Bonded Acrylic

In 2012, the company Classic Pens, owned by Andreas Lambrou, commissioned the production of 350 pens in seven colors. The maker was going to be Sailor; the material, a special type –or so they say— of acrylic material made by the British company Carville (according to A. Lambrou & M. Sunami’s Fountain Pens of Japan. 2012). They call it “bonded acrylic”.

The result is a variation on the King Profit model of Sailor—a torpedo style pen in the “King of Pen” (KOP) size. Well, not that much of a variation, as the LB5 (such is the name of these pens) is in essence a King Profit—same nib, same feed, same cartridges and converters. The differences are limited to a minor variation in the total length (the LB5 is 5 mm longer than the King Profit) and the acrylic material of the body.

Two LB5, by Classic Pens, made by Sailor.

These are the dimensions of the LB5:

Length closed: 158 mm
Length open: 137 mm
Length posted: 173 mm
Diameter: 19 mm
Weight: 42.7 g (inked)
Ink deposit: 1.2 ml (cartridge), 0.7 ml (converter)

The insides of the LB5 can be disappointing for some. After all, these are cartridge-converter pens.

The cap ring is engraved as follows: “SAILOR LB5 – specific color name – xx/50”. xx stands for the pen number in the limited edition. The specific color name can be either of these: Tairiku, Kaen, Tensui, Kõseki (albeit spelled as Kouseki), and Midorigi. Two of these, Tensui and Tairiku, are represented in two different versions.

These two LB5 pens carry the same name--Tairiku. One is marble white, the other is amethyst mauve.

The nib, as was mentioned before, is well known—the KOP type of nib present in the most luxurious line of Sailor pens. The engraving on those reads as follows: “1911 / (logo) / 21K / 875 / Sailor / JAPAN”. The nib point is on the side: either M or B, although the Nagahara’s cross nib is available at a premium.

The nib is the well known, and magnificent, super big by Sailor.

Then comes the price. Owning any of them costs around USD 1250 or JPY 150000 (the nominal price is USD 1500). In contrast, a regular King Profit cost JPY 60000 (plus tax) if made of plastic, and JPY 70000 if in ebonite. In fact, these regular models can be found for less. These prices are, roughly, half of the cost of the limited edition LB5 of Classic Pens.

So, is it worth to pay over JPY 75000 for 5 mm more and some fancy acrylic colors? Is being a limited edition that appealing?

A King Profit Realo. Black plastic. Piston filler. Limited edition. JPY 80000 (plus tax).

If the smart guy chose the nib over the pen, these LB5 are not for him. But some other people think otherwise (::1::, ::2::, ::3::).

My thanks to Mr. Hoshino.

Sailor Magna – Tomiya Tomikei Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, May 9th, 2016
etiquetas: Sailor, mercado, Classic Pens