Sailor FAQ
What’s the history of Sailor?
Sailor was founded in 1911, as a company called Sakata-Manufactory that made gold nibs. In 1917 they changed their name to Sailor Pen Sakata-Manufactory Co., Ltd. and started making fountain pens in volume. The story goes that the name ‘Sailor’ came from the founder being shown a high-quality fountain pen by a British sailor, and deciding that he could make something that good at home in Japan. These days you can find Sailor in Kure, the Japanese city where they have always been. And if you are interested in seeing more about where Sailor fountain pens are made, then you should have a look at the blog post we wrote after we were allowed to visit.
What makes Sailor different?
Sailor have been innovative throughout their whole history, and have created some of the finest quality fountain pens in the world. Despite that, they are very accessible for everyone. Yes, you can spend thousands on a VERY nice special edition Bijou or King of Pens, but you can also pick up a nice Hi-Ace for less than £20.
Recommended Sailor products
One of Sailor’s bestsellers, the Hocoro Dip Pen features a fude nib designed to be used with the Dipton inks, which come in Shimmer and Sheen. The nibs are detachable, to make it easier to use with different nib sizes, and the barrel is hollow to keep it nice and light.
Sailor makes many different inks designed for fountain pens. If you are looking for bottled ink, the Sailor Ink Studio Bottled Ink comes in 100 different colours, so you should find something that you like. For something a bit more ‘standard,’ Sailor also makes ink cartridges, available in red, blue, black, and blue-black.