Sailor Lecoule Iron Blue

 New Pen Day!

Sailor Lecoule 

New Sailor Fountain Pen pick up today. I've been obsessing over the Shikiori for a few days now but I just can't get over the color choices available. I do see myself getting the more refined Sailor counterparts, but that will be for another day. But until then, I was looking for an understated pen design that I can bring anywhere, yet inexpensive enough to get over with should I lose it.

I came across a display of the Lecoule at our local Pen Store and decided to get this for my first Sailor. This will be a stepping stone into my preparation for the more expensive Sailors. They will not be Pen Case queens.

Sailor Lecoule in unopened box

This is the Sailor Lecoule in Iron Blue. The blue is a deep Navy Blue that I almost mistook for black under adequate lighting. There are no gold accents, which makes it a bit sporty.

Rear side of the Sailor Lecoule Packaging

The back side of the box contains no word of English except for the "Made in Japan" at the bottom. This set is sold locally for Php 1,395.00 or about USD 29.03 as of this writing.

The packaging of the Sailor Lecoule opened

Inside you have the Fountain Pen with Cap, and two black in Cartridges. That is it for "unboxing."

Size Comparison

Here is the Sailor Lecoule's size in comparison to what most of us are familiar with: The Platinum Preppy and the Pilot Petit1.

L-R: Pilot Petit1, Sailor Lecoule, Platinum Preppy

Overall length when capped, the Sailor Lecoule is just about 15 millimeters longer than Pilot's Petit1. This is just enough for medium sized hands and it only gets comfortable when posted.

L-R: Pilot Petit1, Sailor Lecoule, Platinum Preppy

The Sailor Lecoule's nib is longer than the other two, and slightly wider than the Petit1's. 

Platinum Preppy 05 Nib beside the Sailor MF Nib.

A close up view of the nibs. The Platinum Preppy is 05M and the Sailor Lecoule is Medium Fine.

Body Features

This Lecoule's body is made from PMMA resin according to Sailor Japan's website. It's just Acrylic, and the Lecoule's smooth body feel is just similar to any other body of similar material.

Sailor name inscribed on the center band of the cap

The accents are in polished Black IP, which I assume to be Ion Plating, similar to what they use to finish wristwatch casing. They match the blue color of the body nicely.

Made in Japan

The center band of the cap says "SAILOR - MADE IN JAPAN." Being black and polished, the inscription is difficult to see, which is great if you prefer a pen that is subdued and non imposing. 

Sailor Converter

Part of the fun of owning a Fountain Pen is having a wide assortment of inks you can use. The Sailor Converter comes at a reasonable price. 

Sailor Ink Converter

You can get the converter in different color knobs. This one is red.

Sailor Converter rear Packaging

This Converter is priced at Php 295.00. That is about USD 6.14 as of this writing.

Sailor Converted Local Price

Sailor Converter Red

View of the piston retracted. 

View of the piston extended.

Writing Experience

To be updated after enough use.

After 11 Days

Not even half a month in and the cap and body has become ugly. It doesn't look smooth and shiny. This is user fault as it does not have a case yet and it just goes in the pocket.

So far it's the acrylic material that has scratches. No discernible damage can be seen on the Ion Plated furniture. I'm slightly disappointed that the material gets scratched this easily considering the price you pay for this. I'm slightly hesitating on getting a gold nib Promenade, having experienced this.

Despite the cosmetic damage, the it's still the same smooth pen to write. I love it with the J. Herbin Vert de Gris ink. I would say that this feels balanced, not too wet and not too dry. I would love to try more colors from them but Pilot's Iroshizuku inks are next in line. This Sailor pen had already experienced Dugong Bughaw by Vinta Inks and while the colors are amazing, the ink to this pen felt it was viscous and there's always a hard start if you don't cover the pen for 10 seconds.

May 19, 2021 Update

Three months in, this pen has gathered more scratches and weird wide surface damages than I ever expected it to have. It's purely my fault, though, for using it as a beater. It's has been busy testing out Shikiori cartridges lately and the usual converter has been left lonely. One thing I have noticed about my this fountain pen habit: I've been using this less and I have understood why. This medium fine nib is way too thin for my taste. To get to the broader Sailor nibs, I'd have to go into Pro Gear territory. A Pro Gear Slim sounds awesome but given that it has also the same size as the Lecoule, at least around Google Photo search, I rather save up a bit and get the larger Pro Gear.