Sailor Nib Comparison: Pro Gear Slim MF 14k vs 21k vs Pro Gear MF 21k. Is there a difference?
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- I am currently in the amazing position of having three Sailor pens with the same nib size - MEDIUM FINE and different gold content. Two are Pro Gear Slims and one is a Pro Gear. I have been using them on and off since August, trying to figure out how different they perform. So I inked them all up with Diamine Brandy Snap and filmed a video to share my experience.
Update: I sold the Sailor Pro Gear Slim Autumn Drizzle to a friend.
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Thanks for sharing your progress with us! I think ALL of us have had times trying to figure out what will work for us. As I saw someone else say DO WHAT YOU LOVE!!! We will be here to watch!!! 🤓
Very interesting to see these side by side! Thank you taking the time to share this experience. I suppose I’m not surprised that the larger nib has more bounce. I’m still happy to have given the Autumn Drizzle a new home. It will likely be some time before a Pro Gear is in my collection and I’ll learn more about my feel for Sailor feedback to decide if I truly want to make that investment.
I'm so glad you loved it enough to give it a home.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I just went through a similar confusing two weeks ago with a PGS 14k MF + 19llL 21k MF. Finally after two weeks of experimenting turns out the MFs from Sailor prefer wetter inks. My pens are writing like a dream now after switching to Diamine Writer's Blood. Need to make a list of Wet inks only to use with the two MFs i have I guess.
That makes a lot of sense!
The lilac pen design is so beautiful. I'm still planning to buy my first gold nib sailor fp, but in a f or ef size. I like when a pen has a good feedback (but not scratching).
I have a Sailor 1911s Promenade Blue (14K MF) and I love the writing experience. I then got the PGS (14k MF) and it is not the same….also dry and just doesn’t have that “je ne sais quoi” feel with the other. I just can’t put my finger on it. Anyway I’m also contemplating selling the PGS despite loving the colour and look of it. I’m glad to know it isn’t just me! I hesitate to get a 21k as they are all expensive and don’t want to be disappointed! My Sailor experience has not been consistent.
I have Sailors in 21k and 14k MF. My opinion, after many hours of writing with them, is that there is a very small but noticeable difference between them. The 21k feels like the tip has more nuanced, more enjoyable feedback. Of course, whether you like Sailor feedback is a matter of taste. I don't know that I would call 21k better or nicer than 14k, it's just different. 21k Sailors are super expensive so I will only buy another 21k MF if I absolutely love the colour. My go to for every day writing is my Solar Term 14k Fuki.
I have a gold leftie MF Sailor nib in a Profit (basically a 1911L) - bought in about 2005 from japan. There's no a great difference with their usual MF 1911L or Pro Gear, but it does work well for me as a leftie. I've not seen this nib in the US.
That red sailor slim in mf seems to be sold on Amazon pretty frequently at a sub$90 pricepoint… I actually bought one a couple years back in the same/similar listing in a dark green color, gold hardware/nib and the nib was horrible. I swore off sailor for like 2 yrs it was so bad. I do now have a 1911standard in med from jet pens(21k but in a #5/pgs nib size) and the experience was wildly different. I know it wasn’t apples to apples, but man it made me wary of buying sailors off Amazon since. I ended up grinding the pgs into a stub/italic which I can actually write with now but still not the nib I wanted. I just haaate how crazy the pricing has gotten on sailors these days, I want to give a full size pro gear mf a try so bad now!
I agree with you. I own a black sailor pro gear slim (mf) and the nib is the worst and cratchiest of all nibs i ever wrote with.
Yes, the PG is definitely a price gouge.
@@ichirofakename totally agree. It’s gotten nuts. The 1911 I have has nearly doubled in price since I purchased it a few years ago. If I could guarantee the same experience though in a slightly finer nib size, I’d maybe cough up the money bc it’s such a unique, super satisfying writing experience…. But it’s such an overly priced gamble these days with sailor, it really does feel like a rip off all too often 😥. When I see any pgs listed, I’ve noticed mf is the last to sell out, and I truly wonder if that’s due to so many sailor lovers getting burned going for the unique size earlier on
I don‘t know, but imho and from what I’ve read and seen, it seems that Sailor seems to be very inconsistent at a rather high price point. I always keep the average consumer in mind that‘ll buy a pen and expect it write out of the box - as it should be. A consumer should not have to put so much work into a new pen. Almost all of my pens worked straight off the bat - from higher priced Aurora, Pelikan to lower priced TWSBI, Kaweco, Lamy, Pilot and even Jinhao pens. The only pen I‘ve had issues with is a Nahvalur Key West Islamorada, where the tines weren’t spaced very well.
Sometimes we just love what we love. I got a pilot custom 74 in medium, everyone I have seen do videos on that pen raves about it but it just doesn't fill my heart with joy in the way my sailor pro gear slim in medium does. There is nothing wrong with the pen I just don't enjoy using it as much, I always wanted to get the custom 823 now I am questioning that after my experience with the custom 74.
My guess is you won't love the 823 either. Maybe check out another Sailor instead. The two braands definitely have definite styles; I think it is common to prefer one over the other.
If you have the opportunity to try the 823 first, I would highly encourage that. In my opinion, the nib on the 74 and 823 write very similarly and so I don't think you would enjoy it. Maybe look at a completely different brand if you want to branch out. There ais also nothing wrong with sticking to what you like.
@@seemownay Thanks. I got the custom 74 in a medium thinking that the line width would be on the finer side being a Japanese pen, I am however finding it not to be so I will probably just get it reground finer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the pen I am just finding it writes a broader line than I would like. I have already decided not to get the custom 823 now.
@@seemownay Yes, there is a lot to say for sticking with what you already know you like. Third option, which I have been known to forget: who says you need another pen? Hahaha.
I have three pens from that 21k PGS line. I do not write for long periods of time, so I leaned into the aesthetics of the pen a bit.
I love them. But they are not for me. So I'll live vicariously through you.
Wow… I am trying to shout across the screen. I have many Sailors and they are quite special pens primarily because their nibs have quite a unique feeling when used. But the one thing they aren’t is soft. I think some people might see the high carat content of the nibs and think they are flexible. They are not at all. I have a feeling that since you purchased the pens used, they might have been “softened” by the previous owner.
As someone who uses and like wet medium nibs, the MF nib from Sailor is NOT for you. You should look at broad and zoom nibs from Sailor. They are wet and write beautifully with that famous pencil feedback.
ever since the anchor logo change, I find the smallish-side nibs to be tighter and drier than when it was the old logo. I sort of 'ruined' my old anchor Sailor 14k MF, because of trying to fix an off, misaligned feeling, the nib is now somewhat loose when installed but it ends up writing with feel close to 21k M from larger Pro Gear, quite wet, feedback feels sharper yet I feel like writing smoother, minus the bounce. I have an MF 21k on a 1911S/PGS size too, and its close to what you said, feels nothing wrong with it, less feedbackier even, but lacks character, I needed to write with more intentional pressure to write with it as smooth as that 21k M, or 14k MF that I 'ruined'
I unfortunately don’t have that much experience with Sailor that I could make such observations.
Really liked your thorough review, but yikes, just ordered the Autumn Drizzle two days ago . . .
I hope you get it and fall in love with it. Just because it didn't meet my (very high, probably way too high) expectations doesn't mean, you won't love it either.
The matt finish does look elegant. 😇🩷🙏🙌
Yeah, I sold it to a friend so it didn't hurt that badly to let it go.
1. Sounds like after exhaustive testing Sailor may not suit you. For a Pilot fan this not surprising. As a Sailor fan I have little use for a Pilot.
2. I suspect that it is the nib size that softens as the nib gets longer. Thus the longer 21k is bouncier than the shorter 14k. They say the KoP is much bouncier than the PG. Too bad the KoP is unaffordable.
3. Such beautiful pens, says the Sailor Boi. Thanks for the show.
I have a KOP in B and it's a dream. I wouldn't say I don't like the Sailor nibs or pens. I just don't enjoy the MF nibs. And that's what I was trying to figure out, if and what difference was there between the bigger and smaller size 21k nib. PGS is not for me. PG in MF is not for me. The M is tried at the SF Pen Show was good too.
I got two profit casual (steel nib sailor) in MF and one was scratchy and tines were very misaligned, the other’s tines were misaligned but was fine once adjusted. The feedback is not equal in all directions as it is scratchier in left to right strokes. Also got a zoom and that too had horribly misaligned tines.
Next i got a medium nib 21k pro gear, why not MF? Well i didn’t like the ones on the profit casual and the ones i tried in a store, they felt not suitable for cursive or for sketching as there was more tooth in the left to right strokes than i wanted.
Onto the medium, the tines were too tight out of the box, and wouldn’t write properly without pressure at all, spread them apart slightly and the nib was better, smooth with some feedback, more audible rather than tactile and sometimes feels too smooth even on textured papers like muji, i will try to use it more, i like the nib but not enough to spend the asking price.
I too chose to keep my best nib vs the best design on my Pro Gear pens. I have a black with gold trim that I picked over them all! It has a M nib (which btw I think you would adore) and was by far a *chefs kiss* … so keep the one that feels the best for writing. Sell the rest
Yes, I am saving up for a specific Sailor with an M nib. I just hope it will be a good first experience. But I'm planning on getting it tuned if not.