Sizes 30 and KOP

This Chronicle is, in a sense, a natural continuation to the text in which I presented the newly released Pilot Custom Urushi. One of the goals of this new pen was to compete with the successful King of Pens (KOP) series of Sailor’s, and therefore, comparing them is only logical. That is what I am doing today.

The differences in size between these two pens are very clear in the body, and not so much in the nib. But in both cases, the Pilot is bigger than the Sailor. For the pictures I chose the ebonite version in balance shape (King Profit Ebonite) of the KOP series of pens.

Sailor King Profit in ebonite on top; Pilot Custom Urushi on bottom.

The differences in price are also noteworthy; The Pilot Custom Urushi costs JPY 88000, and the King Profit Ebonite, JPY 70000. There are cheaper and more expensive versions of the Sailor KOP: between JPY 60000 for the basic version in plastic to JPY 80000 for the Mozaique series. Versions coated with urushi start at around JPY 150000, but they are not usually included in the Japanese catalog (retrieved October 2016). All prices quoted without sales tax (8% in Japan).

The nibs, side by side. Sailor's is made of 21 K gold. Pilot's, 18 K.

The picture is out of focus, but it works to show the difference in size between the KOP and the size 30 nibs.

The writing feeling of the size 30 nib, in my limited experience, is a lot more pleasant than that of the Sailor’s unit—softer, smoother, richer… But that is only my appreciation.

The relevant question, however, is shared by many—is the Pilot Custom Urushi worth JPY 18000 than the Ebonite King Profit by Sailor? In exchange we would get some urushi coating, and a larger nib with a lower gold content (if that mattered to anyone: 18 K in Pilot’s, 21 K in Sailor’s).

Pilot Myu 701 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 3rd, 2016
labels: plumín, Pilot, mercado, Sailor, urushi