Fountain Pen Review: Sailor Lecoule MF nib

Given my infatuation with Sailor ink and Gentian’s incessant praise on their pens, I decided to check it out for myself.  I was attracted by Sailor Lecoule’s design with the colored translucent cap in contrast to the pearly white body.  The bottom tip of the pen matches with the cap in color.  Besides green, it is available in navy blue, red, black, and purple.  

Simple packaging, so you will pay attention to the pen.

Lecoule in its natural habitat.

The overall design of Lecoule reminds me of a larger size of Kaweco Sport.  It is almost 5 inches in length so it is great for both big and small hands.  The cap is a screw-on, with a simple silver trim at the bottom.

The cap.  It is almost a half demonstrator.

Isn’t she a beauty?

Backside of the cap.

Sailor has an interesting nib classification that it has in-between sizes.  Lecoule is only available with MF nib, but other Sailor pens can be equipped with EF, F, MF, M, B, Zoom, and Music.

Plain nib design, only has Sailor’s anchor insignia

 When looked closely, the tines on Lecoule’s nib hug very closely to the feed, unlike some other nibs where the tines extended out a bit further, which resemble a sting ray.  

Nib!  Lecoule, if I am identifying the language correctly, means flows in French.  Does it flow nicely as it is named?  For a MF nib, it writes fabulously.  One observation I made is that Sailor pens write finer than other brands.  As shown in the writing sample below, MF is about the same width, if not a tiny bit skinner, than an European fine.  Because it is a finer nib, it should be expected that it writes drier and a bit scratchier than larger nibs initially.  When it pairs with more lubricated inks (i.e. Sailor Jentle), it will write beautifully.  For those who are used to larger nibs, the adjustment period might be a tad longer.

Lecoule’s writing sample

Lecoule does come with two cartridges, and in my knowledge, Sailor pens only take its own cartridges, since standard Internaional short is a bit narrower than the barrel.  You can definitely fill the clean empty cartridge with syringe, but if you want to avoid inkwell tipping accident, fret not, there is a converter for it that can be found here.

Pair it with a converter to make it perfect!

In my opinion, it is a nice entry level pen, especially for those people who are interested in Japanese fine nib.  Its feather weight ensure portability, and the simple design is aesthetically appealing.  

Would like one for yourself?  Check out JetPens‘ Lecoule selections!