I've tried lots of pens over the years. The ones I can remember:
- Conid Bulkfiller Regular
- Cross Aventura
- Jinhao 159, X450, (also whatever the Safari clone is, 777 I think?)
- Lamy 2000, 2000 Amber, Safari
- Montblanc 145, 146, 149, 320, 1912, Slimline
- Nakaya Decapod, Neo-Standard
- Parker IM
- Pelikan M200, M600, M800
- Platinum 3776, Preppy
- TWSBI 580, Eco, Vac 700
- Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age, Dark Age
- Waterman Phileas Blue
I'm not much of a collector, so I have cycled through and gotten rid of almost all of these. I only have around ~10 now, just the ones that I really like, or are sentimental, or are just super unique. One brand that's escaped me is Sailor. I've read about the 21K nibs and how people fawn over them. I know there are die-hard Sailor supporters and it seems to mostly revolve around this nib. But, $300+ for a proprietary cartridge/converter that isn't made from unique materials seems like a lot.
So, if I was going to "try" Sailor, as a manufacturer, where does it make sense to start to see if I get it or not? Do people prefer the Realo (piston filled) variants? From what I can tell here and on /r/fountainpens people are mostly content with the C/C versions. So is it just the unique colors? Or is it just the 21K nib and nothing else matters?
Hmm. I have definitely read about this distinct "Sailor feedback", and heard that it resembles a mechanical pencil in feel. It's difficult for me to conceptualize but I know some swear by it. I tend to prefer very wet, very broad nibs, but the problem is if it doesn't write on junky work journal paper, then realistically I just never use it. The Music nibs are very enticing but I think if I want to have any hope of actually using it on the daily I'd have to go with an F or MF. I also know Japanese grinds tend to run pretty fine, so the Sailor F may be quite scratchy to my taste.
@Valdair @kentucky444 In fact, Sailor pens write good on almost all types of paper where fountain pens can write (except for craft paper, of course). Sailor pen will put down the most accurate line if it can be done.