The Sailor Shu-Katsu is an unusual multi-pen that I purchased on my recent trip to Japan. Most multi-pens that I have come across offer multiple colors and/or a mechanic pencil. The Shu-Katsu has three black ballpoints in 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 1.0mm widths as well as a 0.7mm red ballpoint.
When you unscrew the barrel you will notice that there are five, not four ballpoints. There is an extra 0.7mm black ballpoint refill for when one of the other three black ballpoints runs low.
The 0.5mm ballpoint is marked with one dot and a white button, the 0.7mm is marked with two dots and a grey button, and the 1.0mm is marked with 3 dots and a black button.
There is a three ballpoint (four with the auxiliary) version that is all black (no red). The Shu-Katsu comes in four different body colors: black, blue, light pink and light blue. It’s a pretty unexciting looking pen if I am honest. It’s very plain. Sailor refers to the clip as an “axis” clip. It is a quite large spring operated clip that you push the top of to open. The clip feels strong and the pen overall feels very solid.
The Shu-Katsu measures 5.5″ long and just over half an inch wide. It weighs approximately 16 grams It’s a fat pen, not something I would want to write for a long time with.
The ink is smooth and the lines are pretty crisp for a ballpoint but I found the 0.7mm and 1.0mm to be a bit blobby on paper.
The Shu-Katsu costs 400 Yen which is just under $4 USD and at that price I think it is a pretty good value. You get 5 smooth ballpoints for a little bit more than a Bic 4-Color. The real question though, is do you need or want 3 different black ballpoints? I don’t. I would rather have 4 colors to chose from than 2.