Sailor Fountain Pen Professional Gear Imperial Black Fine Point 11-3028-220

This came from Japanese vendor "Happiness" and was less risky to me than buying on eBay. The price was better too. So glad I chose to buy from them and could not be happier with the Sailor 1911 Professional Gear Imperial Black. It arrived sealed and very carefully packed in about five days from ordering. Expedited shipping was only about $10. It came in a nice box with two ink cartridges, a certificate and instructions from Sailor, both in Japanese. No ink converter is included but you can grab one on Amazon for about $7. The pen was sealed in its own plastic sleeve so no doubts about it being factory new and unused. (This is not the fancy wooden box you may see with $450+ priced U.S. vendors but it is still perfectly well presented for a gift item if that matters to you.) The pen has a fine Japanese nib that is much finer than any Western or European nib like the Lamy or TWSBI. It is even finer than the fine on the Pilot Vanishing Point and really is an extra fine in Western/European nibs. It is probably not a great choice to start out with unless you prefer such fine nibs and know what to expect. It's closer to the line you'll get using a 5mm pencil lead. You should know that if you buy this from anyone other than a Sailor authorized dealer you may not be able to return it and you likely will have to deal with any nib issues on your own $. That said if you can do that you'll cut the price of this outstanding pen in half and you can have it expertly tuned for only about $50 more should it have any issues. I understand Sailors are very good and more consistent than many pens out of the box. Mine was perfectly aligned (nib tines) and wrote immediately. Sailor does not sell this nib directly to customers so you definitely want to be sure you like the fine before buying one as it can't be swapped out. Sailor told me it was not available in Fine-Medium. It writes perfectly with no skipping, hard starts or issues at all. Writing fast it keeps up the ink flow without any starvation or anemic lines. It definitely has some significant feedback. At first mine seemed to border on scratchy but once I used Iroshizuku Take sumi ink and switched from a Rhodia pad to a Mnemosyne it feels good. Even on premium paper you'll hear some feedback using this nib. The finish on the pen is also impressive. Blacked out titanium ion plated 21k gold nib and all accents. The nib has Sailors usual intricate engraving and looks amazing. The Sailor anchor finial (logo on the end of the cap) is a very nice touch. The resin barrel and cap definitely have an excellent, even finish and you can easily feel the quality of the material. My Platinum #3776 feels very cheap next to this pen though that's a complaint many throw at it anyway. Finally this is a bit shorter pen than many and with my large hands it's not very comfortable to use without posting. I can do ok with it but it feels much better posted to me and then there are no issues at all with size. Excellent pen all around, I have no regrets at all, glad I have it.

This is my first Sailor and I absolutely LOVE it! The nib experience is amazing there is some feed back many describe it as writing with a pencil and I guess that is Tre, but after a while you get used to it and I dont even notice it anymore. The feel and weight is perfect for long writing and every day use. The size is not quite a pocket pen but not a full size pen. but has become an every day carry pen for me. It's a beautiful pen. writes amazingly and worth the money. The fine is thinner than the western fine so just be aware of that. This fine is most others extra fine.

I really want to love this pen. It looks understated and sophisticated and flat-out beautiful with its matte finish and dark, shiny trim and nib. The matte finish is the same on the body and grip, and feels very good in the hand. Somehow the material seems softer and lighter than that of the usual Sailor plastic, probably an illusion caused by the matte surface. It is a lightweight pen except for the metal on the cap, which gives it a nice balance when posted. Overall, although still not a large pen, it is slightly longer and more girthy than a Sailor Pro Gear Slim model, and I find the girth about perfect. I love the look and feel of the pen, and the nib writes smoothly and feels responsive - it’s a wonderful nib. I would be completely in love with it, but unfortunately I bought it expecting it to have about the same line as the usual 14K Sailor nib, and it writes quite a bit broader, more like a Western fine. I would love to use this pen as my everyday writer, but the broader line makes it much less pleasant and useful for me personally. (It always seems that beyond the ultra-cheap stuff, the more I pay for a pen, the less I end up liking it. Weird.) An EF nib would have been much better suited for me, but I didn’t think this pen came in EF, and based on the usual Sailor line I thought fine would be just right. I considered returning it, but it *is* such a nice pen… Well, I will have to think about getting it ground finer. For anyone who doesn’t mind something close to a Western Fine, I can wholeheartedly recommend this pen. Cost-wise, I think in the general scheme of pen prices, with its excellent construction and superior nib it could be worth $219, but definitely not the $450+ it is usually sold at in the US. Unless you don't mind paying $200 for a fancy box and a <$20 bottle of ink.

I expected a smooth writing nib. It was extremely scratchy. Also, the pen itself is light. Otherwise it seems like a very pen.

i bought this fountain pen in "very good" condition, only because of the two-day shipping (i live in the US and i'm not patient enough for imported products), and the item came in with ink pretty much everywhere, but it's fine as i unclogged the pen and cleaned up a little after a struggle. now for the actual review of the pen-- i LOVE the all black look of this pen and personally it's my favorite pen out of me collection because it looks pretty stealthy and clean. the 21k gold nib is pretty malleable and flexible coming from steel nibs and it feels like you're writing with a pencil because of the feedback (a staple feature of sailor pens, i suggest trying one out in person before blind-buying because it can be a hit or miss for some). the pen is really well-made and durable, and so far looks brand new even though i am the second owner of this pen, (a pro of black pens) and can be fully disassembled to clean out any ink, and even the converter is easy to disassemble. you can tell that the stuff is high quality because all of the parts are just durable and high quality. the writing experience is feedbacky, as previously mentioned; but personally, the medium point is not for me. i have a fine point on the way but upon researching, i read how the medium would be perfect, but this is also something that you should see in person before blind buying, just like me. perhaps it is the ink i'm using but the line is more of a bold/broad nib than what i would expect out of a "medium". now the body itself is overall high quality, and it's pretty nice to write with. i love the detailing on the top of the cap (the sailor symbol) and the little engravings in the gold nib that just make the pen so gorgeous, but enough yapping. in conclusion, if you want a gorgeous black pen with feedback and high quality detailing & parts, this is it. my only issues were with the seller and blind-buying (which is my fault, and you should only worry about sailor's feedbacky nibs and the nib sizing which is personal preference), but i would say that this is a great pen to add to your collection.

I wasn't sure that I really wanted this pen after the issue arose whether the nib was a F or EF. I even tried to cancel the order. I was too late to do that, but since it was going to be delivered to a locker I figured that I'd just leave it there and have it returned. Then I thought there was no harm in picking in up and seeing for myself which nib it was. I could always return it, right? So I picked it up. And found that it was an F. I'm an EF afficianado, but I decided I would keep this pen anyhow, BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME!!! As with all Sailor nibs, it writes beautifully smoothly. It's also beautiful. And it's half the price of the same pen bought through a "regular" US outlet. Sailor knows that this is an issue and has yet to address the disparity of pricing. No question that it's a genuine Sailor 21K nib. I'm absolutely thrilled with it.

LOVE this fountain pen! I am a big fan of Sailor fountain pen especially due to their nibs and XXF writing nibs. Have a way of writing very thin lines but at the perfect wetness. This pen does not fall short in my expectations, beautiful ruthenium plated nib and clip that is butter smooth with touch of feedback. The matte black body feels great and not slippery at all, and the pen has a good weight to it.

I bought from ChanMing Shop. Came with a blue box, not as in the page image. It is a original product with F Nib. Writes perfectly. You have to bu converter separately, which is 6 - 8 $ excellent fountain pen and seller.