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I pick up a guitar and later must see something for myself.
Parker Falcon with Waterman Violet
Teranishi Guitar with Diamine Oxblood
Pilot Decimo with Pelikan 4001 Konigsblau
Sailor King of Pen with Teranishi Night Time Soda
I suppose you can spot the outlier.
Gone from last week: Kaweco AL-Sport and Karas Fountain K. The Decimo is running low from taking copious notes at work. I have a steel nib Sonnet on deck to replace it for daily duty.
So, you’re wondering about the new kid on the block. Did you even know Teranishi made pens? Neither did I until browsing at St. Louis Art Supply. Check out their site for some cool pen & stationery items, as well as all manner of legit art supplies if that’s your thing. They seem to be one of the only places to get the Guitar pen domestically.
The pen has what I presume is a brass body with a smooth semi-matte finish. It looks and feels like paint that is baked on. The trim is done in shiny dark gray plating, looking sharp against the softer main finish.
I quite like the rounded button finials.
There’s only one nib size available — fine. I can’t quite tell for sure but I think it’s a Schmidt assembly. It writes nicely, producing the line you’d expect for a steel Western fine.
Matched branding on the cap finial and nib is a nice touch.
There are a few bits of glue overrun where parts are mated but the overall fit & finish is solid. The only functional concern I find is the clip. It’s strong and not easy to get over the edge of your pocket. Clipping is two-handed affair which, if you’re accessing the pen frequently, can make for a hassle. I tried the pen at work for a few days and found it too much to deal with for using and replacing it in a pocket dozens of times over a shift. The tight retention does give a sense of security that the pen is unlikely to be accidently dislodged from a pocket or pen loop. Maybe that trade off is worth the effort depending on your use case.
The Teranishi Guitar pen costs $29. There is a certain amount of the brain thinking heft equals quality at play, as we often do with pens and similar things, but the finish and writing experience are good enough to be worth the asking price. If I were to compare the Guitar pen to a Parker Jotter, Cross Bailey, or Platinum Plaisir for $25-30, I feel the Guitar is a nicer object to touch, hold, and use.
Okay, okay. Enough being coy about what you likely noticed in this week’s pen lineup.
Not shy about identifying itself.
This is a Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear. I’d written with a few KoP models at shows/events and knew they were high performers. Many pen people whose judgment I respect have put the KoP nib up as one of the best you can get. Even with those points in mind, $800+ is still a bridge too far for me on any pen.
This particular colorway is Storm Over the Ocean. I do appreciate the subtle nature of what Sailor calls Meta Shine. It adds sparkle without being obnoxious.
When Sailor ran their yearly clearance for discontinued items last month it put the King of Pen models in a place where I would consider buying one. I hemmed and hawed, waiting until the very end of the month before deciding to hit the buy button. The situation was helped by Goldspot’s rewards program which let me redeem earned points for an additional percent off discount, getting the price into a more comfortable range.
Still, there’s the question of why buy it? I’ve acquired a lot of pens this year. Enough that I put myself in time out for a while to stop the onslaught. I have interrogated my choices and motives for the buying, despite that opening the door to introduce a sense of guilt for enjoying the hobby. In the end, at least for this single pen, the decision came down to one thing.
Is this really one of the best nibs you can get? Not just to try it out for a line or two in the shop but to own and live with one. Is the KoP worth the stretch? Perhaps the best answer I can give is to show you the other pens in my collection with comparable quality of writing experience.
From left: Scribo La Dotta (F flex), Sailor King of Pen (B), Parker Duofold Maxima (F), Pilot Custom (M)
Yeah, that’s the cream of the crop among the pens I own for best, most satisfying, now-I-can-die-in-peace writing feel. The King of Pen went straight into that group. I don’t mind saying it’s a damn good thing that was the case because were it not the disappointment could have been bitter. That’s a chance we take when reaching for what has been built up to such a degree in our minds. Happily, it’s nothing but smiles when writing with this nib. What they said was, in fact, true.
I want to get back on track with using Callifolio inks in the Scribo to test their flow. Also, installment #2 of the collection chronology has been on the back burner for too long. By the end of this month, I want to present the story of the pen that took an interest in something and launched it much, much farther than I anticipated.
Is there a pen you reached for that met or exceeded all the high expectations?
