exPENsivePhotography

Summer 2017

The Sailor Pro Gear Realo has been a mainstay of the Sailor Fountain pen line for quite some time.  In the UK where I am from, you can only purchase the Realo in black, though Burgundy can also be found, if your lucky.  However, thanks to the internet, and sites like Rakuten, you now have access to pretty much the full range of Sailor fountain pens, including the Limited and Special Edition Japan- only store exclusives.

I had not heard of the Japanese stationary store Pen House until 2016, when I found a review of one their Special Edition pens, namely “Tenku-Gensu”.  It is the rich blue/purple pen pictured above, second from the right.  Tenku-Gensu comes from the “Profit” series, meaning it has the cool torpedo shape, vs. the flat top and bottom design of the Pro Gear series.  I tend to prefer the flat- top look of the Pro Gear, mainly for its finial, but there was just something about the overall aesthetic of this “Tenku-Gensu” Realo.  Even more surprisingly, it is fitted out with a rose gold nib, bands, and clip.  Now I am the type of person who will only ever buy the silver version of anything Apple, and yet, somehow these rose gold appointments of the Tenku-Gensu look next level classy.

I eventually ended up purchasing the pen via Rakuten, Japan, and it arrived in the UK a week or so later.  A very simple and straightforward process all round.  I opted for the Fine nib this time.  To date I had only ever used a Sailor KOP Medium nib.

On arrival the I found the nib to be very nicely tuned.  It had a decent wetness ( I hate dry nibs), and just a hint of feedback that I recognised from my KOP.  The piston of the Realo operated smoothly, and I found it very quick to clean out.  The ink window was another nice feature and something that I tend to look for in piston-filled fountain pens.  It is also quite a large pen, with a good balance; not too heavy or light.  The cap and barrel is made from a deep blue/purple resin with sparkles throughout.  The sparkles are quite difficult to capture in photographs.  I know a number for the Japanese stores opt for this sparkly resin, but here it is very subtle.

Here is a shot with its Realo siblings and Pro Gear Mini cousins…

All in all I am very pleased with this pen.  Which is why I ended up buying…

Tenku Souzu

Yes I liked Tenku-Gensu so much that I ended up buying its similar but dissimilar twin, Tenku-Souzu.  I opted for the Medium-Fine nib this time.  I believe this was the only nib width they had in stock.  Here it is lounging on my Classiky x Kata Kata Whale ceramic plate…

Here are both pens capped…

Here they are posted…

Close up of the nibs…

As you can see the Realo’s sport different nib designs, with the clear Tenku-Souzu sporting an in-house “Pent” nib with engraved (printed?) feather design, and the Blue Tenku-Gensu sticking to the standard 21ct Sailor Profit design.  They are however both rose gold.  Or “pink gold”, as Pen House describes it.

Here is a scrappy writing sample below using Mastigas Papua from the Kingdom Note Jellyfish series…I must admit this Japanese Medium-Fine isn’t my favourite nib width.  I find its a bit betwixt and between, and somehow makes my handwriting look messy.  I actually wanted an Extra-Fine nib, as I had heard they are often very good from Sailor, particularly in the larger 21ct model, but alas they were out of stock…

Call me crazy but I happened to come across a Pro Gear version of the same model from Pen House, this time in Aquamarine.  They also had a sparkly candy pink version, but that really wasn’t my cup of tea.  Thankfully, it sold out quickly, so there was no chance to um and ahh about it.  Here is my Pro Gear Realo in “Precious Aquamarine“- taking their cues from Montblanc’s “precious resin” I see…

Here it is…

Cap detail…

I opted for a Hard-Medium nib here.  *I don’t know what the “Hard” designation is denotes to in these Sailor Pro-Gear and Profit models, as the nibs all have a bit of bounce to them.  I have not thus far come across a soft-fine or soft-medium designation as with Platinum/ Nakaya or Pilot, so why the differentiator?  Anyhow, the extra-fine and even the dreaded Medium-Fine were out of stock, so Hard-Medium it was.   The nib sports the same in-house Pen House design as like Tenku-Souzu.

The pen writes very much like my giant 21ct Sailor KOP Medium nib- i.e. quite wet and broad like a western Medium, but with that Sailor feedback people rave about.  *Also why is my 21ct gold KOP nib just “Medium” and not “Hard-Medium” or “Soft-Medium”?  After all it is quite a soft nib.

Verdict:  I like this pen very much.  The Aquamarine cap and barrel are quite stunning set against their rose-gold appointments.  As with my Pen-House Profit Realo’s, the pen functions well, and is quick and easy to clean, with a nice size and balance to it.  The nib, as just described, is nice and juicy with a hint of pleasant Sailor feedback.  The real problem I have with this pen is the nib width.  Yes it writes very smoothly, but on super smooth Hobonichi paper, it just makes my handwriting look round, ugly and illegible.  I wish I could get it cut to stub for some definition and to make most of the juicy ink flow.  Unfortunately the cost of sending the pen off to a nib-mesiter from the UK, even if just to Europe vs. the USA, is prohibitively expensive for a pen of this value.

Here is this nib with a quick messy writing sample…