used, perhaps lighter than a 146. Being a shorter pen, it may be more comfortable having it posted while writing, and though I seldom or almost never post my pens while writing, I find it more comfortable to post it.

Refill System - 8/10, Piston! Yes! If it wasn't for Realo's piston system, I may not have bought this pen. It's fast, and simple, just like how we expect it would.

Nib and performance - 9/10. This is one of my favourite writer. I thought that I may be bored with a medium, but this medium nib is great. It suits my handwriting better, not too wet but smooth. Never skips and smooth as silk on most paper. It may be the sole reason that now I am addicted to Sailor nibs! It's a 21 k nib and it looks just gorgeous.

Value - 8/10. For a PMMA resin pen, at this range it is not one of the cheaper ones. Nonetheless, it is still a great buy. One of the best writer I have ever used and there's definitely are many more expensive ones that may not write as well as this one.

Summary 8.1/10 I think this will be one of my regular writers, just right size, comfortable to use, and light weight. I got an M nib this time and already I'm considering of getting the Professional Gear Realo and the Burgundy colour of both versions!

This will certainly spark my need to have a collection of Sailor pens!

comparison with MB 146