Thanks for another great review. I bought a used one of these recently. Made in 2001in the U.K. (before Parker moved in with Waterman in France). It's a Mk.II. It cost me a little under $260. Someone had been given it as a gift. They inked it once and put it in the drawer. It's pristine. There are plenty of these around on the used market. eBay etc. It's made from organic acrylic. Superb build quality and a great writer. I think that the modern nibs fit the older models too. Parker had strict adherence to backward compatibility. A snippet of history. When the Duofold Centenial was released it was heralded as the new classic design, often since copied. If you check out ONOTO from the 1930's it's almost exactly the same. I suspect Parker's superb marketing obscured that small fact. ONOTO were also the first to use vacuum filling in the 1930's. They bought the patent from the inventor who was both an engineer and a successful Vaudeville female impersonator. The world can be weird! Just on European / UK Pens for a moment: ONOTO are remarkable pens. Expensive, but exceptional quality and each one hand made from top Italian natural acrylic. I think they're good value. They're great writers too. I saved up for one and it is astonishingly good. The workshop manager gave me his mobile number and we discussed what I was looking for in a pen and nib. I telephoned him the other day because I wanted to buy a component to use on another pen. No problem and he laughed when I told him the pen it was for, it was one of his main competitors, but he then went on to tell me how best to fit it to that pen. Really good people. The price? $15.00. Conway Stewart in the U.K. is the same. Peter, the Director of the workshop end of things even made some alterations to the design when I asked for them. Every pen hand made to order. That design addition cost me $25.00. I also specified the line width I wanted and that's what I got. He even sent it to the top UK nib smith for adjusting at no extra cost. If anyone is in the market for a Conway Stewart the Wordsworth is exceptional, possibly the best pen in my collection along with the ONOTO Magna Classic. There are only a few Wordsworth's blanks left and they might not be continuing with that model. Such a shame. Anyway - I hope this blethering isn't too off topic. BTW I have no links with these companies. I am just an enthusiast. Thanks again for these videos. :)
I'm a bit conflicted on the modern Duofolds(Centennial in my case). I like the Art Deco shape and classic simplicity of form. The grip section with the large flare at the front makes the nib feel a few millimetres longer(and it already is a nice #6ish size) and it fits very solidly between your fingers. The nibs also offer an opportunity to get a dual tone gold nib that's hard as steel, which not many manufacturers do. However... I don't know if you've ever removed your nib and feed from yours, but the "housing" inside the grip section seems to be made of some rather chintzy plastic. I also found the cap threads to be slightly prone to crossthreading if you don't keep the cap perfectly straight, but it's not awful; just could've done with milling away the thread starts. Parker's converters are absolute garbage tier as well, which I find rather perplexing considering how long they've been at it. If you get a double or triple broad it will likely be overpolished as I found out twice, but all the other nib sizes I found to be perfectly and consistently tuned to the same standard.
I really enjoyed this review, am saving for a quality pen, but I am so confused, Duofold, Peerless or Pelikan, am leaning towards a new Duofold, this may have clinched it. My Sonnet, which dates back to the late 90's still writes like a dream, and is superior to any other one that I have, I use an IM at work, but a rollerball, it's alright, was worth the low price I paid. You've helped clarify why the Duofold has the crazy price. Great review.
I enjoyed this for multiple reasons. First, it seems that the Seattle Pen Club is similar to the Badlands Pen Club. I live in a tiny town in SW North Dakota, so I started using the Badlands Pen Club to describe friends and viewers. We don't actually exist but since I'm in the North Dakota Badlands, I'm sticking with the name. Second, I love the Parker Duofold! I got mine for less than you did. But it turned out to be a really good pen, even if the normal price was a bit high. Of course we disagree on the Sonnet: I love that pen as well.
Thanks! Nice job picking up a Duofold at a great price. I respect the Sonnet - it's a very nice pen. I've had mixed experiences with the nibs but the main issue for me is it's just a bit small for my hands. I'll add that pen to the queue of videos :)
Can you do a nib swap with Parker? If I bought a Duofold with a broad nib and decided to have an EF nib instead, will Parker do that? Initially when the Duofold was reintroduced in the 1990s, it was an option that was offered. Authorized Sailor retailers can swap nibs.
I had no idea that Seattle Pen Club existed until I ran across this video on RUclips. Is it really a pen club, or just a virtual entity on RUclips? Good video, by the way. I have a number of Parkers, including both the Centennial and International versions, and I agree with your assessment of them. However, I must confess, I do like many of the Italian pens -- my Leonardos and Viscontis are some of my favorites.
haha - thanks for the comment. In our pre-covid world, a few buddies and I got together regularly in Seattle and called ourselves the Seattle Pen Club as a bit of a joke. We now live in various parts of the country but I guess the name stuck :)
Enjoyed this review a lot. I saw this pen on Instagram and I had to see a little more about it, now I'm kinda curious about the feedback of the nib, I have a Lamy 1.1 and it's true that the nib is more on the quiet side but this Parker, although you can really hear it still seems pretty stable and comfortable.
What are your thoughts on Parker Sonnets? To me, Parker Sonnets are much more appealing and I am thinking of buying the models from the ’90s with 18 k nibs.
The pen I use most is a Pilot custom 74. My favorite in my collection is a dark blue / purple Sailor 1911 King of Pen with a medium nib. I'll get around to making a video of it sometime - cool nib and cool memories buying it from a small pen shop in Osaka.
You actually compare and insult a Parker duofold (which was used by army personals) with Montblanc. Montblanc is successful in this generation. But Parker was not only successful but also innovative in the 19th century. The only reason its not getting proper updates is because of the improper management. I didn't expect the review to be this bad
@Cortesevasive "precious resin" is just a marketing label, with little connection to reality. They are made of acrylic and some are expensive because the barrel is drilled from a solid monoblock of that plastic. This procedure is necessary to make some models, like the marmorized colored ones, which cannot be made by the conventional injection molding method, used in most plastics. But the plastic itself is acrylic, a good acrylic, but just acrylic.
Thanks for another great review.
I bought a used one of these recently. Made in 2001in the U.K. (before Parker moved in with Waterman in France). It's a Mk.II. It cost me a little under $260. Someone had been given it as a gift. They inked it once and put it in the drawer. It's pristine. There are plenty of these around on the used market. eBay etc. It's made from organic acrylic. Superb build quality and a great writer. I think that the modern nibs fit the older models too. Parker had strict adherence to backward compatibility.
A snippet of history. When the Duofold Centenial was released it was heralded as the new classic design, often since copied. If you check out ONOTO from the 1930's it's almost exactly the same. I suspect Parker's superb marketing obscured that small fact.
ONOTO were also the first to use vacuum filling in the 1930's. They bought the patent from the inventor who was both an engineer and a successful Vaudeville female impersonator. The world can be weird!
Just on European / UK Pens for a moment:
ONOTO are remarkable pens. Expensive, but exceptional quality and each one hand made from top Italian natural acrylic. I think they're good value. They're great writers too. I saved up for one and it is astonishingly good. The workshop manager gave me his mobile number and we discussed what I was looking for in a pen and nib. I telephoned him the other day because I wanted to buy a component to use on another pen. No problem and he laughed when I told him the pen it was for, it was one of his main competitors, but he then went on to tell me how best to fit it to that pen. Really good people. The price? $15.00.
Conway Stewart in the U.K. is the same. Peter, the Director of the workshop end of things even made some alterations to the design when I asked for them. Every pen hand made to order. That design addition cost me $25.00. I also specified the line width I wanted and that's what I got. He even sent it to the top UK nib smith for adjusting at no extra cost. If anyone is in the market for a Conway Stewart the Wordsworth is exceptional, possibly the best pen in my collection along with the ONOTO Magna Classic. There are only a few Wordsworth's blanks left and they might not be continuing with that model. Such a shame.
Anyway - I hope this blethering isn't too off topic. BTW I have no links with these companies. I am just an enthusiast.
Thanks again for these videos. :)
In Australia, the Parker Duofold is more expensive than the Pelikan M800. I would prefer the Pelikan.
I'm a bit conflicted on the modern Duofolds(Centennial in my case). I like the Art Deco shape and classic simplicity of form. The grip section with the large flare at the front makes the nib feel a few millimetres longer(and it already is a nice #6ish size) and it fits very solidly between your fingers. The nibs also offer an opportunity to get a dual tone gold nib that's hard as steel, which not many manufacturers do.
However... I don't know if you've ever removed your nib and feed from yours, but the "housing" inside the grip section seems to be made of some rather chintzy plastic. I also found the cap threads to be slightly prone to crossthreading if you don't keep the cap perfectly straight, but it's not awful; just could've done with milling away the thread starts. Parker's converters are absolute garbage tier as well, which I find rather perplexing considering how long they've been at it. If you get a double or triple broad it will likely be overpolished as I found out twice, but all the other nib sizes I found to be perfectly and consistently tuned to the same standard.
I really enjoyed this review, am saving for a quality pen, but I am so confused, Duofold, Peerless or Pelikan, am leaning towards a new Duofold, this may have clinched it. My Sonnet, which dates back to the late 90's still writes like a dream, and is superior to any other one that I have, I use an IM at work, but a rollerball, it's alright, was worth the low price I paid. You've helped clarify why the Duofold has the crazy price. Great review.
Wonderful discussion, thank you for this video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed this for multiple reasons. First, it seems that the Seattle Pen Club is similar to the Badlands Pen Club. I live in a tiny town in SW North Dakota, so I started using the Badlands Pen Club to describe friends and viewers. We don't actually exist but since I'm in the North Dakota Badlands, I'm sticking with the name.
Second, I love the Parker Duofold! I got mine for less than you did. But it turned out to be a really good pen, even if the normal price was a bit high. Of course we disagree on the Sonnet: I love that pen as well.
Thanks! Nice job picking up a Duofold at a great price. I respect the Sonnet - it's a very nice pen. I've had mixed experiences with the nibs but the main issue for me is it's just a bit small for my hands. I'll add that pen to the queue of videos :)
13:45 that nib sounds like wood scratching the glass.
Can you do a nib swap with Parker? If I bought a Duofold with a broad nib and decided to have an EF nib instead, will Parker do that? Initially when the Duofold was reintroduced in the 1990s, it was an option that was offered. Authorized Sailor retailers can swap nibs.
Great review, great pace.
I had no idea that Seattle Pen Club existed until I ran across this video on RUclips. Is it really a pen club, or just a virtual entity on RUclips? Good video, by the way. I have a number of Parkers, including both the Centennial and International versions, and I agree with your assessment of them. However, I must confess, I do like many of the Italian pens -- my Leonardos and Viscontis are some of my favorites.
haha - thanks for the comment. In our pre-covid world, a few buddies and I got together regularly in Seattle and called ourselves the Seattle Pen Club as a bit of a joke. We now live in various parts of the country but I guess the name stuck :)
BTW there IS a Seattle Pen Club, legit. I have no idea who runs this RUclips station, though.
@@marilynjones9823 hey hey the pen box here!
Would the italic nib be nice on this?
Do you think Italian brands make good italic nibs?
I like the Italic on this. I unfortunately don't have any experience with Italian italic nibs.
Does that Parker have more of an orange color? I think it says “big red”.
definitely more orange than red :)
Enjoyed this review a lot. I saw this pen on Instagram and I had to see a little more about it, now I'm kinda curious about the feedback of the nib, I have a Lamy 1.1 and it's true that the nib is more on the quiet side but this Parker, although you can really hear it still seems pretty stable and comfortable.
Wait! What? I live in Seattle. I make pens. Why do I not know about the Seattle Pen Club? Very nice work.
Edit - I see. You live all over now.
There is an actual Seattle Pen Club that meets, or at least did before the pandemic. See nested comment above from Marilyn Jones.
If I'm gonna waste that kind of money on a pen, it's gotta have an anchor on the finial.
haha....
Parker Duofold Centennial vs Pelikan m800?
Pelikan all the way. Just keep in mind that their nibs are about one size broader - if you're looking for an F, get the EF, etc.
Love love love your video
Nice vid 👍
What are your thoughts on Parker Sonnets? To me, Parker Sonnets are much more appealing and I am thinking of buying the models from the ’90s with 18 k nibs.
As I know, jotters are made in France. Aren't they?
I think it depends on the variant.
What’s you favourite pen ?
The pen I use most is a Pilot custom 74. My favorite in my collection is a dark blue / purple Sailor 1911 King of Pen with a medium nib. I'll get around to making a video of it sometime - cool nib and cool memories buying it from a small pen shop in Osaka.
Pakker IM fountain pens are terrible, but newest made in France Jotters are great for the price.
Id pay a 3rd of that for an original Duofold and call it good.
You actually compare and insult a Parker duofold (which was used by army personals) with Montblanc. Montblanc is successful in this generation. But Parker was not only successful but also innovative in the 19th century. The only reason its not getting proper updates is because of the improper management. I didn't expect the review to be this bad
How is it an insult? The Parker of today isnt the Parker of those days. It isn't even an American company anymore.
$450 for PLASTIC? C'mon.
its precious resin which is more expensive than your typical brass pens
@Cortesevasive "precious resin" is just a marketing label, with little connection to reality. They are made of acrylic and some are expensive because the barrel is drilled from a solid monoblock of that plastic. This procedure is necessary to make some models, like the marmorized colored ones, which cannot be made by the conventional injection molding method, used in most plastics. But the plastic itself is acrylic, a good acrylic, but just acrylic.
$450 for PLASTIC? Try $14.50--tops.
Didn't know they made nibs out of plastic nowadays.