Jump to content

Question About Modern Duofold

cambookpro

By cambookpro
in Parker

 Share

Recommended Posts

cambookpro Rare

cambookpro

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

My friend sent me a link today, knowing I'm interested in FPs, to a Parker Duofold Demi on Amazon for, ostensibly, 77% off RRP. It's £76.79 (~$123).

 

First of all, is this a good deal? Amazon state the RRP is £340, but I doubt they actually sell for that. I've searched it on camelcamelcamel, and apparently Amazon sold it just this month new for £48, so I'm not sure how common these kind of prices are.

 

Also, just to clarify, is a Demi the same as the Duofold International or is it something different altogether?

 

I seem to be in a minority and quite like modern Parkers: my Sonnet and my Urban both write brilliantly and their customer service is very good. Is this pen worth considering as a step up from the Sonnet? I've never had a pen with a gold nib, but not actually sure if it makes a whole lot of difference. My collection of FPs is 5 pens (the two aforementioned Parkers, a 45, a Safari and a TWSBI 580), so I think I could afford to expand it a little, though I'm not sure yet if a Duofold would be right for me.

 

 

Sorry for all the questions!

Parker 75, Ingenuity, Premier, Sonnet, Urban | Pelikan M400 | TWSBI Diamond 580 | Visconti Rembrandt



Currently inked: Diamine Apple Glory (Rembrandt), Pelikan 4001 Turquoise (M400), Lamy Black (Diamond 580)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Matlock

    5

  • richardandtracy

    4

  • cambookpro

    2

  • Guernseytim

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Matlock Collectors Item

Matlock

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

My friend sent me a link today, knowing I'm interested in FPs, to a Parker Duofold Demi on Amazon for, ostensibly, 77% off RRP. It's £76.79 (~$123).

 

First of all, is this a good deal? Amazon state the RRP is £340, but I doubt they actually sell for that. I've searched it on camelcamelcamel, and apparently Amazon sold it just this month new for £48, so I'm not sure how common these kind of prices are.

 

Also, just to clarify, is a Demi the same as the Duofold International or is it something different altogether?

 

I seem to be in a minority and quite like modern Parkers: my Sonnet and my Urban both write brilliantly and their customer service is very good. Is this pen worth considering as a step up from the Sonnet? I've never had a pen with a gold nib, but not actually sure if it makes a whole lot of difference. My collection of FPs is 5 pens (the two aforementioned Parkers, a 45, a Safari and a TWSBI 580), so I think I could afford to expand it a little, though I'm not sure yet if a Duofold would be right for me.

 

 

Sorry for all the questions!

 

I have a Parker Duofold Demi which I bought from WES in 2010 for £107 (the RRP at the time was £315). The Demi was only made for a short time from 2006 and is based on the International but with a shorter barrel, it will only take short cartridges. Pilotfish had them for sale this year at around £125 (2006 models).

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites
richardandtracy Museum Piece

richardandtracy

Posted
Posted

So, in conclusion: Yes, it's a great price if the pen is a size you like. It is short and uses short cartridges as opposed to the Parker Cartridge Convertor, so using bottle ink is not easy.

 

If you were to buy a nib unit alone, the Demi uses the 'International' nib unit, and they are about £100 or so at the moment. So the full pen price is less than some of its parts. Definitely a good price.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

<a href="http://www.chestnutpens.co.uk">Chestnut Pens</a>

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cambookpro Rare

cambookpro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for both of your help :)

 

I think I'll leave it for now, I hadn't realised it only took the short Quink cartridges, and the price has gone up anyway.

 

I'm thinking of trying to purchase a relatively cheap user-grade P51, so that should satisfy my pen-wants for a bit longer!

Parker 75, Ingenuity, Premier, Sonnet, Urban | Pelikan M400 | TWSBI Diamond 580 | Visconti Rembrandt



Currently inked: Diamine Apple Glory (Rembrandt), Pelikan 4001 Turquoise (M400), Lamy Black (Diamond 580)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matlock Collectors Item

Matlock

Posted
Posted

Thanks for both of your help :)

 

I think I'll leave it for now, I hadn't realised it only took the short Quink cartridges, and the price has gone up anyway.

 

I'm thinking of trying to purchase a relatively cheap user-grade P51, so that should satisfy my pen-wants for a bit longer!

 

Great idea.

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
Guernseytim Extremely Rare

Guernseytim

Posted
Posted

I bought a Demi today on Amazon's Black Friday Lightning deals. Managed to get it for £65.

 

It was this one.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00383PS2G/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=officeproduct

 

They went like hotcakes!

 

I am a tad disappointed that they cannot seemingly take a converter, but for the price I'm happy. I had a look around and seemingly if I double my investment I can buy an international body (ebay for around £50) and have a much larger pen?

 

Not sure if I imagined that though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
richardandtracy Museum Piece

richardandtracy

Posted
Posted

That is possible. The section, cap and barrel diameter are the same.

 

I am sure, with a lathe, it should be possible to make a compatible c/c from the short convertor listed here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Woodturning-Pen-Kit-Spares-Ink-Converters-Piston-Squeeze-/301391884104 . The one shown has an international sized fitting, but a new fitting could do it.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

<a href="http://www.chestnutpens.co.uk">Chestnut Pens</a>

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matlock Collectors Item

Matlock

Posted
Posted

I am not sure that adapting the short converter would work as the Parker fitting is larger than the international size and would be very difficult to enlarge (the internal opening would need to be increased and the external built up). For the price of the converters it might be worth a try.

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites
richardandtracy Museum Piece

richardandtracy

Posted
Posted

I am not sure that adapting the short converter would work as the Parker fitting is larger than the international size and would be very difficult to enlarge (the internal opening would need to be increased and the external built up). For the price of the converters it might be worth a try.

Agreed, but I had addressed this here (added bold highlight):

 

I am sure, with a lathe, it should be possible to make a compatible c/c ... The one shown has an international sized fitting, but a new fitting could do it....

Regards,

 

Richard.

<a href="http://www.chestnutpens.co.uk">Chestnut Pens</a>

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dragos.mocanu Extremely Rare

dragos.mocanu

Posted
Posted

How about trying a vintage Parker Duofold Jr.? They're reasonably priced and fantastic to write with!

"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true..." (Carl Sagan)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matlock Collectors Item

Matlock

Posted
Posted

Agreed, but I had addressed this here (added bold highlight):

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

I think the point I was trying to make was that the converter illustrated was of the sack type. How much meat is there in the adapter fitting, enough to allow for that machining? If not could a new fitting be attached to the adapter given that it would have to be mated to the sack? But it is still worth looking into.

Peter

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
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      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
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      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
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      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
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      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
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      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...