Sailor Pen Professional Gear Black Imperial fine print 11-3028-220 (japan import)

This is a really high quality pen, the finish of the black ion plating is fantastic. The hard fine nib is a wonderful, highly recommended.

I really want to love this pen. It looks understated and sophisticated and flat-out beautiful with its matte finish and dark, shiny trim and nib. The matte finish is the same on the body and grip, and feels very good in the hand. Somehow the material seems softer and lighter than that of the usual Sailor plastic, probably an illusion caused by the matte surface. It is a lightweight pen except for the metal on the cap, which gives it a nice balance when posted. Overall, although still not a large pen, it is slightly longer and more girthy than a Sailor Pro Gear Slim model, and I find the girth about perfect. I love the look and feel of the pen, and the nib writes smoothly and feels responsive - it’s a wonderful nib. I would be completely in love with it, but unfortunately I bought it expecting it to have about the same line as the usual 14K Sailor nib, and it writes quite a bit broader, more like a Western fine. I would love to use this pen as my everyday writer, but the broader line makes it much less pleasant and useful for me personally. (It always seems that beyond the ultra-cheap stuff, the more I pay for a pen, the less I end up liking it. Weird.) An EF nib would have been much better suited for me, but I didn’t think this pen came in EF, and based on the usual Sailor line I thought fine would be just right. I considered returning it, but it *is* such a nice pen… Well, I will have to think about getting it ground finer. For anyone who doesn’t mind something close to a Western Fine, I can wholeheartedly recommend this pen. Cost-wise, I think in the general scheme of pen prices, with its excellent construction and superior nib it could be worth $219, but definitely not the $450+ it is usually sold at in the US. Unless you don't mind paying $200 for a fancy box and a <$20 bottle of ink.