Thanks AD. The more I use fountain pens, though, the more difficult it gets to describe how they write. One will write smooth, except on certain paper, and another will be toothy, except with certain inks...but that's one of the things I enjoy about them. Take care!
The Prera is a great little pen, especially if you like the way a Metropolitan nib writes and you want that same writing experience in a small lightweight pen.
I love the translucent material of the Sailor Lecoule, it really looks like a quartz! But, as a student, what I love the most is the prize hahahah. I've been watching all of your videos recently and I love the format, you just got a new subscriber from Spain. Keep up the good work. :)
I ordered my Sailor 1911 and it will arrive May 7th. I am really looking forward to this pen. It was a difficult decision between the Sailor 1911 and the Platinum 3776, but I think the Sailor was the right choice. I will also purchase the Platinum in a few months. Greetings from Germany!!
Congratulations on the new pen, Chris! Now you just have to wait patiently until May 7. The 1911 and the 3776 are both great pens. They each have their own feel on paper, so it's not a waste of money to have one of each.
I have several Sailors with various nibs. I don''t really know what the attraction is. They will be the first ones I sell because I never use them. Much prefer Pilot and truth be known, I'm very happy with TWSBI. Guess I'm just different. Thanks for the videos. You have by far the best set up, I can always see clearly the writing samples.
Thank you Takasnooze! I find myself being drawn to Sailor pens every time they come out with a new color, but then I remember that although I love to look at Sailor pens, I prefer writing with Pilots - and that has saved me a lot of money. I'll probably never get rid of my Sailors. They are nice when paired with the right ink and paper, but I find my Pilot pens to be more forgiving.
My one gripe with any Sailor or Pilot Fountain pen is the lack nibs being sold separately if say you have a scratchy nib or want to try another size but don't want to buy another pen.
@Labib Saud..This is absolutely spot-on. I have several Pilot, Sailor and Platinum pens (overwhelmingly gold nibs). And I love them all. But the inexplicable limitation regarding swapping readily available nibs sold separately is a major downside that has always bugged me about all the three majors from Japan.
I'm partial to the Prera because I like Pilot nibs. However, the nice thing about Kaweco nibs is that you can buy replacements. If you get a Kaweco pen and you decide that you would rather have a different nib size, you don't have to buy an all new pen, you can just buy a new nib. 😀
Interesting comparison, Mrs. Cathy. I want to like Sailor pens SOO badly. They’re such attractive pens. I think Sailor does a great job stylistically speaking. The issue for me is the feedback that they’re known for. Smoothness is something that’s pretty high on the list of qualities that add to an enjoyable writing experience for me personally. I’ve come so close to buying a Sailor pen a couple times but I end up not purchasing as a direct result of this characteristic feedback. I know some people like “good” feedback but I honestly don’t know what that is! Lol. Enjoy your evening, ma’am.
My perfect pen would look like a Sailor 1911, have a nib that looked like a Platinum 3776 nib, but feel like a Pilot nib. But for now I'll just settle for Pilot being my favorite fountain pen brand.
I've finally ordered a few Sailors, entry to mid level steels only. A 1911 Profit, Profit Jr, a Lecoule and a ProColor which also seems to be called Shikiori. I'm struggling to get to grips with their naming, with their ink names being even more hard work. I'm hoping the ProColor/Shikiori will have the smoothest nib, being the most expensive in this set. I'll be using these four to try and get a feel for the brand before deciding whether to go for a gold nibbed one. I'm mainly wanting to compare with Pilot, who have a wider set of options in this price bracket. My highest priced Pilots so far are a Custom 74 and the utter sublime delight that we call the Elite & you call the E95S. Boy, that's a sweet pen. I'm strongly pro Pilot as you know, such as in that Pluminix conversation, so for Sailor the bar has already been set pretty high by Pilot, and they'll have to be quite special.
In my experience, Pilot doesn't have any options that compare to the smoothness of Pilot nibs. However, I do enjoy the medium-fine nib that's found on the ProColor and Shikiori pens. I find that the steel nibs on those pens feel like their gold counterparts and I enjoy writing with my ProColor. My favorite Sailor gold nib is the medium. The fine nib on my Pro Gear Slim tends to pick up paper fibers, so I have to be careful with the paper I use with it. I hope you find a pen and nib that you like, Graham!
@@gadgetstop321 Thank you. I'd heard about Sailor nibs picking up paper fibres. I always do a basic water flush with all new pens before use but then I only usually do a deep-clean if I'm changing from a radically different ink, a heavy shimmering ink, one that's really sticky such as OS Nitrogen, or an Iron Gall. Otherwise I'd only floss a nib in response to some sort of issue. It's good to know, therefore, that these are more liable to pick up detritus than other nibs. As I write this, my ProColor and Lecoule have just this minute been delivered. I'm excited to give them a tryout soon. I was pleasantly surprised that both came with a converter. I'd heard the lower-end ones don't include one (as with other manufacturers such as Lamy) so I'd also bought separate converters. I now have spares!
The Prera is such a smooth writer, it makes you want to ignore all your other pens. It's just a joy to write with it (I've only tried it with a fine nib, it would be good to know if the experience is the same regardless of nib size). It would also be nice to know if Pilot's gold nibs are this smooth.
@@gadgetstop321 I'm so glad to hear that. I just recently got a Prera. I never had a Pilot before and am just so impressed at the smoothness of their nibs. That made me wonder about their other products, and I see as you tell me that their quality is very consistent. Thank you for your answer. God bless.
Funny... you mentioned that you don’t need a pocket pen as much now that you’ve retired. I’m just the other way ‘round. I bought a Kaweco after I retired so I could just shove it my jeans now that I’m wearing a lot more shirts without pockets.
I have a Pilot Prera fine nib and I think it’s my favorite of the 6 under $75 fountain pens I own. It writes so smoothly and evenly, no hard starts, not even a hint of scratchiness. Love the little click when you put the cap on. I’ve never tried a high end pen, but I’d imagine it would write like the Prera does. When I first got mine, I filled it with a Noodler’s ink that was so wet it made the pen write like a medium. I switched the ink to Iroshizuku, and now it writes like the fine nib that it is.
Pilot is my favorite fountain pen company because I like every Pilot pen that I own. My favorite pen and nib changes from time to time, but right now my favorite is the Pilot Custom 74 with a 14k fine nib.
Interesting pen. I was not aware of this model. Thanks for this video. I love the pearlescent material it is made out of. It isn't clear whether this is injection moulded plastic or a turned acrylic.
It's injection moulded plastic, but you can't tell from the exterior of the pen. It's been polished to a very smooth finish. When you asked, I had to go double check that it wasn't turned acrylic.
Very good comparison. After trying pilot Metropolitan and knowing that the nib is the same as Prera, I went out and acquire Lecoule. So far I am trying to get used to it's feedback. It's an interesting pen for sure
purchased an MF nib Sailor Progear slim and it became my favorite writing experience except the nib size for writing Japanese, I can tell that there's the similar hardness and feedback on the Lecoule when you seem to fight against it in the writing. I have f nib Metropolitan for comparison on Pilot's better QC'd(probably) steel nib, and before I said to own an EF Custom 74, I think the smooth feedback profile is pretty similar for most Pilot pens(but the EF is probably good for being very smooth than the steel nib EF kakuno). What's funny to me is that the hardness and feedback of the Sailor seem to encourage me to use a lot more of my arm than wrist while keeping in control(seemingly magically, and pleasantly, unlike 3776), and after using it for quite some time, my arm carried over the writing characteristic of Sailor's nib's kind of 'smooth' to all of my writing and drawing experience with any fountain pen and beyond except the glassiest ones like Jinhaos, even if I ground the Jinhao nib to be like Japanese fine.
Just curious - how long was the ink in the Prera compared to the just-inked Sailor? The Prera could be putting down a darker line, but it also could look more saturated as the water (very slightly) evaporates from the nib/feed while uncapped. That crossed my mind because Herbin's Lie de Thé is one of my go-to inks, but I always like it better after it's been in a pen for at least a week.
Yes, the Prera, Metropolitan, Explorer, Kaküno, Plumix, Pluminix, and 78g all ise the same size nib and feed and are interchangeable. Some have different designs imprinted on them and the 78g is gold plated.
My current stance is that life is too short for dry nibs. If I encounter a nib + paper combo that is too wet (not often), I will switch to a different paper. Thanks for all the videos. It's comforting to hear a friendly voice discussing an interesting subject.
I like that..."life is too short for dry nibs." Someone needs to put that on a mug or a t-shirt. And your welcome. I also find joy and comfort while interacting with our community of pen enthusiasts. You take care Ichiro.
I really enjoy your reviews. You do a great job sharing the practical application of the pen, and explaining the writing experience.
Thanks AD. The more I use fountain pens, though, the more difficult it gets to describe how they write. One will write smooth, except on certain paper, and another will be toothy, except with certain inks...but that's one of the things I enjoy about them. Take care!
gadgetstop321 it’s true! Very sensitive little pens. Sometimes even the day seems to change how they write.
After watching way too many of your marvelous ink reviews, I'm badly craving a Prera (or 2)...
The Prera is a great little pen, especially if you like the way a Metropolitan nib writes and you want that same writing experience in a small lightweight pen.
I love the translucent material of the Sailor Lecoule, it really looks like a quartz! But, as a student, what I love the most is the prize hahahah. I've been watching all of your videos recently and I love the format, you just got a new subscriber from Spain. Keep up the good work. :)
Thank you Alejandro! And I agree, this pen was appropriately named.
I ordered my Sailor 1911 and it will arrive May 7th. I am really looking forward to this pen. It was a difficult decision between the Sailor 1911 and the Platinum 3776, but I think the Sailor was the right choice. I will also purchase the Platinum in a few months. Greetings from Germany!!
Congratulations on the new pen, Chris! Now you just have to wait patiently until May 7. The 1911 and the 3776 are both great pens. They each have their own feel on paper, so it's not a waste of money to have one of each.
@@gadgetstop321Thanks for the Feedback. Have you ever thought about a Nakaya Pen? I know they are very expensive, but the Urushi finish is gorgeus!
I have several Sailors with various nibs. I don''t really know what the attraction is. They will be the first ones I sell because I never use them. Much prefer Pilot and truth be known, I'm very happy with TWSBI. Guess I'm just different. Thanks for the videos. You have by far the best set up, I can always see clearly the writing samples.
Thank you Takasnooze! I find myself being drawn to Sailor pens every time they come out with a new color, but then I remember that although I love to look at Sailor pens, I prefer writing with Pilots - and that has saved me a lot of money. I'll probably never get rid of my Sailors. They are nice when paired with the right ink and paper, but I find my Pilot pens to be more forgiving.
My one gripe with any Sailor or Pilot Fountain pen is the lack nibs being sold separately if say you have a scratchy nib or want to try another size but don't want to buy another pen.
I agree. When I dropped my Sailor Pro Color and bent the nib, I searched in vain for a replacement.
@Labib Saud..This is absolutely spot-on. I have several Pilot, Sailor and Platinum pens (overwhelmingly gold nibs). And I love them all. But the inexplicable limitation regarding swapping readily available nibs sold separately is a major downside that has always bugged me about all the three majors from Japan.
Im planing to buy a pocket pen, but i don't know which one to pick kaweco sport or the pilot prera
I'm partial to the Prera because I like Pilot nibs. However, the nice thing about Kaweco nibs is that you can buy replacements. If you get a Kaweco pen and you decide that you would rather have a different nib size, you don't have to buy an all new pen, you can just buy a new nib. 😀
Interesting comparison, Mrs. Cathy. I want to like Sailor pens SOO badly. They’re such attractive pens. I think Sailor does a great job stylistically speaking. The issue for me is the feedback that they’re known for. Smoothness is something that’s pretty high on the list of qualities that add to an enjoyable writing experience for me personally. I’ve come so close to buying a Sailor pen a couple times but I end up not purchasing as a direct result of this characteristic feedback. I know some people like “good” feedback but I honestly don’t know what that is! Lol. Enjoy your evening, ma’am.
My perfect pen would look like a Sailor 1911, have a nib that looked like a Platinum 3776 nib, but feel like a Pilot nib. But for now I'll just settle for Pilot being my favorite fountain pen brand.
I've finally ordered a few Sailors, entry to mid level steels only. A 1911 Profit, Profit Jr, a Lecoule and a ProColor which also seems to be called Shikiori. I'm struggling to get to grips with their naming, with their ink names being even more hard work. I'm hoping the ProColor/Shikiori will have the smoothest nib, being the most expensive in this set. I'll be using these four to try and get a feel for the brand before deciding whether to go for a gold nibbed one. I'm mainly wanting to compare with Pilot, who have a wider set of options in this price bracket. My highest priced Pilots so far are a Custom 74 and the utter sublime delight that we call the Elite & you call the E95S. Boy, that's a sweet pen. I'm strongly pro Pilot as you know, such as in that Pluminix conversation, so for Sailor the bar has already been set pretty high by Pilot, and they'll have to be quite special.
In my experience, Pilot doesn't have any options that compare to the smoothness of Pilot nibs. However, I do enjoy the medium-fine nib that's found on the ProColor and Shikiori pens. I find that the steel nibs on those pens feel like their gold counterparts and I enjoy writing with my ProColor. My favorite Sailor gold nib is the medium. The fine nib on my Pro Gear Slim tends to pick up paper fibers, so I have to be careful with the paper I use with it. I hope you find a pen and nib that you like, Graham!
@@gadgetstop321 Thank you. I'd heard about Sailor nibs picking up paper fibres. I always do a basic water flush with all new pens before use but then I only usually do a deep-clean if I'm changing from a radically different ink, a heavy shimmering ink, one that's really sticky such as OS Nitrogen, or an Iron Gall. Otherwise I'd only floss a nib in response to some sort of issue. It's good to know, therefore, that these are more liable to pick up detritus than other nibs.
As I write this, my ProColor and Lecoule have just this minute been delivered. I'm excited to give them a tryout soon. I was pleasantly surprised that both came with a converter. I'd heard the lower-end ones don't include one (as with other manufacturers such as Lamy) so I'd also bought separate converters. I now have spares!
The Prera is such a smooth writer, it makes you want to ignore all your other pens. It's just a joy to write with it (I've only tried it with a fine nib, it would be good to know if the experience is the same regardless of nib size). It would also be nice to know if Pilot's gold nibs are this smooth.
I have Pilot stainless steel nibs in fine and medium and they are both smooth. I also have two Pilot 14k fine nibs and they are also very smooth.
@@gadgetstop321 I'm so glad to hear that. I just recently got a Prera. I never had a Pilot before and am just so impressed at the smoothness of their nibs. That made me wonder about their other products, and I see as you tell me that their quality is very consistent. Thank you for your answer. God bless.
Funny... you mentioned that you don’t need a pocket pen as much now that you’ve retired. I’m just the other way ‘round. I bought a Kaweco after I retired so I could just shove it my jeans now that I’m wearing a lot more shirts without pockets.
I have a Pilot Prera fine nib and I think it’s my favorite of the 6 under $75 fountain pens I own. It writes so smoothly and evenly, no hard starts, not even a hint of scratchiness. Love the little click when you put the cap on. I’ve never tried a high end pen, but I’d imagine it would write like the Prera does. When I first got mine, I filled it with a Noodler’s ink that was so wet it made the pen write like a medium. I switched the ink to Iroshizuku, and now it writes like the fine nib that it is.
What are your favorite Pilot pens and nibs? I looked at your video catalogue but could not find one.
Pilot is my favorite fountain pen company because I like every Pilot pen that I own. My favorite pen and nib changes from time to time, but right now my favorite is the Pilot Custom 74 with a 14k fine nib.
Interesting pen. I was not aware of this model. Thanks for this video. I love the pearlescent material it is made out of. It isn't clear whether this is injection moulded plastic or a turned acrylic.
It's injection moulded plastic, but you can't tell from the exterior of the pen. It's been polished to a very smooth finish. When you asked, I had to go double check that it wasn't turned acrylic.
@@gadgetstop321 Thanks, Kathy!
Very good comparison. After trying pilot Metropolitan and knowing that the nib is the same as Prera, I went out and acquire Lecoule. So far I am trying to get used to it's feedback. It's an interesting pen for sure
My Lecoule is a pleasure to use with some inks and with others it feels like a completely different nib.
purchased an MF nib Sailor Progear slim and it became my favorite writing experience except the nib size for writing Japanese, I can tell that there's the similar hardness and feedback on the Lecoule when you seem to fight against it in the writing. I have f nib Metropolitan for comparison on Pilot's better QC'd(probably) steel nib, and before I said to own an EF Custom 74, I think the smooth feedback profile is pretty similar for most Pilot pens(but the EF is probably good for being very smooth than the steel nib EF kakuno). What's funny to me is that the hardness and feedback of the Sailor seem to encourage me to use a lot more of my arm than wrist while keeping in control(seemingly magically, and pleasantly, unlike 3776), and after using it for quite some time, my arm carried over the writing characteristic of Sailor's nib's kind of 'smooth' to all of my writing and drawing experience with any fountain pen and beyond except the glassiest ones like Jinhaos, even if I ground the Jinhao nib to be like Japanese fine.
How would you compare the pilot prera's nib to the pilot metropolitan nib?
I think they are the same nib except the Metropolitan has a design etched into it.
Just curious - how long was the ink in the Prera compared to the just-inked Sailor? The Prera could be putting down a darker line, but it also could look more saturated as the water (very slightly) evaporates from the nib/feed while uncapped.
That crossed my mind because Herbin's Lie de Thé is one of my go-to inks, but I always like it better after it's been in a pen for at least a week.
I think you're right. The Prera had been inked up at least a couple days, maybe even a week.
Does prera use the same nibs as the lower models? Are the nibs swappable with, say, metropolitan or kakuno?
Yes, the Prera, Metropolitan, Explorer, Kaküno, Plumix, Pluminix, and 78g all ise the same size nib and feed and are interchangeable. Some have different designs imprinted on them and the 78g is gold plated.
@@gadgetstop321 Thank you for the answer, it's very helpful.
I have a clear neon green lecoule. I never use it either.
My current stance is that life is too short for dry nibs. If I encounter a nib + paper combo that is too wet (not often), I will switch to a different paper.
Thanks for all the videos. It's comforting to hear a friendly voice discussing an interesting subject.
I like that..."life is too short for dry nibs." Someone needs to put that on a mug or a t-shirt.
And your welcome. I also find joy and comfort while interacting with our community of pen enthusiasts. You take care Ichiro.
I too love the “life is too short for a dry nib.” That’d make a great bumper sticker, haha!
Thanks for the comparison. I have a Prera and like it. I wouldn't want a pen drier than a Prera, so....
You're welcome! I'm going to work on the Lecoule nib and see if I can get it more to my liking.
Very useful 👍
Ciao!
Thank you!
You must be a math teacher. :)
Yes, I am a math teacher. 🤓