Sailor 1911L Kagero Green (Pen Boutique Exclusive): A Review

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am a blue fountain pen girl. If a fountain pen is blue, I probably own it. But every once in a while, I surprise myself and fall in love with a different color. That's what happened when I saw pictures of Pen Boutique's exclusive Sailor 1911 Kagero Green. The pen is a deep olive green with gold accents that complement it perfectly.

Kagero means "mayfly" in Japanese and this was the inspiration for the color of the pen. According to the Pen Boutique website, mayflies can live for years as nymphs before they molt and become adults. They live only one month during the summer, during which they mate in huge swarms and lay their eggs. Because mayflies are eaten by various species, they are important to the ecosystems in which they live. In fact, they are a sort of "canary in the mine" because they react quickly to changes in water acidity and pollution.

We chose this naturally inspired color because we appreciate the outdoors. We value efforts to protect the environment and educate the next generation about the importance of conservation.

The pen comes in a typical Sailor box. But I was happily surprised to find a Yak Leather pen sleeve in matching green slipped in along with the warranty card and cartridges.

I opted for the 1911L, which is a cigar-shaped pen, measuring 5.5 inches/140mm capped, 4.84 inches/123mm uncapped, and 6.02 inches/153mm posted. It weighs 25 grams posted with ink. The 1911 is a cartridge/converter filler and comes with two ink cartridges and one converter.

The clip, cap band, and lower barrel ring are all gold plated. The engraving on the cap band reads: "Sailor Japan Founded 1911."

The 1911L pen comes in a variety of 21k gold nibs (EF, F, MF, M, B, Zoom, and Music), and I chose a Zoom nib. The Zoom nib is unique to Sailor. It has a triangular shape that allows for different stroke sizes depending on the angle you hold the nib.

I love the design of Sailor nibs. They are beautifully adorned and, of course, are high quality. This nib is a smooth writer, and I've had great fun writing and drawing with it. I inked it with Robert Oster Eucalyptus Leaf, which matches the pen perfectly.

You can see the different line widths you get when you change the angle of writing in the photos below. The lowest angle creates a double broad line. A medium angle creates a broad line. A high angle creates a medium-fine line. And, you can turn the pen upside down for an extra, extra fine line.

I found that the pen is easiest to write with at a low or medium angle, but I love the variety of widths it offers for writing and drawing.

The Kagero Green Sailor is a stunning pen, and I think Pen Boutique did a wonderful job choosing this color for their exclusive. The pen comes in two sizes: 1911S for $220 and 1911L for $312.00.

(I purchased the Sailor 1911L Kagero from Pen Boutique at full price with my own funds.)

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Lamy Studio Glacier Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I haven't been a big Lamy fan, in the past. I think they're good pens, but they don't beckon to me the way some other brands do. I'm rethinking that after spending a few weeks using this Lamy Studio. The Glacier color is gorgeous, of course, but it also writes wonderfully and feels overall very well made.

The pen body is aluminum, coated with a matte finish in this lovely frosty blue. The accents are super shiny chrome. There is no step between the cap and the barrel, and you can barely even feel the seam where the two meet, it is machined so precisely. The slight taper at each end of the pen creates a look that is somehow futuristic and retro at the same time. The clip may be my favorite feature--it almost looks as if it's twisted, with the end of the clip pinched out into a propeller shape. It's a firm clip, but flexible enough to be useful.

The cap pulls off rather than twisting, and closes with a very satisfying click. A surprising feature is that it also clicks in place to post, held in such a way that it is secure, but doesn't actually touch the metal against the pen's finish, so it won't scratch. That is some thoughtful design.

The grip section is chrome, and it's the only part of the pen that I don't like. It's quite slippery, and follows the tapered design, so your fingers naturally slide down the grip toward the nib after any extended use. I've solved this a little bit by actually keeping a more relaxed grip on the pen. My hands are less likely to slip if I'm not squeezing the grip.

The nib is steel, and it is the same nib used on the Safari and Al Star (which means you can swap it out easily if you want to play with other sizes). I've had mediocre luck with Lamy nibs as far as QC goes, but this one writes very well. The EF is nicely fine with excellent control without feeling too dry. I've been using it with the included blue cartridge, though the pen also came with a proprietary converter. I didn't want to mess up the converter, because I assumed I'd be gifting this pen to a friend or stranger after my review was complete. Because, you know, I'm not a Lamy person. Except maybe I'm a Lamy person and this pen is totally staying in my collection. In fact, I'm now mad at myself for missing some of the past special edition colors.

This one is also quite limited, so if you fancy this icy blue, don't wait too long to grab one. The MSRP is $99, but you can snag one for about $79. It is well worth that. That actually seems low. I'm not complaining, though, because I might need another one.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Faber-Castell Hexo Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Faber-Castell is a brand that I'm overly familiar with, but one that I don't give enough attention. I have several of their fountain pens, and I enjoy using them all. For whatever reason, they don't make it into my rotation often enough, and it's not because they're unworthy or sub-par in any way. The newest Faber-Castell to make it into my collection, the Hexo, has reminded me of what great pens this company make and why I should consider them more often.

The Faber-Castell Hexo is a wide-bodied fountain pen that features a hexagonal body shape. The edges of the hexagon are soft and rounded off, but they still have plenty of definition to feel good in your hand and prevent the pen from rolling around on your desk or table. The pen has a slight taper that starts at the top of the cap and goes to the bottom of the pen. This makes for a pleasing shape, but also makes it possible for the cap to post on the back of the pen.

For those of us that prefer things to be in order or alignment with everything else, this pen has a built-in mechanical system that ensure the edges of the hexagons are always aligned. My inner OCD-self rejoices when this happens. For example, I really don't like it when the edges of my Caran d'Ache 849 fountain pen don't line up. I twist the cap a bit to line them up manually, but it's fiddly. This isn't necessary with the Hexo, as the inner cap always aligns to the hexagonal edges of the pen. It's a beautiful little tough of detail that I really appreciate. And, due to the unique mechanism for keeping everything lined up, this means the cap is also a click-on as opposed to a screw on lid, making this pen very easy to cap and uncap securely.

The clip on this particular pen isn't my favorite. It's plenty strong to stay in place once it's clipped onto something, but the issue is getting it clipped in the first place. Since the clip is so strong and the raised lip at the bottom of the clip is very shallow, it's really easy to get stuck on the fabric that you're trying to clip it to. In most cases, this means you're just pushing down the opening of the pocket or sleeve instead of the clip easily sliding over the edge of the pocket or sleeve fabric. With a little attention to how you angle the pen into the pocket, you can successfully clip the pen onto things, but it does take a little more attention than I'd like. Again, the nice thing is that the pen doesn't budge once it's clipped in.

The grip section of this pen is uniform all around and features a nice shape for gripping the pen while writing. It's not as opinionated as a Lamy Safari, but it's still really comfortable and provides a nice shape that keeps your fingers from sliding up on the nib while writing. It's also fairly transparent and gives you a clear view of how much ink is flowing through the feed. When you can start to see the dry feed, it means your ink is almost gone.

Speaking of ink, this pen also accepts international cartridges and cartridge converters. I'm using a generic international converter so that I can use the ink I prefer, but the pen does come with a single black short international cartridge. Unfortunately, the converter is not included with this pen. At $42, I feel like a converter would be a nice thing to include with the pen without impacting the bottom line.

Finally, the nib. The steel nib on this pen is small and black, matching the rest of the pen perfectly. The EF nib on my copy of this pen is smooth and crisp. I didn't need to make any modifications to the nib out of the box, which makes me really happy. I've really enjoyed the firmness of the nib and the crisp lines it makes on the paper. But, even though it's plenty firm, it still writes smoothly without any scratching or dragging. The Diamine ink I'm using is average in terms of lubrication, but it's also not a super wet ink. Overall, I've been really happy and impressed with the writing performance of this little nib.

The Faber-Castell Hexo took me a bit by surprise. I wasn't expecting something so enjoyable, but that's entirely my fault for looking past this brand and what they have to offer. At a price that lines up with the Lamy Al-Star and Kaweco Sport, it provides great performance with a unique form factor that many people will enjoy over the standards that Lamy, Kaweco, and Pilot currently offer. And, if all black isn't your thing, you can also choose from Silver and Rose.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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