Left Hook Pens

While Sailor is known for its Pro Gear and 1911 series of fountain pens, they’ve had several other models that have come and gone. A few years ago Sailor made the Promenade, which is basically just their version of Platinum’s 3776. The Promenade looks like a 1911 but with a different clip, slightly wider body, and a stubbier finial. It has the same 14k gold nib that’s on the Pro Gears and 1911’s, and comes in plain black, shining red, and shining blue bodies made from PMMA resin. I believe the Promenade was meant to be a more affordable option compared to their $220 and up pens. Sailor discontinued the Promenade in August 2019, but it can still be found on eBay for just under $100 before shipping from Japan. When I ordered my Promenade in 2020 I guess retailers were trying to get rid of their stock, so I was able to get it for $78 USD and prime shipping.

The body, grip, and cap of the shining red Promenade are all semi-translucent and have tiny sparkles throughout. It’s a very pretty pen, and the resin feels as nice as Sailor’s more expensive pens. The clip has an anchor on it at the top and fine texturing. This is a nice change of pace from Sailor’s normal stepped (I guess?) clips on their other models. The texturing on the Promenade clip is fine enough that you can’t really feel it unless you glide the tip of your fingernail over it. While capped the Promenade is the same length as a 1911 Standard, but while posted the Promenade is slightly longer. The weight differences (in ounces) are small but interesting: the 1911 weighs .64 ounces capped, .39 ounces uncapped, and just the section with a cartridge in it weighs .21 ounces. The Promenade with the same cartridge weighs .69 ounces capped, and the other two weights are the same.

I got the Promenade in shining red back in early 2020 because I had regretted selling off my fine nib Pro Gear Slim, and I wanted to try another Sailor. The 14k medium-fine nib is a good entry point to Sailor nibs as they’re not quite as scratchy feeling as their fine nibs, but you still get that pencily feedback. Sailors are somewhat of an acquired taste because of this feedback and definitely take some getting used to if you’re coming from ultra smooth nibs like with Pilot or Pelikan. All Sailor nibs are labeled on the side (rather than on the front), and they all have an “H” next to the standard sizing initial. This stands for hard because these nibs have much less give than a standard 14k gold nib. Like most Japanese nibs, Sailor is consistent so you can know what to expect from one of their pens. I personally like the Sailor feel because it allows for more control while writing, and I tend to write a bit neater. The amount of feedback changes with the kind of paper used, so toothy paper can be unpleasant.

For a while I only inked my Promenade with Iroshizuku Yama-Budo because it flows well, color matches nicely, and is just an all around good ink. This last inking I decided to use a vintage ink: Carter’s Washable Blue, which also works well. I haven’t tried a huge variety of inks in this or my other Sailor pens, but I haven’t had any flow issues either. The MF nib writes just wet enough that it doesn’t feel scratchy while being used at a high angle. The body of the pen has enough heft that it feels balanced in my hand unposted, but posting works as well.

The Promenade has had the Washable Blue in it for a little over 6 months now and is about to run out of ink. On average I’ve been able to keep the Promenade inked for about 3 months before it dries out, with my previous record being 5 months. The longest I’ve kept a Pro Gear Slim inked is 7 months with a Jentle Blue-Black cartridge and a medium-fine nib, and 5 months with Sailor Ha-Ha and a zoom nib. The 1911 stayed inked for 3 months with Robert Oster Sydney Lavender and a fine nib. My full size Pro Gear I have kept inked for roughly 5 months with Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku and a medium-fine nib, but it could have kept going. According to the Fountain Pen Network, the Promenade has a slip and seal type cap.

The only problem I’ve had with my Promenade is that I think I might have cracked the grip section after dropping it in the kitchen sink, so ink would seep out after filling from the bottle. This issue was solved by using a syringe to fill the converter, so whatever happened with the grip section didn’t affect the inner nib housing. I’ve never dropped this pen on the floor so I’m not sure how well the thicker parts of the body would fare.

The Promenade is a nice little pen that feels as high quality as a 1911. Sailor has replaced this model with the Profit Light, which looks like the same pen and can even be found on eBay in the same colors for $72 USD and change before shipping from Japan. The only difference seems to be the clip, which is smooth rather than finely textured. While the Promenade was always harder to find in the US than its ubiquitous counterparts, I’m hoping that Sailor will keep the Profit Light around for long enough that US retailers start carrying it. These pens offer a lower barrier to entry for those who want to try a gold nibbed Sailor but are put off by the prices.