Sailor 1911L Fountain Pen - Wicked Witch of the West
Following the road of yellow bricks is all fun and games until you run into the Wicked Witch of the West! Inspired by the classic novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the new Sailor 1911 Wicked Witch of the West pen asks the question that only fountain pen fanatics would ponder: What kind of pen would the Wicked Witch carry?
Sailor's answer? A fountain pen with a dark purple semi-translucent barrel, black trim, and an ion-plated (IP) black nib of course!
A North American exclusive, this Sailor 1911 Large fountain pen features a dark eggplant purple resin barrel and cap. It is complemented by black ion-plated accents, and comes equipped with Sailor's legendary black ion 21k gold nib in a wide variety of nib sizes. The cap screws to open/close and can push to post onto the back of the barrel when writing. The 1911L comes with a Sailor proprietary converter as well as two proprietary Sailor Black ink cartridges.
Click here to shop all compatible Sailor ink cartridges.
Note: Sailor has fully transitioned to the new design of nib that features the anchor logo only. Some of our images may feature the old design with the anchor and “1911”.
Sailor notes that the ion-plated nib should only be used with Sailor inks to avoid damage. While we have tested these nibs with other inks, we do recommend using Sailor inks if you wish to maintain the 1 year manufacturer warranty.
- Condition
- New
- Brand
- Sailor
- Type
- Fountain Pens
- Color
- Purple
- Demonstrator
Whether or not the barrel of the pen is translucent, allowing you to see the ink and filling mechanism inside.
- No
- Body Material
- Resin
- Cap Rotations
For pens with a screw-cap closure, how many rotations it takes to uncap/recap the pen.
- 1.75
- Cap Type
How the cap is opened/closed from the barrel of the pen. Some common options include Snap-Cap, Screw-Cap, Magnetic Cap, or Capless (no cap).
- Screw-cap
- Compatible inks & refills
Which ink this pen will accept. Choices include bottled ink and various styles of pre-filled ink cartridges.
- Bottled ink, Proprietary Sailor ink cartridges
- Filling Mechanism
How the pen fills with ink. Click here to watch our video tutorial on common filling mechanisms.
- Cartridge, Converter
- Grip Material
- Resin
- Nib Size
- Fine, Medium Fine, Medium
- Nib Color
- Ruthenium
- Nib Material
- 21k Gold
- Postable
Whether or not the cap fits securely onto the back of the barrel when open.
- Yes
- Retractable
Whether or not the nib/tip can retract into the body of the pen (usually for click or twist-open style pens).
- No
- Diameter - Body
- 13.1mm (0.52in)
- Diameter - Cap (without clip)
- 15.6mm (0.61in)
- Diameter - Cap (with clip)
- 17.8mm (0.70in)
- Diameter - Grip (mm)
Measured from the place most people choose to rest their fingers, which varies with each pen.
- 10.6mm
- Length - Body
The measurement from the back end of the barrel to the tip of the nib.
- 122.5mm (4.82in)
- Length - Cap
- 66.4mm (2.61in)
- Length - Nib
The measured length of the visible portion of the nib when it is installed in the pen, from grip to tip.
- 21.2mm (0.83in)
- Length - Overall (Closed)
- 140.7mm (5.54in)
- Length - Overall (Posted)
When the cap of the pen is posted onto the back of the pen body, this is the measurement of the entire pen including the nib.
- 153.4mm (6.04in)
- Weight - Body
If a converter is included with the pen, this weight is reflected in the total.
- 13g (0.46oz)
- Weight - Cap
- 8g (0.28oz)
- Weight - Overall (g)
- 21.0g
- Max Ink Capacity - Cartridge
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when using a cartridge.
- 1.21ml
- Max Ink Capacity - Converter
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when using a converter.
- 0.70ml
Customer Reviews
Then someone convinced me the ultimate pen is A pro-gear M nib. I went down that rabbit hole buying two ( over time after i sold some other valuable pend to a great CA used pen dealer).
I found my self back to the start- so in love with the elegance of the shape/ heft/ size of a 1911 L it comes close to the icon of pens ( so often copied)
My purple witch
is great here is my second 1911 L in MF next to my beloved alluring Mini ( one of 3 mini).
This pen is everything I wished my pilot 823 was writing wise . For comparison my pilot 823 is a medium nib, silky smooth but the lines it lays down are huge and I was having trouble writing in a5 dot grid. With the sailor I decided to go with the medium fine nib as I still wanted to show off shading in my inks. Jackpot , the medium fine on the sailor is just the right line width for me and it still puts down enough ink to showcase some shading. The best part is the feedback and sound you get while writing which I thoroughly enjoy more than the super smooth nib of the pilot ..it’s crispy! If I had a small criticism the medium fine writes slightly dry compared to the medium of the pilot. Inked it with Chou kuro and seemed to have starting issues and a bit of uneven flow (compared to my fine pilot falcon which lays down lines as wet and black as the abyss with that ink). My guess is the ink isn’t a ‘wet’ ink and the nib as it’s a little dry aren’t a good combination (will have to retest this) but since then I’ve been using wetter inks to get better flow and I’m still super chuffed with it (noodlers for the win!). Currently inked with noodlers Pasternak, it flows perfectly and when it dries it’s an indigo purple that compliments the pen wonderfully. If sailor teamed up with pilot and put this nib in a 823 it would be the perfect fusion as I prefer the vac fill system of the pilot. Not only is the purple gorgeous but the black nib compliments it perfectly . I’ve tried a variety of different inks this far and have yet to affect the ion plating . Worst case scenario I have a gold nib if the plating starts to come off , imo will just add character to my daily driver. Would love to own a broad version of the 1911L in the future !
I thoroughly enjoy all the sailor pens i have. The wicked witch feels good in the hand, looks great. And writes well. I always opt for extra fine nibs, but the Japanese pens with fine nibs write finer than german extra fine. Well made and properly thought out.
So I bought this pen to celebrate a new job, a Victory pen for the huge struggle I survived and am now happy. So this was a big deal for me, at the time it was my largest, most expensive pen purchase. I ordered the Sailor chromoshading inks, like studio 224, Manyo, Fuji, etc. I tried 3 or 4 different Sailor inks, all performed terribly. Each pen I would put the ink into would write like **** and I thought I had made a bad purchase, the pen was so dry and scratchy I hated using it. I'd have to write over all my words two or three times to make it legible. Well, I was chatting with Brian here at Goulet and he offered to let me send it in so he could inspect it. He took the time to find out what issues I was having and suggested I try using the ink carts the pen came with. Wouldn't you know, I did just that and the pen works perfectly! It is buttery smooth, lays down a perfect M line, I couldn't stop writing yesterday, trying all the paper I could get my hands on. This pen is made of lots of plastic, so for me, it would be a frivolous purchase, only a one time thing, a celebration of sorts. The pen is very expensive for what it is but this colorway is exactly what I would have designed if I had wanted to design my own pen. I love Goulet for their amazing service and I love this pen now.
Gorgeous pen, without any flaws. In the right angle of sunlight the dark purplish resin has this faint sparkle in it that I find mesmerizing. The medium fine nib writes like a dream, and gives some inexplicable kind of magic to its meaning. As if the pen writes by itself, sometimes. Recommended.
FAQs about Fountain Pens
How do I fill a fountain pen with ink?
It depends on the pen's filling mechanism, which you can find in the Technical Specs section above.
Here's a quick definition of the most common filling mechanisms:
- Cartridge - A small, disposable, sealed plastic reservoir that holds fountain pen ink. These come pre-filled with ink, and typically you just push to insert them into place and you'll be ready to write! Check out our quick guide here.
- Converter - A detachable and refillable ink reservoir that allows you to use bottled ink in a cartridge-accepting pen. Typically you will install the converter into the grip section, dip the nib/feed into the ink, and twist or pull the converter knob to draw ink into the converter. Here's a video for how to fill a cartridge/converter pen using a LAMY pen as an example.
- Eyedropper - A pen that utilizes the entire barrel as a reservoir for ink. Ink is directly filled into the barrel, allowing for a high ink capacity. Here's a video on how to do it!
- Piston - A type of filling system that uses a retracting plunger inside a sealed tube to draw ink into a pen. They are typically either twist or push-operated. These pens cannot accept cartridges or a converter, and only fill from bottled ink.
- Vacuum - A push-style piston that uses pressure to fill the large pen body with ink. They seal the ink chamber when closed, making it ideal for flying without risk of leaking. Check out our video on how to use a vac filler here.
Check out more info on these filling mechanisms including a video on how to fill each one on our blog.
How do I clean a fountain pen?
It depends on the filling mechanism, but it mostly comes down to flushing it out with water, and sometimes a little bit of Pen Flush if the ink is really stuck.
It's a bit easier to show than to tell, so we've put together a few quick videos showing you the process:
How often do I need to clean my fountain pen?
We recommend a good cleaning every 2 weeks, and any time you change ink colors.
Water will usually do the trick, but we recommend you use our Goulet Pen Flush if the ink has been left in the pen for a while and could have dried up, or when you’re switching ink colors.
My pen won’t write! What do I do?
First things first... make sure you have ink in the pen! Be sure that the ink cartridge or converter is seated properly in the pen, and that you aren't out of ink.
We always recommend you give your pen a good cleaning first, using our Goulet Pen Flush, or a drop of dish soap in some water. New pens often have some machining oil residue left in the feed, so a good cleaning often does the trick first.
If that still doesn't work, try priming the feed. This consists of either dipping your pen nib and feed in ink, or forcing ink from the converter down into the feed.
If it’s still not working after that, please reach out to us so we can help!
What's your return policy?
You can submit a return request within 30 days of your order date. You can read all our Return Policies here.
To initiate a return, please submit a request at the Return Portal. Our Customer Care team might reach out to you for more information.
Please note we are unable to accept a return of any Namiki or Sailor Bespoke fountain pen for any reason once it has been used with ink. Please thoroughly inspect and dry test the pen before use.