In 1911, Mr. Kyugoro Sakata, an engineer from the naval port of Hiroshima became determined to produce finely crafted writing instruments in Japan with the highest specification and writing performance. He decided to call the company Sailor Pen hoping the business would expand internationally like the voyages of a sailor.

The company was the first to produce fountain pens in Japan and it is one of the oldest in industry worldwide.

One of its main lines is the  Sailor 1911 fountain pen,which is named after the year when the company was founded. The pens are rounded at the sides when capped so it looks like a mini torpedo.

All of the Sailor 1911 are cartridge/converter fountain pens, except for the Realo (the ones with a clear ink window in the barrel), which is a piston filler.

This model comes in three sizes: the 1911S (Standard), the 1911L (Large), and the oversized 1911 King of Pens (KOP).

The 1911S is the smallest and includes a 14kt gold nib, while the 1911L and 1911 KOP both feature a 21kt gold nib.

On the other side, the SailorProfessional Gear (also known as  Pro Gear) fountain pen has flat ends when the pen is capped. This line is divided into the standard Professional Gear and the Pro Gear II, whose main differences are the two-color gold nib and a clip that looks like an anchor for the Pro Gear II.

This line also includes cartridge/converter fountain pens, and it’s also available in three sizes: the Pro Gear Slim, the larger Pro Gear, and the oversized Pro Gear King of Pens.

The Pro Gear Slim is the smallest and includes a 14kt gold nib, while the Pro Gear and Pro Gear KOP both feature a 21kt gold nib.

Both Sailor 1911 and Pro Gear have a wide array of  nib sizes: from the regular ones (F, M, B) to Extra Fine, Medium Fine,Music (wider when written horizontally and thinner when written vertically) orZoom (which behaves like a double broad when written at an acute angle or as a thinner nib as the pen moves vertically).It is necessary to clarify that it is the Sailor brand itself which chooses the specific sizes they think will suit better for each one of their models, so it is often not possible to have all of these sizes available for all of the collections. If you have any doubt, please contact us whenever you need help.

Mr. Nobuyoshi Nagahara was the creator of  Sailor’s Special Nibs. Nowadays Yukio Nagahara, his son, is the person in charge of overseeing and directing the design process of Sailor’s unique nibs, and his designs are significantly based on the legacy that his father established. These pens,  hand-crafted through a long process, are truly unique in design, character and personality, and are inspired by the Japanese brush art.

There are  7 different models, and, depending on the angle of the pen, they write wider or thinner. In this GIF you can discover all of them and their strokes.

• Naginata Togi: if you hold the pen upright, the line will be thinner than if you put it at an angle. This is the one of the two models for which you can choose the nib size (MF, M, B)
• Naginata Concord: thin writing lines when used in a normal position and thicker strokes if inverted.
• Naginata Fude de Mannen: writes from fine to broad lines depending on the pen and nib angle.
• Naginata Emperor: “Emperor” refers to the solid gold rolled tab positioned on the top of the nib. This provides a supplementary ink reservoir when writing very quickly or when using a very absorbent paper. It is the other model for which you can choose the nib size (MF, M, B)
• Cross Point: it produces a very broad and smooth line depending on how it is positioned.
• Cross Concord: it draws a very narrow line when used in a normal position and a broad stroke with excellent ink flow when inverted.
• Cross Music: it writes fine lines when held normally and bold strokes when held at an angle.

Iguana Sell is proud to be one of the selected worldwide distributors of these unique and high-demanded pieces.If you need any further information about Sailor’s Special Nibs, contact us anytime you want.

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