Sailor 1911 (Standard) with Zoom nib
Country of Origin: Japan 
MSRP: $195 (as of June 2014)
Street: $156 (Amazon as of June 2014)
Availability: MEDIUM (ZOOM NIB: LOW)
Year of Original Manufacture: (25 years ago)?
Body Sizes: Standard, Large
Body Material: Acrylic (PMMA) Resin
Dimensions: 133mm closed; 12.37mm diameter (at cap); ~150mm capped
Colors: Black with Gold, Maroon with Gold, Black with Silver, Ivory with Gold, Blue with Gold, Red with Gold, Yellow with Gold, Demonstrator (clear) with Gold, Mozaiques (Black, Red Green, Brown) with Gold
Nib: 21k, 14k Yellow Gold or 21k Rhodium-plated gold (EF, F, MF, M, B, Zoom, MS)
Fill Mechanism: Cartridge or Converter (included), New: Piston filling system
Class: Intermediate, Professional
Other versions: None
Appearance:
The Sailor 1911s (standard) or 1911m (mid-sized) fountain pen has the traditional, rounded cigar shape similar (practically identical) to the Mont Blanc or Platinum 3776 fountain pens. Our 1911 is black with gold trim, giving it a very traditional and luxurious look. The body of the pen is of thin to medium width while the cap is slightly thicker.
The Sailor 1911 comes in a number of different color combinations as well as a demonstrator version. “Classic and classy” is the best description of the overall aesthetic of the pen. The pen features a rectangular, medium sized gold-plated clip with a rounded off end. The trim of the pen consists of four thin gold bands located above the clip, on the bottom of the cap, on the lower section of the body, and just below the threads. A thicker band is also located on the bottom of the cap (just below the thinner one) and has Sailor Japan Founded 1911 engraved in it. The threads of the pen are also gold plated. The cap is slightly tapered getting thinner towards the top of the pen and is significantly wider than the body, creating a step, which some might find visually unappealing.
There is not much else to say about the appearance of the pen. The black and gold colors are deep and rich, the section is round, and the cigar shape is only interrupted by the aforementioned step between the cap and body.
Tom’s Rating: I like the simple and traditional look, but it doesn’t match my status or style. This pen has a very Mont Blanc-ish look, and it looks a bit out of place for me as a grad student. I think it would look much better in a suit pocket than cargo shorts. 80%
Phil’s Rating: The design screams class, but I find it a bit too conservative to really put it above some of the competition. The only negative for me is the slightly bulky cap. The rest of the pen is very elegant, but ultimately nothing special. Also, you can find almost identically designed pens from other brands. *The deep black and shiny gold provide a pleasant contrast* 80%
Build Quality / Construction
The first thing that we noticed about the pen is that it is incredibly lightweight; only 19.6 grams.This surprising weight can be attributed to the PMMA (Acrylic) resin material that makes up the body of the pen. Unfortunately, the resin body does scratch easily, but it does not discolor. We have had no other issues with the build quality of the pen though we agree that it feels less substantial in our hands than other pens in its price range. The fit and finish are top notch, with no compromise.
The golden clip is stiff so expect to have a tight fit when clipping on to clothing.
Tom's Rating: I think the pen is built well; I like the light-weight material and tight construction. 90%
Phil's Rating: the first thought that came to mind when handling the pen was “plastic.” Thankfully, the lightweight acrylic design has proven durable and the fit and finish is top notch. The clip is a pretty big disappointment with very little springiness. 80%
The Feed
The Sailor 1911 comes with a standard plastic feed. In our experience, the feed combined with the zoom nib provides a wet writing experience with high flow rates. We have not experienced any leaking or false starts in our tests.
Phil's rating: Standard appearance, but a top notch feed. No real issues at all, though some might find the ink flow to be too high. 90%
Tom's rating: I also didn’t find any issues with the feed; it kept up with all of our writing tests. I tend to prefer wet pens, so this feed was great. 95%
The Nib
The nib for the 1911 comes in many different flavors including 14k and 21k yellow gold and 21k Rhodium-plated gold nibs in sizes: EF, F, MF, M, B, Zoom, MS. The pen we used for our review is a 14k yellow gold Zoom nib; we can only provide an evaluation of this nib.
The zoom nib is fairly uncommon, especially in the USA and Europe because it is specifically designed to be used for Japanese calligraphy. Japanese characters traditionally were written with a brush, and required line variations with precise character strokes. The zoom nib takes the place of a brush by providing a range of line variation. The line thickness is determined by the angle that the pen is held in relation to the paper, similar to how a sharp brush can be used to achieve line variation. Holding the pen at a steeper angle (closer to 90 degrees from the paper) results in a thinner line. The closer the pen is held parallel to the paper, the broader the pen writes. Adjusting the writing angle while writing in English cursive is very awkward, and we would not consider the zoom nib very practical for day-to-day English writing. The zoom nib has a large, rounded triangularly-shaped tip. This geometry provides differing contact area as the nib’s angle is changed relative to the writing surface.
We both appreciate the design of the nib. In the center of the nib, just below the breather hole, is ‘1911’ in bold font. Just below the ‘1911’, is Sailor’s symbol, the anchor. Underneath the anchor is ‘14k’, ‘585’ and ‘Sailor’ in small font. All of this is bordered by a nice curvy border pattern, providing for a very attractive single-toned nib. Interestingly enough, the nib itself does not indicate the nib type. There is no indicator on the nib describing it as a Zoom nib.
Sailor provides a long list of nibs, and switching them out is fairly straight-forward. Our only complaint is that the feed is held in place by its fins, potentially leading to breakage when removing the feed. We will describe this problem in further detail in the cleaning section of this review.
The Sailor 1911 with Zoom nib is a very smooth writer. When holding the pen at a typical English/European writer’s angle, we evaluated the line thickness to be approximately a European Medium to Broad. Our Zoom nib was very wet, and provided for a very comfortable writing experience.
Phil's rating: Beautiful, smooth, and wet: the Sailor 1911's 14K gold Zoom is one of the nicest nibs I have written with. Writing in a normal position produces a broad line and the idea of a Zoom nib is not practical for English characters. 85%
Tom's rating: I appreciate the nib design and wet/smooth writing experience. It writes very well, but I don’t think this particularly nib is any more useful to me than a medium or broad nib. In either case, I enjoy writing with it: 90%
Capping/Posting
The Sailor 1911s caps by screwing the cap to the body of the pen, therefore you will not experience an audible feedback (click) when removing the cap. The cap has an inner cap that helps the pen from drying out. We have had no issues with the acrylic threads inside the cap of the pen or with the required force needed to screw/unscrew the cap from the body. Considering how light the pen is, one should be careful to not over-tighten the cap. This might result in cracking. A general advantage of having a screw-type cap is that it is far less likely to accidentally come loose from the body. A disadvantage is the added time it takes to uncap.
Posting, on the other hand, is a fairly straight-forward experience. The cap friction-fits snugly onto the back of the pen. When posted, the pen remains lightweight, balanced, and an ideal size for most people.
Phil's Rating: I’m pleased with the way the Sailor 1911 handles capping and posting. The only worry is over-tightening the cap, but doing so would require a lot of force. Posting is pleasant and does not detract at all from the pen’s overall comfort. 90%
Tom's Rating: The capping and posting works reliably with no complaint. I find that I need to post the pen to write comfortably for extended periods of time. 90%
Filling System
The Sailor 1911 is a cartridge-converter pen, however, the newest versions use a piston filling system and include an ink window (which we agree looks awkward on such a traditional pen). Piston fillers have become favored for their ease of use and large ink capacities. The older model that uses a screw-type converter is compatible with Sailors ’cartridge converters. A small gripe is that the colors of the converter (silver) does not match the color of the pen’s trim. The converter does fit tightly and works like any other screw converter. The Sailor 1911 also accepts ink cartridges.
Phil's Rating: I was happy to see that Sailor upgraded the filling system to a piston filler and I have had no issues with the included ink converter 80%
Tom's Rating: I agree; the included converter is smooth and holds a decent amount of ink. I was also happy to see that Sailor has a new piston-filler line of 1911s. 90%
Cleaning
To clean, remove the cap and clean out any ink residue in the inner cap. Regular usage will result in drops of ink in the inner cap. A quick swab with a rolled-up paper towel, or paper-towel tipped q-tip will do the trick.
The barrel can then be unscrewed, removed, and cleaned.
To clean the feed and nib, run water through the section, feed and nib. This is most easily accomplished with a few full bulb syringes of water. For well-behaving inks, this serves as a reliable way to clean out the 1911 without removing the feed.
For a more thorough cleaning it is necessary to remove the nib and feed from the section and clean the parts separately. Removing the feed is challenging, especially for the first time. To remove the feed, use some grippy material like a non-slip rug pad or rubber gloves to grab the center of the feed from the top and bottom sides, and pull the feed directly out. Do not turn or otherwise apply lateral pressure to the feed or you could break it. Do this SLOWLY and carefully. It will make a zipping noise as it leaves the section. Once the feed has been removed, gently remove the nib, and soak it in water.
To rebuild, align the nib with the feed, and push it into the section. It should glide into place. Connect the converter, and screw the barrel back onto the section. Cap the pen, and you’re done.
Tom's Rating: This pen was fairly easy to clean, but removing the feed required extra care. 75%
Phil's Rating: The pen is pretty easy to take apart. The only downside is that the feed is held in place by the fins, so be careful when removing the feed. Otherwise, no issues with cleaning. 75%
Value
The 1911 with zoom nib can be purchased for around $156 from one of several online dealers. You’re getting a very nice pen with a classic design, smooth and wet gold nib, and solid feel. There are many other pens in this range with, what we consider, better bang for your buck. We list several in the competition section of the review. For this reason, we would only recommend this pen if it offers something that you are specifically looking for.
Competition
We have listed several pens below that are competitors with the Sailor 1911 in the same range. We considered the build quality, writing experience, class and price when deciding on the pens.
1. Platinum 3776: $176 street price with similar design
2. Lamy 2000: $150 street price with piston filler.
3. Namiki Falcon: $144 street price with semi-flex nib
4. Edison Collier: $149 street price with variety of beautiful resin
5. Pilot Vanishing Point: $140 street price; very practical with a capless design
6. Pilot Custom 74: $160 street price; variety of different color demonstrators with very smooth nibs.
Conclusion
It’s hard to fault the Sailor 1911 standard: it does everything well. Unfortunately, it does not do much to stand out among other powerhouse fountain pens in its price range. Several other brands have pens that look nearly identical to the 1911 and there are many other pens at the same price that are just more exciting. If you are willing to fork out over $100 for a fountain pen and are looking for a classy design, lightweight frame, and an excellent nib the Sailor 1911 might just be the right pen for you. This pen is also one of very few pens to have a Zoom nib option, which collectors, calligraphers or artists might appreciate.
Overall Scores:
Phil's Ratings: Tom's Ratings:
Appearance: 80% 80%
Build Quality/Construction: 80% 90%
Feed: 90% 95%
Nib: 85% 95%
Capping, Posting: 90% 90%
Filling System: 80% 90%
Cleaning: 75% 75%
Cleaning: 75% 75%
Average Scores: 82.86% 87.86%
Adjusted Overall Scores: 80% 85%
