Sailor Pro Gear Slim - Manyo Series - Gourd. The third series of Sailor Pro Gear Slims has returned with a beautiful interpretation of traditional Japanese botany. This limited edition is inspired by plant-based food consumed throughout the history of Japan, including Gourd, Red Bean, Bamboo Shoot, Persimmon, and Chestnut. To commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Manyo Inks, this release is also accompanied with ten new ink colors: five limited edition inks and five regular inks that will join the future Manyo collection. Each Pro Gear Slim pen is the combination of two different colors from the Manyo ink line and feature a unique finial that is adorned with a special rainbow foil.
Sailor's Manyo collection of inks, which are named after Manyosyu, the oldest anthology of Japanese poems collected over a period of four centuries. Each fountain pen set comes with one new Manyo ink that matches the pen design.
Sailor Pro Gear Slim - Gourd takes Sumomo and Uri together and forms a graceful combination. Uri is a melon-like cucumber that is usually eaten in the Heian period when fully ripe, and Sumomo is a Japanese plum in which its blossoms alert the Manyo people of early springs. Gourd is accented with gold trim.
- Pen name: Gourd
- Include matching ink: Sailor Manyo Sumomo
- Nib: Fine, Medium Fine, or Medium
- 14K rhodium plated gold nib
- Material: PMMA resin
- Trim - Gold
- Fill mechanism: Cartridge or converter (Sailor proprietary)
- Box includes pen, converter, and ink bottle
- Release date: Late August 2024
- Manyo Series: Gourd, Red Bean, Bamboo Shoot, Persimmon, and Chestnut
Sailor was founded in 1911. The founder Kyugoro Sakata was given a fountain pen by a friend returning from the UK after studying at the Royal Navy. He was inspired and determined to start making fountain pens in Japan. Sailor became the first fountain pen company in Japan, and earned many more firsts in Japan -- first ballpoint pen in 1948, first ink cartridge in 1954 and first brush pen in 1972, etc.
In the 1970's, Sailor made a popular beginner fountain pen, "Candy," that sold more than 15 million within a few years. However, the number of the fountain pen users were declining as ballpoint pens became more mainstream.
In 1981, Sailor decided to go in the opposite direction from their "Candy" pen and began focusing on producing a higher standard series, which is the 1911 series we see today. Their focus on making a higher standard provides a great foundation for their later series of pens. Today, Sailor makes one of the most diverse lines of nibs, some of which are designed for specific writing purposes such as writing musical notes to one that is best for character writing.
Lengths:
- Capped: 12.3cm
- Pen only: 11cm
- Posted: 14.3cm
Diameters:
- Cap: 1.5cm
- Barrel: 1.3cm
- Section: 1cm
Weights: 19.7g