Jump to content

Parker Im?


Raskovnik

Recommended Posts

I just received a Parker IM from an evilbay dealer that puzzles me. At first glance, the pen looks exactly like an IM, but the moment you touch it, it feels wrong, somehow.

The first clue was that it was made in China, Shanghai branch. The workmanship is much lower then my other IMs, though the overall design seems to be there, some of the details are a little fuzzy, and the finish is poor. The kicker is that it can't be posed (cap won't stay on), which is a first for any of my parkers.

 

My only comfort is that the nib is still smooth and feels like a modern parker nib. It isn't worth sending back, so I'll still keep it even if it's an imitation but do you folks think it's a fake? Don't think the pictures will show enough details, the listing below is where I bought it from:

 

http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/Parker-Metal-Fountain-Pen-0-5mm-IM-Series-New-Free-Ship-/371083871162?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56665283ba

 

Your opinions please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • whoelse

    3

  • Raskovnik

    3

  • Vlad72

    2

  • Tylerjordan

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Well the gift box doesn't look like the Parker-issued ones but the pen looks very much like an IM and even has the same amount of clip feathers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well the gift box doesn't look like the Parker-issued ones but the pen looks very much like an IM and even has the same amount of clip feathers.

 

It looks like an IM in most parts, just tapered a little narrower and with poor workmanship. The price is about the same as a high end Jinhao (feels like one too), so I guess I got what I paid for lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It just so happens that I have my black/gold IM (medium nib) here at work with me, so I compared it to the images on the listing. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I purchased it.

 

The differences are: my pen can definitely be posted, and securely. Also, on the back of the feed, I have five fins. Not two and a solid bit of plastic like the eBay pen. On mine, there are eight little lines on the clip, and on the eBay image it looks like nine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Parker Vector purchased from an eBay dealer in India. It has a nib that looks almost identical to your IM. My Vector writes very nicely and does post, but I don't know if it was made in India or China.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the photos, it's different than my IM's. The feed is different, this one has only two wings exposed, mine have at least five. The section is narrow and almost cylindrical, while mine have conical sections. The barrel too looks a bit less tapered to me, but I could be wrong on that.

http://vladsandrini.com/i/mysig.png

  vladsandrini.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Parker fountain pens are now Chinese pens. You are right. It DOES feel cheap.

I am pretty much done with non-vintage Parker fountain pens. Fortunately for me,

Parker made 70+ million Parker 45's.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Parker fountain pens are now Chinese pens. You are right. It DOES feel cheap.

I am pretty much done with non-vintage Parker fountain pens. Fortunately for me,

Parker made 70+ million Parker 45's.

Hear you there. I have an IM Premium Twin Chiselled - and it doesn't write or feel nearly as nice as the 45's I have.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are a lot of fake IM in China. This one for example selling for $24RMB which is about USD3.9?

 

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.29.KdByET&id=36952030553&ns=1#detail

 

I am certain that the above seller is selling fake but the price is too good to be true. I have one which I bought from UK in blister pack for USD16, they are decently made for the price and higher quality than Vector. If you shop around, you can find them in good price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the photos, it's different than my IM's. The feed is different, this one has only two wings exposed, mine have at least five. The section is narrow and almost cylindrical, while mine have conical sections. The barrel too looks a bit less tapered to me, but I could be wrong on that.

 

Vlad, you are right. I took out my IM and my feed has 5 fins exposed too, The plastic insert near the nib is more flat and flush compare to the ebay photo that is more rounded and protruding. My feather on the pen clip is more solidly engrave and the feather lines look more "overly" than a deep straight cut as in the photo on the ebay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hear you there. I have an IM Premium Twin Chiselled - and it doesn't write or feel nearly as nice as the 45's I have.

 

I have a Premium shiny chrome, bought about ten weeks ago. It took a while for it to adapt to my hand (like fountain pens do, you know), but now it's my best behaved pen.

It was a bit wild and skippy, I admit, in its first days.

http://vladsandrini.com/i/mysig.png

  vladsandrini.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It just so happens that I have my black/gold IM (medium nib) here at work with me, so I compared it to the images on the listing. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I purchased it.

 

The differences are: my pen can definitely be posted, and securely. Also, on the back of the feed, I have five fins. Not two and a solid bit of plastic like the eBay pen. On mine, there are eight little lines on the clip, and on the eBay image it looks like nine.

 

From the photos, it's different than my IM's. The feed is different, this one has only two wings exposed, mine have at least five. The section is narrow and almost cylindrical, while mine have conical sections. The barrel too looks a bit less tapered to me, but I could be wrong on that.

 

 

Vlad, you are right. I took out my IM and my feed has 5 fins exposed too, The plastic insert near the nib is more flat and flush compare to the ebay photo that is more rounded and protruding. My feather on the pen clip is more solidly engrave and the feather lines look more "overly" than a deep straight cut as in the photo on the ebay.

 

The one I received has 4 fins exposed, my originals have 5. Pretty sure this is an imitation then lol.

 

 

I have a Parker Vector purchased from an eBay dealer in India. It has a nib that looks almost identical to your IM. My Vector writes very nicely and does post, but I don't know if it was made in India or China.

 

Parker fountain pens are now Chinese pens. You are right. It DOES feel cheap.

I am pretty much done with non-vintage Parker fountain pens. Fortunately for me,

Parker made 70+ million Parker 45's.

 

I heard of the India factory, not sure if the China one is genuine or just a making imitations.

 

Hear you there. I have an IM Premium Twin Chiselled - and it doesn't write or feel nearly as nice as the 45's I have.

 

I have the Twin Chiselled too, and I have to agree with you on that. Even with a steel nib, the 45s are so much nicer to write with.

 

There are a lot of fake IM in China. This one for example selling for $24RMB which is about USD3.9?

 

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.29.KdByET&id=36952030553&ns=1#detail

 

I am certain that the above seller is selling fake but the price is too good to be true. I have one which I bought from UK in blister pack for USD16, they are decently made for the price and higher quality than Vector. If you shop around, you can find them in good price.

 

:yikes: They have the sonnet imitation too?! Hopefully none of mine are...

 

 

I have a Premium shiny chrome, bought about ten weeks ago. It took a while for it to adapt to my hand (like fountain pens do, you know), but now it's my best behaved pen.

It was a bit wild and skippy, I admit, in its first days.

 

I like the sonnets a little better but the IM has a harder nib which is great for long writing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Sonnet too, this model - The Chiselled Silver:

 

http://www.fahrneyspens.com/ItemImages/Large/160445s.jpg

 

It is solid silver with 18K M nib. Surprisingly, the ergonomics is very good for my hand. The nib performance is also the very best of what I already have. That is close to 50 pens, including many Pelikans, Montblanc, Sheaffer, Sailor and Platinum pen.

 

It is currently my best writer in term of nib performance and ergonomics. The pen also write beautifully, no skipping, no hard start and write immediately unused for a week!

 

I bought it at good price too about $130.

Edited by whoelse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...