As someone just getting into the world of fountain pens, a brand I’ve been eager to explore is Sailor. If you look at any fountain pen content online you will inevitably stumble across a Sailor pen, and they’re not only great-looking pens but also seem to be highly regarded.

However, most of the Sailor pens I’ve seen around are the popular Pro Gear and Pro Gear Slim models, and whilst I love the look of them and the variety of colours, I don’t yet feel comfortable spending such a lot of money on a single pen. 

So instead I went for one of Sailor’s entry level models to try it out. Obviously I know the experience of a steel nib Sailor will differ vastly from a gold nib Sailor, but I thought it would still give me a feel for the brand. 

When looking to buy an entry-level Sailor pen I debated between the Sailor Profit Junior and the Sailor Lecoule as they both seemed like good starting points. I was actually leaning more towards the Lecoule, since it seems to be easier to find in the UK (and the Rose Quartz edition is gorgeous!), but then I stumbled across the Sailor Profit Junior in Transparent Red on eBay. At slightly less than market-value, and brand new in the box, it was too good of a deal to miss, and so I snapped it up. 

I was so excited when it arrived, not only because it was my first Sailor pen, which felt like something of a fountain pen milestone, but also because it was so cool looking! I love demonstrator pens anyway, but combining that with the bright red colour and nice cigar shape, this is probably one of my favourite fountain pens than I own. 

As a plastic pen, it’s of course very light, but the plastic feels good quality, and not overly flimsy. The steel nib is a medium fine (the only option with this pen) and is adorned with the Sailor anchor, and it has a sturdy feeling silver clip, and silver band around the cap with the Sailor branding on it. It posts nice and securely, which is good, as without it the pen feels a little small and light, even though my hands are quite small. 

After fitting one of the cartridges I tried it out, and I have to say, the writing experience is great! Despite being a medium-fine I’d say it’s probably one of the finer nibs I own, but personally I prefer that. It still puts down plenty of ink and hasn’t yet stuttered or skipped at all, and I’ve been using it frequently since I got it.

I know a lot of people say the Sailor Pro Gears have a lot of feedback, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with a Sailor steel nib. There’s definitely a satisfying scratching noise to the Sailor Profit Junior as you write, but overall I’d say it’s quite a smooth writer. If anything, I’d compare the experience of writing with this pen to writing with the Pilot Kakuno, which is another favourite pen of mine. 

This has definitely proven to be a really solid pen, and especially for the price, and has proven a good entry into the Sailor brand!

So are you a fan of Sailor pens? Have you tried any of their entry-level models? What did you think?