Comparing the Pilot and Sailor Flat Top pens

[jar]

In the past I've posted about the Pilot, Sailor and Platinum "Balance" style pens but for this series I'd like to concentrate on the Flat Top ones. Platinum does not offer a similar selection under their branding so for this it will be just Sailor and Pilot. I will begin with the larger ones first.

The Sailor series starts with the King of Pen Pro Gear while from Pilot I will look at the Custom (why is it not a Custom Heritage model) 845. Both will be black with gold furniture.

First the BORING DETAILS.

In the past I have reviewed a Pilot Custom 845 in Vermilion and found it a difficult and confusing pen. I really wanted to like it but found it was one of the few pens I simply could not enjoy so sold it. That one had a BB nib so I ordered a Medium nib black version and this one I found far more pleasant, yet still a difficult and confusing pen. It's really close to being a great pen but still falls short when compared to other somewhat similar pens I own.

The Urushi on this versions has greater depth than the vermilion urushi but still nowhere near the depth found on a Platinum Izumo or Nakaya. This example is still moderately wet but no where near the gusher of the vermilion and the medium nib is smooth, controllable and responsive. But while there were no discernible seams on the section of the vermilion whether checked with a loupe or by feel, this on definitely has seams and they are prominent enough to catch with a fingernail. I have a 743 that uses the same section but as with the vermilion the 743 has no discernible seams on the section.

If this is supposed to be the best pen marketed under the Pilot brand why can they not deliver one where you do not see or feel the seams on the section?

As with the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear this is a cartridge/converter and uses Pilot's proprietary versions.

The Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear being reviewed is the basic resin/plastic model. It is slightly shorter than the Pilot Custom 845 when capped, unposted or posted but also considerably wider.

Like the Pilot Custom 845 the KoP Pro Gear is a cartridge/converter pen and uses Sailor's proprietary versions.

Notice how much more metal there is compared to the inside of the Pilot Custom 845.

BUT... it is precisely that extra metal that makes this pen one of the absolute finest pens I own. That extra metal sits forward of where the pen body sits on the webbing between my thump and hand when writing. That gives the pen a slight forward bias in balance. Yet The cap weighs 12.8g while the section with a cartridge inserted weighs 12.6g. That means when used posted the balance point falls exactly at the webbing between thump and hand and the pen feels weightless. The only pens I can think of that balance so well are the Sheaffer pens built on the PFM/Legacy model, Montegrappa Classicas, Aurora Hastil and the ST Dupont Orpheo/Olympios.

The pen also fits perfectly in my shirt pockets and has perhaps the best, most pocket friendly clip I've ever found. Unfortunately the Pilot Custom 845 uses the ball end Custom clip that is among the most pocket unfriendly clips I've found but more on the when we move on to the other sizes.

In summary; I can find absolutely nothing I'd change on the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear and the Pilot Custom 845 once again while there is absolutely nothing truly bad about the 845 it is even more disappointing that they did not take the few extra steps that would have made it a GREAT pen.

[tifosi]

I've been flirting with that 845 with a flex nib for a while. Still haven't done it.

Great comparison. I loved my Sailors before I discovered Nakaya.

[Juantxo]

Jim, I own a Sailor with flat top cap but round barrel butt. Where does that one fit...?

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Originally Posted by Juantxo

Jim, I own a Sailor with flat top cap but round barrel butt. Where does that one fit...?

Likely as a Store Edition; one produced for one of the larger Japanese chains. Sailor in particular is known for producing store variations. A good example is one of my Sailor 1911S versions. It has a black cap and a nonstandard red body and was made for just one store.

The Red & Black one in this picture

[Juantxo]

Ok, thank you. I like the red and black very much, pretty pen.

[jar]

The next segment will compare the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 and the Sailor Pro Gear.

Also I just tested and the cap from a Pro Gear fits on a 1911L and the Pro Gear Slim fits on the 1911S. The cap on your pen looks like the cap from the Sailor Sapporo that was the predecessor of the Pro Gear Slim.

[jar]

As threatened, the next pair to be compared are the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 and the Sailor Pro Gear. Like the first pair, here the Pilot pen is longer, lighter but also skinnier.

With that introductory remark; here are the Boring Details:

And the two pens:

The width difference is not as great as it is between the Pilot Custom 845 and the Sailor Pro Gear King of Pen but is still really noticeable in hand. The section on the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 measures 11.4mm at its widest and 10.75mm near the nib. The Sailor Pro Gear though measures 11.48mm near the threads and 10.95mm down near the nib. As I said, a small difference but enough to make a big difference in how the two pens feel in my hand. The section on the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 is longer than on the Sailor Pro Gear and for many that might be a bigger influence than section width.

Both pens balance well, both use proprietary cartridge/converter standards, both are moderately wet with the Pilot once again being slightly wetter than the Sailor. Both are long enough to use when not posted, post securely if desired and are balanced either way.

This example of a Pilot 912 has a factory stub nib and frankly it falls very short when compared to factory stub nibs from other makers. It is okay but I would rate it as the least pleasant of all my factory stub nibs. The Sailor has a medium nib and it is typical Sailor, moderately wet and very smooth but with pleasant feedback.

The next epistle will look at the Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and the Sailor Pro Gear Slim.

[Bisquitlips]

Jim you are a Pencyclopedia!

Always enjoy your teaching!

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But for some reason an incorrect copy of the Boring Details is showing up and I can't edit the post. Here is the correct one:

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Now for the smallest pair, the Pilot Custom 91 and the Sailor Pro Gear Slim. As usual. let's begin with the Boring Details:

Many things are still the same, the Sailor is still shorter than the Pilot and the Pilot nib is wetter than the sailor but there are also differences. In this pair the Sailor is also lighter and the section is a hair skinnier than on the Pilot. The Pilot varies from 10.8mm near the threads to 9.95mm near the nib while the Sailor varies from 10.5mm near the threads to 9.8mm near the nib.

Again, the section on the Pilot is slightly longer than on the Sailor and for some that may be important.

The Pilot is long enough to use without posting but the Sailor really does feel best posted.

Both have always been utterly reliable, smooth, forgiving and both are definitely shirt pocket friendly. Of the two the sailor gets the most pocket time but that's because it's PURPLE!!!