Weren't
we just writing about the Levenger exclusive by Sailor? Oh, wait, that
was a different Sailor Exclusive! This time around it's something
new and unusual. A white pen. Yes, that's right, all white. From the tip
of the cap to the bottom of the barrel. Section and all. Anything that's
not blindingly, brilliantly white, white, white is gold!
White pens are not common, I can think of a few, and if you allow the inclusion of pearl acrylic, maybe a few more that would fit the description. But plain old pure opaque white? The number of contenders becomes very, very small. In vintage pens, of course you have the Waterman's and Esterbrook Doctor's pens, and this new Sailor is something along those lines. Pure white.
OK, have I stressed the fact that it's a white pen enough? I hope so, my fingers are getting tired of constantly hitting that "w" key! Aside from it's color, the Sailor Music Nib pen as Levenger calls it is notable for it's nib. As you might guess from the name, it bears a Music nib. "So what?", you ask. "I don't write music, why do I need a "music nib"?" Well, my friend, you need this music nib!
Traditionally, "music nibs" have been wider than normal tips, often so wide that they have three tines instead of the traditional two to a nib. While the Sailor Music Nib has only two tines, just like conventional nibs, it does have the very wide tip demanded of a music nib. This allows for both very wide lines as well as thin ones. They could have called this nib a stub or even an italic nib since I imagine that by far most of the folks buying this incredible pen are never going to write even a single bar of music with it, after all.
Call
it what you will, the fact remains that this is an amazing nib. It's smooth,
that's the first thing that struck me. I've always been kind of leery
of italic nibs, fearing that you only achieved that thick/thin line width
change at the expense of having to hold the pen "just so" in
order to keep from digging the corners of the tip into the paper, or having
the entire nib scratch horribly across the page.
Not so with the Sailor Music Nib. It proved to be very easy to use, I didn't have to think about how I was holding the pen, I just wrote with it. It's done wonders for my horrible handwriting, giving it a bit of a flair that it normally lacks.
The nib is not what I would call flexible, but it does have some give to it, enough to contribute a bit to the thick/thin line effect. Best of all, the ink flow seems capable of keeping up with the wide tip. No skipping of points where the nib would dry out during a line or after sitting a bit. Writing was a real pleasure.
The
Sailor Music Nib pen looks to be based on the Senior size Sailor Profit
model, which makes it a pretty good size for just about any hand. It's
about the same size as the Montblanc 146, or the Pelikan M800. On the
large side of medium, in other words. But a comfortable, and lightweight
pen, very easy on the hand if you're writing for a long time. The barrel
has a pronounced taper to it, so the cap posts well down on the barrel
when in use, I thought it balanced very well in my hand.
The trim is gold plate, and consists of the clip, of course, as well as a nicely engraved cap band, a section ring, another at the bottom end of the barrel, and one at the top of the cap, just above the clip.
It's enough metalwork to break up the expanse of white plastic on the cap and barrel, but not distracting. When I was showing it off to a few other pen folk, the question was raised around the table about whether or not it would have looked better with silver trim, but no firm consensus was reached.
In
any case, I like it fine as is! Heck, if my experience is anything
to go by, this isn't going to be a pen that people spend a lot of time
just looking at. They're going to be too busy writing with the thing to
worry about what color metal the trim is. That to me is the perfect definition
of a "good pen", one that writes so well that you really don't
care what the thing looks like!
The price on this pen will be $229, which depending upon how you look at it is either a good deal, or maybe even a very good deal. In terms of it being a good writer, it's a good deal. I have pens costing a lot more that don't perform as well. Considered as being a pen from a well known Japanese company, in an unusual color, with a great nib.... I think "very good" is an acceptable term!
With the Sailor Music Nib, it looks as though Levenger is going to be seeing some more of my credit card in the very near future.