If ever there was the perfect fountain pen, to come out at the perfect time for me, the Sailor 1911L Royal Tangerine might be it.
A bright orange, Japanese, big, gold nibbed, rhodium trimmed, special edition could not have checked any more boxes for me. I was coming up on my one year anniversary in this hobby, ready to start branching out from my Safari’s and TWSBI Eco’s when the Royal Tangerine entered the picture. At that point a Pilot Vanishing Point was my only gold nibbed pen, and the 1911 was a pretty significant step up in terms of price for me, but everything about the pen meant it was going to find a way into my collection.
Orange is my colour, but was one that was not yet present in my arsenal of writing instruments. The Sailor orange is a searing, vibrant, true orange, that if anything leans slightly more towards the red side of the colour wheel. The rhodium trim plays beautifully off the saturated orange of the body and cap with bright accents. I’m not normally one to always match pen and ink but with this one it just felt right. The first orange ink I tried in the pen was Noodler’s Apache Sunset, which is a nice yellow orange, but didn’t quite match the colour of the pen. I had soured a bit on Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki recently; It was drying lighter than it went down, and looking more pink than orange at times. Putting it back in this pen I realized how perfect a match they are for each other and reminds me why I liked this ink in the first place. They are a match made in heaven.
1911L in my hand
I elected for the large model of the pen as I have fairly long fingers and hands and was looking to try a pen with a larger section than anything I had up until that point. Both pens are styled in the classic cigar shape, tapering to a rounded point on each end. The section is still one of my most comfortable pens to use as the larger grip fits my hand perfectly. The polished resin tapers very slightly, which doesn’t cause my hand to slide forward at all during longer writing sessions. I prefer to write unposted and the large version is just long enough for my hand to be comfortable. This is the one thing that I am slightly disappointed about with this pen. I wish it was just slightly longer. Posting the cap does help extend the length but I find is slightly too back heavy so I can’t write this way. If you do prefer to post your pens the cap posts deeply and very securely, with a friction fit on the back of the body.
This model is my first foray into the Sailor line, and I definitely won’t be my last. The pen comes is a leatherette box with a velvet interior, converter, as well as some Sailor cartridges. I think the packaging was right where it should be for a pen of this price without being so much that you feel like half of the price is tied up in a fancy box. A simple blue leatherette box with converter and cartridges was spot on for what should be included. The converter is comically small, which may be seen as a knock against Sailor. For me, someone who changes ink constantly I actually don’t mind this at all. As a point of reference, I wrote two and a half pages of A4 letters and the converter was ready for a top up. If you need to do longer periods of writing this may not be the converter for you. Most of my writing however is shorter notes in meetings and thoughts throughout the day so for me it does last long enough for my attention to shift to another colour of ink.
Extra Fine is my usual preference for nib size, however on this purchase I decided to mix it up a bit and got a Hard Medium. The nib on the large version is a 21K gold nib with rhodium plating. The Japanese medium is just on the upper end of my preferred line width, requiring me to write slightly larger to produce clear characters in cursive writing. Before purchasing this pen I had heard about the feedback Sailor nibs have and was interested to try this out for myself. In practice it’s a sensation similar to a pencil on paper, or even a glass dip pen. I find the sensation quite pleasant, but if you prefer a smooth, glassy writing experience perhaps a Sailor is not right for you. Even on smooth coated papers, you definitely know you are making marks on the page. As the hard in the nib grade suggests, despite being 21K gold this nib is quite firm, only producing variation when a heavy hand is applied.
The 1911L has been one pen that has been constantly inked, and on my person since it made its way into my collection. I love the colour, the feel and look of the nib. I look forward to writing with this pen, the feel of the nib on the page is definitely something I enjoy. At the time of writing the 1911 is still available in both the regular and large sizes. If you missed it or were on the fence, for me it is no question it was worth every dollar. This is a writing instrument that will remain in my daily rotation for a long time.
