Sailor Pro Gear Regular Fountain Pen Review

Sailor has a Steel nib fountain pen problem, and that issue has come home to roost in the Sailor Pro Gear Regular Lucky Charm Fountain Pen. While there is nothing technically wrong with how this pen performs, which I will get into below, the combination of feel and price has me regretting spending $200 (minus a 10% discount,) on this pen. That is a feeling I rarely have, so let’s dig into why. With the price of Gold nibs ramping up quickly over the past few years, most fountain pen companies made adjustments accordingly. No one was spared, but big Japanese brands (Pilot and Platinum, along with Sailor,) seemed to be hit harder than most. Why? As I learned from CY and Jacob at Tokyo Inklings, price increases are a big deal in Japan, and something that companies historically resist - often times to their detriment. Massive price jumps left these companies exposed in markets they were traditionally the leaders in, and large gaps in their product lineups remained in their wake. How did…