Once you get your first fountain pen, the second one becomes inevitable. Here is my new Sailor 1911 in maroon. The fact that I’m a sucker for craftsmanship makes this choice feel as if the laws of nature forced my hand.

What drew me to this pen was not only the urge to get a juicier stroke (compared to my Pilot F) but also the signature feedback of the Sailor nib. Not to mention that Sailor literally doubled its prices at the beginning of the year. At this rate, Sailor nibs may soon qualify as precious metals. So I convinced myself the purchase wasn’t FOMO but rather market-aware.

Sailor is (in)famous for their pencil-like feedback. But no one can quite tell which pencil it is, specifically. Trust me, it’s not that mechanically dry. When paired with a wet ink like Iroshizuku, the nib turns into an oiled sponge gliding across a plate. You may feel like it sinks a bit into paper, but that’s just tactile deception. It does have microtextures; you’re not imagining it.

The color? Unfortunately, in the gray market, you can negotiate the price down, but you don’t get to choose how the pen looks. Plot twist: I absolutely love the maroon and gold trim combination on this cigar body. (The black GT is plain boring, respectfully.) And I’m sure it’s not supposed to be the color of the stem of an incense stick, but I’ll pretend it is. The gold belt on the cap reminds me of vintage gold leaf painted on red lacquer, if not a bit like a coffin.