(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
After all these years of being involved with the pen community, I finally got around to picking up a premium Sailor fountain pen for myself. I've used plenty of them before, but just haven't purchased one for myself. I knew I didn't want one of the standard black models, so when the new Blue Dwarf limited edition crossed my feeds one day, I knew that was the one that would push me into this category.
I have several different models of Sailor's sub-$120 fountain pens, and they've all been "meh" in my mind. They're good pens, but there's nothing special about them. No matter how much more expensive they are from the High Ace Neo, they just couldn't justify the price for me. I just couldn't resist the sparkly blue color, and the limited edition aspect just expedited my decision-making process.
When deciding which nib to pick for this particular pen, I only had my own memories to compare against since I don't own any other gold-nibbed Sailors. I remember the nibs running incredibly smaller and harder than other brands, and knew I didn't want a needle-like tip for my first purchase. Since I've had really good experiences with the medium fine nibs on my Pilot pens, I decided to give that a shot for the Blue Dwarf as well. I like the "small-but-not-too-small" size that offers a nice feel and allows the ink to express it's characteristics a bit as well.
At $200, this pen wasn't quite an impulse purchase. If I wasn't already actively looking for a Sailor to add for my collection, I probably would have passed on it. I had been leaning toward the regular Pro Gear size instead of the slim, but the sparkly blue body just pulled me in. For $200, I feel like this pen is accurately priced based on the quality of materials and overall fit-and-finish. My only gripe is that they didn't include a cartridge converter automatically. I added the $8 converter to my order without hesitation, but it does seem like an oversight on Sailor's part when you're past the $100 mark for a pen that definitely needs some type of filling mechanism. To offer a comparison, the Pilot Custom 78 and Custom Heritage pens include a converter or use a piston-filling system, and they're often below the $200 mark. Sure, the Blue Dwarf is much more pleasant to look at, but the lack of a converter just feels annoying.
Aside from my converter complaints, the pen is an absolute delight. It's small and easy to carry around, and it also feels really sturdy despite its small size. It's really well weighted and feels comfortable when writing posted or non-posted. It's a versatile writer in the sense that I can pack it in the smallest cases but still enjoy all-day comfort when using it for longer writing sessions.
Like I remembered from using other Sailors, the nib is quite stiff and smaller than my other medium fine nibs. While the nib is stiff, it's still quite soft as it moves across the page. It writes very smoothly out of the box and has excellent ink flow, if not a tad on the dry side. I can get a small amount of flex out of the nib by applying pressure, but it's a minimal bit of variation. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable trying to flex this nib because of how stiff it is. It's certainly not meant to vary line width much at all. The 14k gold material is there to provide some cushion to the writing experience — nothing more.
Despite the stiff nib, this is still an extremely comfortable and easy-going pen to use. Regardless of the paper I've tried with it, it always glides across the page with ease. Even if I forget to cap it after a few minutes, the ink still flows easily. Likewise, if it's been capped for a few days without any use, it starts writing almost immediately.
The color of the material used in the pen is a bright, cheery blue with specks of glittery silver material. The name Blue Dwarf refers to a theoretical type of star, which is where I think the glittery material lends itself to the overall aesthetic. From JetPens:
It is inspired by the wonder of blue dwarf stars, which have been predicted by astrophysicists but will not arise in our universe for trillions of years. The blue dwarf is an inspiring reminder that, as incomprehensibly ancient as the universe seems, there is still far more yet to come.
The build quality of this pen is just astounding. There's no wonder Sailor pens are as pricey as they are. You're paying for excellence in quality and materials, and it easily shows every time you pick this pen up. It's such a delightful writing instrument to use and equally delightful to see laying on a table.
The Sailor Pro Gear Slim Blue Dwarf is a limited edition, with only 1,500 being produced worldwide. If you like this pen and want to pick one up for yourself, make sure you act quickly!
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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