Sailor's Celluloid

Out of the big three Japanese pen companies, Sailor is both the oldest and the smallest. Chronicles say that it became successful quickly after its foundation in 1911 in Kure, Hiroshima. However, that does not mean Sailor became big and, most likely, this company remained in a second tier until the 1960s. In fact, finding old Sailor pens is very hard, and it seems like the popularity of the brand matched the implementation of ink cartridges in its pens along that decade.

Therefore, this Sailor pen made of celluloid, albeit not really old (like this size 80 eyedropper indeed was), is interesting because its filling system—a bulb filler. Its nib, made of steel, is imprinted with the brand name/logo and with what could be a date: 211. It could mean November of 1952, thus explaining the absence of the JIS mark. In any event, Sailor manufactured celluloid pens with this structure and this filling system by the early 1950s.

The barrel is imprinted with the logo of the company –clearly saying Sailor— together with an obvious “fountain pens”. The cap carries a more subtle and cryptic one, right above the gold-coated cap band: AS24*. The clip is also engraved with the name of the company.

The imprint on the nib reads "HIGHEST GRADE / Sailor logo / NON CORROSION / PEN / -2-", and the figures 211 in perpendicular, usually hidden in the gripping section.

The feed has an interesting structure--apparently there are not continuous channels connecting the ink deposit with the nib tip. Actually, the channels are hidden under the cylindrical section with perpendicular grooves.

These are the dimensions of the pen:
Length closed: 116 mm
Length open: 105 mm
Length posted: 139 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight (dry): 11.3 g
Ink capacity: 1.0 ml

Sailor pocket pen, white, 14 K gold nib (108) – Pelikan 4001 Brilliant brown

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, April 16th, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor