We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are now authorized Sailor retailers! In this video and blog, we’ll talk about our initial offerings, compare each of the pen models, and give an overview of each of the 7 nib sizes.

Over the last few years, we’ve been building a new relationship with the team at Sailor and Itoya of America, the US distributor. We are all excited to finally bring this partnership to fruition, and work together to do all we can to best represent and grow this brand.

We’ve been keeping this launch secret for the last few months as we have been working hard to prepare everything we would need – all the product photography, measurements, videos, webpage listings, writing samples, educating our team, etc. It’s been a labor of love and we are so excited to share this with you now.

So without further ado, let’s review our initial product offerings at Goulet Pens.

The Sailor Pen Line

Sailor is one of the three big Japanese fountain pen companies, founded in 1911. They are known primarily for their 14kt and 21kt gold nib fountain pens with a focus on quality, and an extensive line of bottled ink colors.

The fountain pens are primarily divided into two models: the 1911 and the Pro Gear. The 1911 features a rounded cigar shape, while the Pro Gear has a flat top design. Each of these models come in different size variations. You can use our Pen Plaza comparison tool on our website to directly compare these in size to each other as well as to any of the other pens we carry.

1911L

The Sailor 1911 Large fountain pen is considered to be their most popular model in the US market. Available in a huge range of resin colors, including some exciting North American exclusive colors, it features a large 21kt gold nib in seven different nib sizes (more on that below). The cap screws on/off and posts onto the back when writing, and it uses a proprietary Sailor converter or Sailor ink cartridges. Our prices start at $272.

1911S

The Sailor 1911 Standard fountain pen is a smaller, slimmer version of the 1911L. It is also available in a wide range of resin colors. The biggest difference is that it has a smaller 14kt nib, instead of the 21kt nib on the 1911L. Our prices start at $180.

There are also several 1911 Maki-e versions available. Stock is a bit more scarce, but we do have a few designs to start with. Our prices start at $392.

1911 King of Pens

The Sailor 1911 King of Pens is the largest of the Sailor offerings, and one of the largest fountain pens on the market in general! To complement the oversized body, it comes with an even larger 21kt gold nib in medium or broad. Our prices start at $740.

Pro Gear (Standard)

The Sailor Pro Gear (short for Professional Gear) fountain pen is available in several resin colors, including some exciting North American exclusive colors. Like the 1911L, it features a large 21kt gold nib in seven different nib sizes. The cap screws on/off and posts onto the back when writing, and it uses a proprietary Sailor converter or Sailor ink cartridges. Our prices start at $312.

Pro Gear Slim

The Pro Gear Slim fountain pen is a smaller, slimmer version of the Pro Gear. It is also available in a wide range of resin colors. Just like the 1911S to the 1911L, the biggest difference on the Pro Gear Slim that it has a smaller 14kt nib, instead of the 21kt nib on the Pro Gear Standard. There are also several themed special edition versions available. Our prices start at $180.

Pro Gear King of Pens

The Sailor Pro Gear King of Pens is an oversized version of the Pro Gear, with the larger 21kt gold nib in medium or broad. Our prices start at $816.

You can find all of the technical specs for each pen model, including weights, measurements, and ink capacity, on the respective product pages on our website.

Sailor Nibs

There are seven different nib sizes available for most Sailor pens: Extra-Fine, Fine, Medium Fine, Medium, Broad, Music, and Zoom.

All of these sizes are available in a smaller 14kt nib on the 1911S or Pro Gear Slim, and the larger 21kt nib on the 1911L or Pro Gear.

The largest 21kt nib for on the King of Pens is only available in medium or broad.

Sailor makes all of their gold nibs in-house, one of the few companies left in the world to do so. As a Japanese nib, they run on the fine side. Sailor nibs feature a bit of feedback in the finer sizes, similar to what you might feel when writing with a sharp graphite pencil. The broader nibs are more smooth. The most popular Sailor nib size is Medium Fine.

Zoom is a unique size to Sailor. It is ground in such a way that the line width is varied: it is more fine when writing with the pen at a steeper angle, and broader at a lower angle.

Sailor’s Music nib is most similar to a traditional stub italic nib. A two-tine design, you’ll achieve wider up and downstrokes, and narrow sidestrokes.

Here are the writing samples for each of these nibs. You can use our Nib Nook comparison tool to compare these to each other as well as writing samples for all of the other pens we carry.

Sailor 14kt Gold Nib writing samples:



Sailor 21kt Gold Nib writing samples:



Sailor King of Pens 21kt Gold Nib writing samples:



There are some additional nib offerings available through select Bespoke retailers, but these are the ones we’ll be offering at Goulet Pens as of this launch.

Sailor Ink

Sailor produces hundreds of ink colors, many only available to specific geographical markets or exclusive to retailers. We are starting with an initial selection of 40 colors, from several different collections.

The Standard collection contains the basic ink colors: Black, Blue, and Blue Black. These are packaged in 50ml square glass bottles for $12.50 each, and also available in cartridges.

The Pigmented collection features Sailor’s waterproof ink line. These are very popular with artists who rely on the permanence in their art. Kiwaguro is the black color, and there are two blue/black shades in Seiboku and Souboku. These are packaged in 50ml square glass bottles for $24 each, and also available in cartridges.

The Jentle collection is exclusive to North America, and features six pleasant colors in 50ml round glass bottles for $25 each. Brian’s favorite is Sky High. Epinard is also a popular and unique spinach green color.

The Shikiori collection is inspired by colors of nature. There are twenty colors in this collection in 20ml square glass bottles for $15 each, some with beautiful shading or sheening properties. Souten and Yamadori are especially popular colors.

The Manyo collection is the newest, featuring eight colors in 50ml square glass bottles for $24 each. This collection is an Overseas Exclusive (available everywhere but Japan). These colors were inspired by flowers frequently mentioned in Japanese poetry. Rachel’s favorites are Haha and Nekoyanagi, for their gorgeous pastel multi-tonal shading properties on ink-resistant papers like Tomoe River.

For all forty of these colors, we also offer a 2ml ink sample so you can try out a color before committing to purchasing a full bottle.

Sailor Accessories

We will also be stocking replacement Sailor converters in gold or silver, and a Sailor Fountain Pen Maintenance Kit. This $16 kit contains everything you need to keep your Sailor pen clean from the inside out!

Are you excited to see Sailor offered at Goulet Pens? What are your favorite Sailor products? Let us know if you have any questions, we’re happy to answer.

Write On,

Brian & Rachel Goulet