Parsons Essential Or Expert?

[Katana Paul]

Which to choose? Are they comparable in terms of build quality? Pro's and con's of each?

 

I've got a couple of different Waterman pens, a Laureat and a Hemisphere. I like the Laureat the most. I'm planning to add another pen to my collection and I'm looking at the Italix Parsons Essential in amber or maybe the Waterman Expert.

 

There's plenty nib choice for the Parsons Essential and it has great reviews. There's also the odd grumble recently about the converter leaking. The Expert appears to use a similar nib to the Laureat range with it being 23k plated steel and I do like the way my Laureat writes.

 

Which one to choose? Thanks for any pointers.

[Martinsroom]

I have the Parson's Essential and have no complaints whatsoever. Solidly made and a very smooth fine cursive italic nib. Never owned an Expert though so can't provide a direct comparison.

[Katana Paul]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm leaning towards the PE and wondered, given the price difference, whether spending the extra gets a better pen?

 

Paul

[TSherbs]

BIG fan of my PE. I've never heard of the Expert before, so....

[Stu L]

Leaky grumbles or no, I'd still buy my PE on a heartbeat. Its that good...

[Katana Paul]

Leaky grumbles or no, I'd still buy my PE on a heartbeat. Its that good...

People certainly seem to love 'em!

[migo984]

I have 4 PEs. Wonderful nibs. Not a fan of modern Waterman pens - disposed of the two I had.

[Stu L]

There's just a beautiful perfectness to the nibs that I can't put into words. And the finish on the barrels is gorgeous

[pjford]

Thank you for such kind comments. One addition to the debate would be that the Parson's is sold direct whereas the Waterman is sold via retailers. Retailers get at least a 45% margin of profit.

[Katana Paul]

Thank you for such kind comments. One addition to the debate would be that the Parson's is sold direct whereas the Waterman is sold via retailers. Retailers get at least a 45% margin of profit.

MrPen himself, no less! Thank you for dropping by. That amber Parson's sure is a beauty. Is there any spring or semi-flex in those nibs with a little pressure?

[TSherbs]

MrPen himself, no less! Thank you for dropping by. That amber Parson's sure is a beauty. Is there any spring or semi-flex in those nibs with a little pressure?

No flex whatsoever in my medium stub. Very rigid nib, but perfect for my writing.

[billf]

Which to choose? Are they comparable in terms of build quality? Pro's and con's of each?

 

I've got a couple of different Waterman pens, a Laureat and a Hemisphere. I like the Laureat the most. I'm planning to add another pen to my collection and I'm looking at the Italix Parsons Essential in amber or maybe the Waterman Expert.

 

There's plenty nib choice for the Parsons Essential and it has great reviews. There's also the odd grumble recently about the converter leaking. The Expert appears to use a similar nib to the Laureat range with it being 23k plated steel and I do like the way my Laureat writes.

 

Which one to choose? Thanks for any pointers.

The converter that comes with the PE is a Schmidt converter and is well made. I found that it fits very snugly. I have a suspicion that the leakage reports may be due to inserting the converter and thinking it is properly seated when it is not. I noted that it took a fair amount of pressure to seat it.

 

My impression of my PE is that it is a high quality pen for a modest price. I ordered it with a medium italic nib as an experiment. I had no experience with italic nibs and was curious, though I feared that it would be a difficult nib with which to write. I just recently got the pen and don't have much experience, but so far have found the nib to be wonderfully smooth and writing to be a very pleasant experience.

[Tancred]

Which to choose? Are they comparable in terms of build quality? Pro's and con's of each?

 

I've got a couple of different Waterman pens, a Laureat and a Hemisphere. I like the Laureat the most. I'm planning to add another pen to my collection and I'm looking at the Italix Parsons Essential in amber or maybe the Waterman Expert.

 

There's plenty nib choice for the Parsons Essential and it has great reviews. There's also the odd grumble recently about the converter leaking. The Expert appears to use a similar nib to the Laureat range with it being 23k plated steel and I do like the way my Laureat writes.

 

Which one to choose? Thanks for any pointers.

 

Why choose? Why not get both?

[Katana Paul]

Well, both Mrs and bank balance will grumble for starters...

 

I'm pretty set on the Parson's Essential but thought I'd ask the question before buying, which is an unusual step for me!

[TSherbs]

Well, both Mrs and bank balance will grumble for starters...

 

I'm pretty set on the Parson's Essential but thought I'd ask the question before buying, which is an unusual step for me!

[jordanjay29]

If you're still considering, I have both pens (albeit the Expert II). The Expert nib is a nail and sometimes a bit dry, but the pen looks pretty good. The Parson's, however, which I have in a M Cursive Italic nib, is an amazingly smooth writer. I've been using it to write letters this month for InCoWriMo, and I enjoy it. The weight is well balanced when posted, and even posted the pen isn't too heavy for most writing. The Expert is quite light, although it does have a much more functional clip (the Parson's is FAR too tight) and the cap securely post-clicks to the back rather than just being push fit.

 

Hope this helps!

[erpe]

I own both and use them often. My opinion is quite simple. The Expert is a business/office workhorse that is very reliable, easy to use, comes with good nib that is just a touch softer than concrete and the pen completely lacks any form of style and character. A good pen that does the job but not much more than that.

The Parson on the other hand is just as reliable, has fantastic nibs and a much wider range of nib options if you want something other than an of the shelf pen. With the right nib (I use the medium italic which feels quite soft, more like a stub), it will display your character and give you a stylish and recognizable handwriting If I loose them, I would replace the Parsons first, and then think a while about the Expert, maybe get a second Parsons

Edited February 5, 2015 by erpe

[Katana Paul]

Great comments - thanks! Right! A Parson's Essential in beautiful amber it is!

 

But which nib...

 

I'm using an OBB on the Montblanc which might be a little too broad as I occasionally see a filled "e" (I'm a lefty underwriter who rotates the page 30-40deg clockwise, but the standard left oblique does nice things to my scrawl). So, thinking maybe a cursive stub will give a nice line variation, or maybe the standard broad oblique (for the right hand, due to the way I do these things) would be better? How do Italix nibs compare for line width with something like the Lamy nibs? I have plenty of those and so width comparisons are easy for me to do. I've read that Italix nibs tend to be a little narrower than some i.e. medium leans towards a fine, and so on.

 

It needs to be every-day usable so nothing too specialised - I'm planning to take the load off the MB before I leave it in a meeting room the other side of the County

[Tancred]

I have 4 PEs. Wonderful nibs. Not a fan of modern Waterman pens - disposed of the two I had.

 

I disagree somewhat. The lower end Watermans are nothing special, but the Exception and Edson are outstanding pens and rank up there with the best. It depends on what you want.

[billf]

As I noted in my previous post, I had no previous experience with italic nibs and have not a long experience with the Parson's. That said, I would say that the medium italic on the Parson's produces a finer line than I expected. The italic line variation is definitely there, but I was expecting a bit broader line. I have another on order with the broad cursive and am curious to see how that will compare. I was a bit hesitant about getting the italic nib as I feared that I would end up tearing great rents in the paper. I've found that it writes smoothly.