I think there are a few elements which contribute to the likes of Parker, Cross etc (I'd include Waterman in there) becoming unpopular. You touch on some of these, such as the predominance of acrylic/celluloid/resin pens. These have been very much in vogue for several years now and it's less usual to see pen folk enthused by metal-bodied pens regardless of the brand. Allied to this, the much-vaunted "slippery metal section" is often a reason for reviewers to dismiss a pen they have otherwise found pleasant. The size of the pen overall and the section does tend to be smaller in metal pens than in the hugely popular plastic contingent; the nib sizes can also be a big deterrent as you mention. We each, of course, need to make our choices based, in part, on the size of our hand and we will be attracted to what just "looks right". For some people that means the bigger, the better; others are drawn to smaller pens. The use of a cartridge-converter filling mechanism puts some people off, too. On top of that, I wonder if the more leisurely design cycle of these "old-fashioned" brands doesn't sit well in a community which thrives on constant excitement, constant innovation or, at the very least, reinvention. There are so many factors which have resulted in a decline in popularity for pens like your Parker Sonnet (might one even suggest that previous popularity is one of those factors?). To turn to my personal response, I adore slimmer, metal-bodied fountain pens, I think the colours that can be achieved on a metal body are sublime. I have almost zero problems with "slippery" sections, and I favour nibs smaller than the ubiquitous No.6. Your Sonnet is beautiful, especially that body colour. I have a dark blue version which I purchased at a very good discount. The gold nib was not to my liking, but I swapped it out for a steel nib and have had no problems at all with that (I generally prefer steel nibs over gold). I think the cartridge/converter is the pinnacle of fountain pen development - it's quick and easy, if the converter fails you can just replace it, you can choose between bottled ink and cartridges - I find the latter very useful when I travel. I mentioned Waterman at the start of this comment - they are my favourite pen brand and, like Parker, tend to fly under the radar with the exception of the Carene which is quite a popular model due to its inlaid nib.
Fantastic comment. I feel it’s kind of amusing in that there are brands nearly as old as Parker if not older. Pelikan is a brand that springs to mind, yet in recent years they have struggled, yet you see more representation of Pelikan on social media than Parker. Somehow Parker seems to be doing well financially, so my curiosity is that just how small is our community of fountaineers?? I feel we have a substantial amount of people that love the hobby, but the volume of sales from Parker must be pretty decent for them to still be relevant! The comment about cartridge converters is not so clear cut. I know there are popular influencers in our community that champion complex filling mechanisms, but most people I’ve spoken too enjoy the simplicity of a cartridge converter. Well, certainly seasoned folks. I have piston fillers in my collection, but unless the nib unit is removable I tend to gravitate to CC. Back to Parker, I do hope more community members give them a shot, they are superb pens!
I am a Parker fan. My first fountain pen was a Parker Vector. And I own plenty of Parkers both new and old. The Parker Duofold was my grail pen for many years and now I own 3 modern ones and a number of vintage ones. I also really enjoy the Parker Sonnet, and own far too many of them. The wide variety of nibs for this brand are an extra surprise.
I'm new to pen collecting.. But ever since I was boy, I was a sucker for Parker pens. Even as an adult now, they bring me a lot of nostalgia.. I love pilot but I have a soft spot for the new 51 and the sonnets. They're just timeless.
I have had Parker pens since the late 70's. A couple of years ago I fell down the rabbit hole but have not forgotton the brand of my first fountain pen. I have 3 Parker 51's and love them. Good for you singing their praises.
I grew up using Parker and Sheaffer pens in the 70s, 80s, 90s., and beyond. parker and Sheaffer were also the choice of my father. But during that time parker and sheaffer were the only pends widely available on the market. Montblanc came a bit later in the late 80s-90s as an available pen to buy. Then after that the 2000s saw the rise of acrylic colorful pens, which led the charge into the hearts of the younger writers. The entry of colorful Italian pens also took a large part of the market. Prices with parker being equal if not less, consumer writers would often choose the bigger, fatter and more colorful pen over the slimmer more conventional 70s looking pen, for the same price. I still have all my old Parkers and Sheaffers which i bought in the 80s and 80s and 90s and as credit to them they all still write superbly. Hell, my 1926 Duofold Big Red, still writes perfectly even if it is already 98 years old as of this writing. Then the China pens came along with the same or near quality, superb looks, and fraction of the price, and that takes the cake. I personally now collect many china pens buying 10 per week at less than the price of a Parker IM. So that is the reason why parker flew under the radar. The brand must evolve and adopt to current generation tastes and bring down their prices by manufacturing in China or else the brand will perish like Sheaffer, and soon Cross.
Sometimes, we really just let ourselves being taken by all the hype and peoples opinion! We a pen writes well, it writes well. I dont look at brands. I look at the pen. If possible I try them. And if I like it, I AM BUYING IT! A 1 dolar jinhao can bring me as much joy as my vintage montblancs or expensive Caran d ache! Enjoy the hobby! Nice video as always !
Yes, they are very underrated but they seem to have moved more towards the gift pen market. Other pen brands are focusing on the pen community by collaborating with influencers and showcasing their pens at major pen shows. If Parker did that, then maybe we might hear more about them on social media. Even Waterman seems to be flying under the radar as far as their pens go. They also make some fantastic nibs. Their inks are more popular than their pens. If you haven't tried the Duofold, I would highly recommend trying one. They are fantastic pens!
Absolutely agreed, but in some ways it’s kind of organic. Parker are so well known at this point, I expect they feel they don’t need to go down the influencer route. In many ways Pilot, Sailor are the same, in that they don’t send pens out to influencers! The more and more I think about it, the more I feel that Parker really isn’t a brand which is aimed towards the Fountain pen community, they really just want to appeal to a broader market. But I guess we will see in time things may change!
@@PenFriends I have 5 fountains and i'm constantly testing more. I might pick up another 2 Vectors for large amounts of text. I currently use my other pens for headings and callouts, and my Vector for paragraph text because of its sharpness and clarity
It's not just Parker that has been relegated to the backseat of the fountain pen community, but Sheaffer and Waterman as well. I think the main reason is that these three companies have not come out with any new designs that many fountain pen enthusiasts today find appealing. As someone who likes a more conservative design, I think their designs are great (though my larger hands and pen grip leads me to wish they had a wider girth), but my feeling is that most enthusiasts today prefer more exciting looks and lighter materials (Leonardo's pens comes to mind). Also, you mentioned that Parker's steel nibs leaves something to be desired - I believe this is also a big problem. If I don't have experience with a brand, I would try their less pricey offerings first, which would be a steel nib. If the steel nib leaves me with a "meh" experience, it is unlikely I would purchase their more expensive options since my immediate feeling would be "if their steel nibs are lackluster, their gold nibs must be as well". Parker, Sheaffer, and Waterman have a long way to go to regain the attention of the fountain pen community. The question is if they are willing to invest the needed effort and money.
Happy you enjoy that pen, but for me Parker is a sad story. My grad school was 65 km from their old factory in Janesville, Wisconsin. One often found classic pens like the Vacuumatic in antique stores, so I saw how innovative and TQM the company once was. I think they only recently began making retro editions, and by that time there were Chinese copies (licensed or not) that were available for a fraction of the price of what modern Parker would issue. The Wing Sun 601, as an example, is around $30 and has some cool ‘updates’ like the filling system. One can also customize it with parts. I think many of us were disappointed by Parker’s release, knowing the market. As you said the new ones are not bad, but if I owned the trademark of such a heritage company I would have tried more when re-entering the retro market. Have a good weekend.
They seem to be engaging a bit more of late, but I think their pricing is all over the place. The duofold limited editions really aren’t all that and they charge a ton at the same time. However the IM and sonnets seem to offer good value. But of course European manufacturing can’t compete in terms of price with China. This is a hard reality :( but equally this shows the importance of supporting brands in the west. even if it does cost a few quid more
@@PenFriendsgood points. I certainly want to support companies and nations that have fair IP, labor laws, and environmental policies. I thought that some of the official Parkers were also made there, so it was hard to feel the brand loyalty so to speak. I haven’t seen a recent rerelease myself but that was my recollection based on last time I saw one or read a review. Parker actually licensed some Chinese pens around the time of Nixon as they tried to get in the market. I think there was some division in someplace like HK decades before that too. Interesting histories.
@@PenFriendsps. I should add that the original classics like 51 and Duofold and Vacuumatics are a joy to use. I just worry about getting sacs replaced in the future….
@@PenFriends the main problem is that the actual parker "51" is far worse than the much cheaper chinese copies of the old 51. these days parker is just a brand that rides on its former glory as one of the biggest and best fountain pen brands along the likes of sheaffer, wahl, etc.
@@PenFriends I think it's a matter of getting used to it. When you have it closed it is annoying to see the change in flow and color in the ink you are using, but if you keep it open during work sessions the problem is solved.
I really love my Parker IM with the medium nib. It's one of my best pens I own. My nit picks is that it should have been slightly larger. The buird quality is incredible. However pen BBS in much better. Because it costs the name and it has excellent nib thats one of the best nibs Ive tried. Also its a vac filler. One of my personal favorites is the Jinhao 9056 as its build quality is amazing and it writes extremely well with feed modifications and nib swapping.
The IM is a superb pen and yes it would be lovely to see a lineup of larger pens. However, I’d say there is a wide choice of pens in the market today that cater to larger sizes. Plus, the duofold is their larger size offering. In many ways Parker follows the trends of montblanc and Pelikan, in that they offer smaller pens at the start of their price point and increase in size as they go up the scale. It’ll be interesting to see how Parker strategises going forwards.
My challenge with Parker is that their pens are often so small and thin. I own a parker vector XL, and that is very handy for short notes, but I don't see myself using it a lot. I was pleasantly surprised by trying a Parker 51, but I've heard that the new model isn't as good as the older one. I don't know much about their larger models. Are there any you would recommend? My favourite pens are my Pelikan m1005 Stresemann and a Scribo feel to give you an idea of the size I prefer, but they don't have to be as large as that.
It’s crazy to think that pens from the era in which they were born were almost all that size. The duofold was an exception, but a lot of vintage pens were tiny! I do wonder how people got on with them back then? I tried a scribo the other day, it was a lovely pen, but for me it didn’t really compare to my Santini libra!
I have a sentimental attachment to Parker pens as these were not allowed in school when we had to use fountain pens, so in our minds Parker was the epitome of luxury. After a long hiatus from these writing instruments, my third fountain pen was a Parker Mistral Sonnet Fougere in silver and gold. The pen is an absolute beauty, the nib size 5 is ordinary looking and a mediocre writer that needed a nib meister and some Reinigung to behave. I got it to commemorate the acquisition of a splendid book on Pliny the Younger and Italian Renaissance Art, so this is another reason to love it. I expected a lot more from this pen as Parker alongside Sheaffer were world class writers, but forgive it on account of its very singular beauty. And now I've been informed that the 51 model falls short of its vintage version. Parker should exersize greater quality control as competition from other brands in their glory is quite steep. I agree they still produce elegant, classy looking pens with that gorgeous arrow clip. That metal cap also prevents heartache from its dropping on the ground, it is very sturdy. So the verdict is positive, I still love that pen.
Parker are all over the place it seems. And you’re indeed correct, waterman and sheaffer have a way to go to attract our much community! But I very much enjoyed reading your post and your connection with Parker.
I have a fascination and emotional connection to this brand. My first ever fountain pen was a dark blue Parker Vector gifted to me by my father in the early 2000s. I am trying to find out as much as i can about the brand's founder, George S. Parker. I found out George's ancestors may have lived in Hertfordshire, England. So if your last name is Parker and if numerous generations of your family have lived in Hertfordshire, then it's possible that you could be related to the founder of a business that for a long time was one of the world's greatest pen manufacturers.
I mainly sketch with my pens too. In fact a lot of my earlier videos featured drawings. But unfortunately, the retention rate of peoples concentration is not high :( Do you have a favourite subject matter?
I don't think Parker fountain pens are under appreciated. They are OK/good fountain pens ( I have a Parker Urban premium and I like it ) BUT they use proprietary standard ink cartridge (like some other brands). I prefer pens with International standard cartridge/converters.
Well, Parker is a bit shunned by fountain pen users and that it is because of some problems that the newer Parker pens have, I have almost all the more modern models from Parker and apart from the IM they all have problems with the fact that if you don't use the pen for a few days, the ink will dry out in the feed, but I think the biggest problem is with Parker's new models of Parker 51, and not necessarily with the way these pens look, but with the fact that there are quite a few of them that they have problems, with an inconsistent and interrupted flow of ink and nibs that scratch straight out of the box, and when as a user, as a customer (this is also my case) you receive a pen that you paid $300 for and you have to struggle to you adjust it to work properly, well I think it's normal for Parker to lose some prestige and some of the users' trust.
I think that’s the unfortunate case with a number of brands. Quality control is something people generally don’t talk about enough. In fact my next video will be talking about QC and Customer support. Let’s hope that by publicly stating the issues, brands will start to listen!
Parker's quality has just gone down over the years. However, I had a very good experience with Newell's (the current owners) customer service. They fixed my 1998 Sonnet for "free" but I had to pay $40 for shipping via DHL from France to L.A. I also bought the Urban and IM set from Costco two years ago. (The Urban is ok, the IM sucked.) They really have to do something about making those caps airtight. And be careful of the Ebay counterfeits. I got a host of them just for shits and giggles, those things are just plain deplorable. Both my dad and mom had a number of Parkers, so it's really sad to see Parker's fate over the years.
@@PenFriends I think Newell compensates for their tanking pen quality with good customer support. I recently got another Parker Urban because it looked great, but the quality is just a little better than the Chinese counterfeits on Ebay. I also bought Newell's Waterman Carene and the section came apart after a month. It was held together by cheap glue. So, I re-glued it. What I'm trying to say is it's not just a Parker thing, it's a Newell thing.
@@dangonzalez3505 At least the customer support is there, to be that is as important as the pen writing. I will be producing a video on QC and customer support, as I feel it's a topic that's not really represented.
You have your answer in your own description of this Parker fountain pen. It's the ‘yes but...’ brand. To describe the pen you felt the need to use ‘but’ 18 times. 18 times ! No one can accuse you of a lack of eloquence, as all your videos testify, but when it comes to describing the Parker experience, the word that's essential, for you and all other fountain pen enthusiasts, is ‘but’. The need to qualify positive aspects followed by a damper suggests that Parker pens often fall short in key areas that matter to pen lovers. For example, while their gold nibs may write well, more affordable options provide a similar experience. Parker's luxury positioning is undermined by a lack of continuity in terms of craftsmanship, heritage, and online presence. Additionally, Parker seems to be out of step with current trends, favoring smaller nibs over the popular large, flexible options. The lack of review units sent to influencers further indicates a disconnect between Parker and the enthusiast community. It's not a bad pen BUT it's not a great one either.
The sentiment towards writing experience is almost a mute point, as I think we all know that if the writing experience is the only thing that matters, you buy a preppy, metropolitan, Faber Castell Grip or Lamy safari and call it a day! The other aspect to consider is that Parker is not really an enthusiasts company. Just like Montblanc, Cross, S.T DuPont and many others, their marketing is towards high street consumers. But you do raise a good point in that regard, it would be nice to see more community focus. However, I really doubt we will ever see that. I also fear this rings true for the likes of Scheaffer, Cross and Waterman as well. I do feel that Parker still has heritage in name, if you ask most people if they have heard of Parker, they are more likely to say yes than no. As for craftsmanship, they still have it. However you usually have to pay a lot for it. The duofold has some stunning pens in their lineup, but considerably expensive for what they are.
I think there are a few elements which contribute to the likes of Parker, Cross etc (I'd include Waterman in there) becoming unpopular. You touch on some of these, such as the predominance of acrylic/celluloid/resin pens. These have been very much in vogue for several years now and it's less usual to see pen folk enthused by metal-bodied pens regardless of the brand. Allied to this, the much-vaunted "slippery metal section" is often a reason for reviewers to dismiss a pen they have otherwise found pleasant. The size of the pen overall and the section does tend to be smaller in metal pens than in the hugely popular plastic contingent; the nib sizes can also be a big deterrent as you mention. We each, of course, need to make our choices based, in part, on the size of our hand and we will be attracted to what just "looks right". For some people that means the bigger, the better; others are drawn to smaller pens. The use of a cartridge-converter filling mechanism puts some people off, too. On top of that, I wonder if the more leisurely design cycle of these "old-fashioned" brands doesn't sit well in a community which thrives on constant excitement, constant innovation or, at the very least, reinvention. There are so many factors which have resulted in a decline in popularity for pens like your Parker Sonnet (might one even suggest that previous popularity is one of those factors?).
To turn to my personal response, I adore slimmer, metal-bodied fountain pens, I think the colours that can be achieved on a metal body are sublime. I have almost zero problems with "slippery" sections, and I favour nibs smaller than the ubiquitous No.6. Your Sonnet is beautiful, especially that body colour. I have a dark blue version which I purchased at a very good discount. The gold nib was not to my liking, but I swapped it out for a steel nib and have had no problems at all with that (I generally prefer steel nibs over gold). I think the cartridge/converter is the pinnacle of fountain pen development - it's quick and easy, if the converter fails you can just replace it, you can choose between bottled ink and cartridges - I find the latter very useful when I travel. I mentioned Waterman at the start of this comment - they are my favourite pen brand and, like Parker, tend to fly under the radar with the exception of the Carene which is quite a popular model due to its inlaid nib.
Fantastic comment. I feel it’s kind of amusing in that there are brands nearly as old as Parker if not older. Pelikan is a brand that springs to mind, yet in recent years they have struggled, yet you see more representation of Pelikan on social media than Parker. Somehow Parker seems to be doing well financially, so my curiosity is that just how small is our community of fountaineers?? I feel we have a substantial amount of people that love the hobby, but the volume of sales from Parker must be pretty decent for them to still be relevant!
The comment about cartridge converters is not so clear cut. I know there are popular influencers in our community that champion complex filling mechanisms, but most people I’ve spoken too enjoy the simplicity of a cartridge converter. Well, certainly seasoned folks. I have piston fillers in my collection, but unless the nib unit is removable I tend to gravitate to CC.
Back to Parker, I do hope more community members give them a shot, they are superb pens!
I am a Parker fan. My first fountain pen was a Parker Vector. And I own plenty of Parkers both new and old. The Parker Duofold was my grail pen for many years and now I own 3 modern ones and a number of vintage ones. I also really enjoy the Parker Sonnet, and own far too many of them. The wide variety of nibs for this brand are an extra surprise.
Which Duofolds do you own? And what nibs do you gravitate to from Parker?
I'm new to pen collecting.. But ever since I was boy, I was a sucker for Parker pens. Even as an adult now, they bring me a lot of nostalgia.. I love pilot but I have a soft spot for the new 51 and the sonnets. They're just timeless.
That’s exactly how I felt with the brand and I must say I’m rather impressed
My father’s pen was a silver Parker and it was lost … that arrow always reminds me of him. 🥺
The arrow clip I think is one of the most iconic clip designs out there. Only Pelikan come close!
I’m sorry to hear about the loss of the pen
Great video❤I’m glad you like the pen❤And good camera work 😎
You are the best!
I have had Parker pens since the late 70's. A couple of years ago I fell down the rabbit hole but have not forgotton the brand of my first fountain pen. I have 3 Parker 51's and love them. Good for you singing their praises.
What brands are you currently enjoying?
@@PenFriends Other than Parker I like Lamy, Pilot, Faber Castell, Pelikan etc. I am enjoying the Ensso Bolt at the moment .
@@darrinyhearm4240 Enso make some lovely pens! I find the bolt to be a very cool and unique pen.
I grew up using Parker and Sheaffer pens in the 70s, 80s, 90s., and beyond. parker and Sheaffer were also the choice of my father. But during that time parker and sheaffer were the only pends widely available on the market. Montblanc came a bit later in the late 80s-90s as an available pen to buy. Then after that the 2000s saw the rise of acrylic colorful pens, which led the charge into the hearts of the younger writers. The entry of colorful Italian pens also took a large part of the market. Prices with parker being equal if not less, consumer writers would often choose the bigger, fatter and more colorful pen over the slimmer more conventional 70s looking pen, for the same price. I still have all my old Parkers and Sheaffers which i bought in the 80s and 80s and 90s and as credit to them they all still write superbly. Hell, my 1926 Duofold Big Red, still writes perfectly even if it is already 98 years old as of this writing. Then the China pens came along with the same or near quality, superb looks, and fraction of the price, and that takes the cake. I personally now collect many china pens buying 10 per week at less than the price of a Parker IM. So that is the reason why parker flew under the radar. The brand must evolve and adopt to current generation tastes and bring down their prices by manufacturing in China or else the brand will perish like Sheaffer, and soon Cross.
Sometimes, we really just let ourselves being taken by all the hype and peoples opinion! We a pen writes well, it writes well.
I dont look at brands. I look at the pen. If possible I try them. And if I like it, I AM BUYING IT! A 1 dolar jinhao can bring me as much joy as my vintage montblancs or expensive Caran d ache!
Enjoy the hobby!
Nice video as always !
Yes, they are very underrated but they seem to have moved more towards the gift pen market. Other pen brands are focusing on the pen community by collaborating with influencers and showcasing their pens at major pen shows. If Parker did that, then maybe we might hear more about them on social media. Even Waterman seems to be flying under the radar as far as their pens go. They also make some fantastic nibs. Their inks are more popular than their pens.
If you haven't tried the Duofold, I would highly recommend trying one. They are fantastic pens!
Absolutely agreed, but in some ways it’s kind of organic. Parker are so well known at this point, I expect they feel they don’t need to go down the influencer route. In many ways Pilot, Sailor are the same, in that they don’t send pens out to influencers!
The more and more I think about it, the more I feel that Parker really isn’t a brand which is aimed towards the Fountain pen community, they really just want to appeal to a broader market. But I guess we will see in time things may change!
YESSS!!! My super cheap parker vector fountain pen has the most precise and sharp writing out of all of them!
So glad you’re enjoying it! Do you have many other pens?
@@PenFriends I have 5 fountains and i'm constantly testing more. I might pick up another 2 Vectors for large amounts of text. I currently use my other pens for headings and callouts, and my Vector for paragraph text because of its sharpness and clarity
It's not just Parker that has been relegated to the backseat of the fountain pen community, but Sheaffer and Waterman as well. I think the main reason is that these three companies have not come out with any new designs that many fountain pen enthusiasts today find appealing. As someone who likes a more conservative design, I think their designs are great (though my larger hands and pen grip leads me to wish they had a wider girth), but my feeling is that most enthusiasts today prefer more exciting looks and lighter materials (Leonardo's pens comes to mind).
Also, you mentioned that Parker's steel nibs leaves something to be desired - I believe this is also a big problem. If I don't have experience with a brand, I would try their less pricey offerings first, which would be a steel nib. If the steel nib leaves me with a "meh" experience, it is unlikely I would purchase their more expensive options since my immediate feeling would be "if their steel nibs are lackluster, their gold nibs must be as well".
Parker, Sheaffer, and Waterman have a long way to go to regain the attention of the fountain pen community. The question is if they are willing to invest the needed effort and money.
Happy you enjoy that pen, but for me Parker is a sad story. My grad school was 65 km from their old factory in Janesville, Wisconsin. One often found classic pens like the Vacuumatic in antique stores, so I saw how innovative and TQM the company once was. I think they only recently began making retro editions, and by that time there were Chinese copies (licensed or not) that were available for a fraction of the price of what modern Parker would issue. The Wing Sun 601, as an example, is around $30 and has some cool ‘updates’ like the filling system. One can also customize it with parts. I think many of us were disappointed by Parker’s release, knowing the market. As you said the new ones are not bad, but if I owned the trademark of such a heritage company I would have tried more when re-entering the retro market. Have a good weekend.
They seem to be engaging a bit more of late, but I think their pricing is all over the place. The duofold limited editions really aren’t all that and they charge a ton at the same time. However the IM and sonnets seem to offer good value.
But of course European manufacturing can’t compete in terms of price with China. This is a hard reality :( but equally this shows the importance of supporting brands in the west. even if it does cost a few quid more
@@PenFriendsgood points. I certainly want to support companies and nations that have fair IP, labor laws, and environmental policies. I thought that some of the official Parkers were also made there, so it was hard to feel the brand loyalty so to speak. I haven’t seen a recent rerelease myself but that was my recollection based on last time I saw one or read a review.
Parker actually licensed some Chinese pens around the time of Nixon as they tried to get in the market. I think there was some division in someplace like HK decades before that too. Interesting histories.
@@PenFriendsps. I should add that the original classics like 51 and Duofold and Vacuumatics are a joy to use. I just worry about getting sacs replaced in the future….
@@PenFriends the main problem is that the actual parker "51" is far worse than the much cheaper chinese copies of the old 51. these days parker is just a brand that rides on its former glory as one of the biggest and best fountain pen brands along the likes of sheaffer, wahl, etc.
Maybe my favorite in the office.
Which is your go to?
@@PenFriends I think the Kaweco Sport, Lamy Safari (plastic) and Opus 88 (for huge amount of ink). 😁
Greetings from Mexico.
@@TheDarivan the Opus 88 is a tank for ink! How do you find the shut off mechanism?
@@PenFriends I think it's a matter of getting used to it. When you have it closed it is annoying to see the change in flow and color in the ink you are using, but if you keep it open during work sessions the problem is solved.
I really love my Parker IM with the medium nib. It's one of my best pens I own. My nit picks is that it should have been slightly larger. The buird quality is incredible.
However pen BBS in much better. Because it costs the name and it has excellent nib thats one of the best nibs Ive tried. Also its a vac filler.
One of my personal favorites is the Jinhao 9056 as its build quality is amazing and it writes extremely well with feed modifications and nib swapping.
The IM is a superb pen and yes it would be lovely to see a lineup of larger pens. However, I’d say there is a wide choice of pens in the market today that cater to larger sizes. Plus, the duofold is their larger size offering. In many ways Parker follows the trends of montblanc and Pelikan, in that they offer smaller pens at the start of their price point and increase in size as they go up the scale.
It’ll be interesting to see how Parker strategises going forwards.
@ClearMind-1752 greetings from England! and the IM is going on my to buy list around Christmas I think
My challenge with Parker is that their pens are often so small and thin. I own a parker vector XL, and that is very handy for short notes, but I don't see myself using it a lot. I was pleasantly surprised by trying a Parker 51, but I've heard that the new model isn't as good as the older one.
I don't know much about their larger models. Are there any you would recommend?
My favourite pens are my Pelikan m1005 Stresemann and a Scribo feel to give you an idea of the size I prefer, but they don't have to be as large as that.
It’s crazy to think that pens from the era in which they were born were almost all that size. The duofold was an exception, but a lot of vintage pens were tiny! I do wonder how people got on with them back then?
I tried a scribo the other day, it was a lovely pen, but for me it didn’t really compare to my Santini libra!
@@PenFriends I haven't had the pleasure of trying a Santini yet. They do look wonderful!
I will consider looking into a duofold :)
@@AudTalksPens Santini are an incredible company! They have a range of big pens and even bigger!
I have a sentimental attachment to Parker pens as these were not allowed in school when we had to use fountain pens, so in our minds Parker was the epitome of luxury. After a long hiatus from these writing instruments, my third fountain pen was a Parker Mistral Sonnet Fougere in silver and gold. The pen is an absolute beauty, the nib size 5 is ordinary looking and a mediocre writer that needed a nib meister and some Reinigung to behave. I got it to commemorate the acquisition of a splendid book on Pliny the Younger and Italian Renaissance Art, so this is another reason to love it. I expected a lot more from this pen as Parker alongside Sheaffer were world class writers, but forgive it on account of its very singular beauty. And now I've been informed that the 51 model falls short of its vintage version. Parker should exersize greater quality control as competition from other brands in their glory is quite steep. I agree they still produce elegant, classy looking pens with that gorgeous arrow clip. That metal cap also prevents heartache from its dropping on the ground, it is very sturdy. So the verdict is positive, I still love that pen.
Parker are all over the place it seems. And you’re indeed correct, waterman and sheaffer have a way to go to attract our much community!
But I very much enjoyed reading your post and your connection with Parker.
@@PenFriends Thanks! By the way I got a Sheaffer Legacy II in brushed gold, and it is a superb pen!
@@gihanzohdy3284 I just googled a photo, I must say that looks pretty incredible!
I am a fan of parker fountain pens.
My favourite one is parker 51.
I also like sonnet and im.
Good video sir. 👍
Good choice! Is it a vintage 51?
@@PenFriends yes I have one vintage 51(black colour) and one new (2021) one in midnight blue colour with chrome trims.
Thank you 🙏
I have a fascination and emotional connection to this brand. My first ever fountain pen was a dark blue Parker Vector gifted to me by my father in the early 2000s.
I am trying to find out as much as i can about the brand's founder, George S. Parker. I found out George's ancestors may have lived in Hertfordshire, England. So if your last name is Parker and if numerous generations of your family have lived in Hertfordshire, then it's possible that you could be related to the founder of a business that for a long time was one of the world's greatest pen manufacturers.
Do keep me up to date on your findings, I would be curious as to what you find out.
Yes, will do! @PenFriends
I use all of my fountain pens for sketching and drawing. They are a wonderful tool for ART! I guess you could write with them…hahaha
I mainly sketch with my pens too. In fact a lot of my earlier videos featured drawings. But unfortunately, the retention rate of peoples concentration is not high :(
Do you have a favourite subject matter?
My very first fountain pen was a Parker.
Which one??
I don't think Parker fountain pens are under appreciated. They are OK/good fountain pens ( I have a Parker Urban premium and I like it ) BUT they use proprietary standard ink cartridge (like some other brands). I prefer pens with International standard cartridge/converters.
Well, Parker is a bit shunned by fountain pen users and that it is because of some problems that the newer Parker pens have, I have almost all the more modern models from Parker and apart from the IM they all have problems with the fact that if you don't use the pen for a few days, the ink will dry out in the feed, but I think the biggest problem is with Parker's new models of Parker 51, and not necessarily with the way these pens look, but with the fact that there are quite a few of them that they have problems, with an inconsistent and interrupted flow of ink and nibs that scratch straight out of the box, and when as a user, as a customer (this is also my case) you receive a pen that you paid $300 for and you have to struggle to you adjust it to work properly, well I think it's normal for Parker to lose some prestige and some of the users' trust.
I think that’s the unfortunate case with a number of brands. Quality control is something people generally don’t talk about enough. In fact my next video will be talking about QC and Customer support. Let’s hope that by publicly stating the issues, brands will start to listen!
What's the model?
Did you watch the video :)) it literally says within the first 3 mins haha
Caught it the 3rd time around!
@@billmcreynolds6935 If anyone else missed it, and despite not getting a reply here, it was a Sonnet.
Parker's quality has just gone down over the years. However, I had a very good experience with Newell's (the current owners) customer service. They fixed my 1998 Sonnet for "free" but I had to pay $40 for shipping via DHL from France to L.A. I also bought the Urban and IM set from Costco two years ago. (The Urban is ok, the IM sucked.) They really have to do something about making those caps airtight. And be careful of the Ebay counterfeits. I got a host of them just for shits and giggles, those things are just plain deplorable. Both my dad and mom had a number of Parkers, so it's really sad to see Parker's fate over the years.
Do you feel the quality is still down under Newell’s ownership? Despite you receiving great customer support?
@@PenFriends I think Newell compensates for their tanking pen quality with good customer support. I recently got another Parker Urban because it looked great, but the quality is just a little better than the Chinese counterfeits on Ebay. I also bought Newell's Waterman Carene and the section came apart after a month. It was held together by cheap glue. So, I re-glued it.
What I'm trying to say is it's not just a Parker thing, it's a Newell thing.
@@dangonzalez3505 At least the customer support is there, to be that is as important as the pen writing. I will be producing a video on QC and customer support, as I feel it's a topic that's not really represented.
You have your answer in your own description of this Parker fountain pen. It's the ‘yes but...’ brand.
To describe the pen you felt the need to use ‘but’ 18 times. 18 times ! No one can accuse you of a lack of eloquence, as all your videos testify, but when it comes to describing the Parker experience, the word that's essential, for you and all other fountain pen enthusiasts, is ‘but’.
The need to qualify positive aspects followed by a damper suggests that Parker pens often fall short in key areas that matter to pen lovers. For example, while their gold nibs may write well, more affordable options provide a similar experience. Parker's luxury positioning is undermined by a lack of continuity in terms of craftsmanship, heritage, and online presence. Additionally, Parker seems to be out of step with current trends, favoring smaller nibs over the popular large, flexible options. The lack of review units sent to influencers further indicates a disconnect between Parker and the enthusiast community.
It's not a bad pen BUT it's not a great one either.
The sentiment towards writing experience is almost a mute point, as I think we all know that if the writing experience is the only thing that matters, you buy a preppy, metropolitan, Faber Castell Grip or Lamy safari and call it a day!
The other aspect to consider is that Parker is not really an enthusiasts company. Just like Montblanc, Cross, S.T DuPont and many others, their marketing is towards high street consumers. But you do raise a good point in that regard, it would be nice to see more community focus. However, I really doubt we will ever see that. I also fear this rings true for the likes of Scheaffer, Cross and Waterman as well.
I do feel that Parker still has heritage in name, if you ask most people if they have heard of Parker, they are more likely to say yes than no.
As for craftsmanship, they still have it. However you usually have to pay a lot for it. The duofold has some stunning pens in their lineup, but considerably expensive for what they are.