Pilot Parallel Pen 1.5 Mm

[olivier78860]

http://i.imgur.com/iWl40.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2TYch.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3bYRN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zuuTW.jpg

 

This one will require some training ! Thanks for reading.

[brunico]

Thanks for your review - I'd never realised that the dents have a purpose. I really like the pens, and I can't find a single fault with their performance.

 

I have no problem with plastic, but I hate silver-coloured plastic, which just looks cheap. Camera makers think it a good thing, because they think people will mistake it for the beautiful chrome finishes of days gone by (or a new Leica...).

 

As to price, I've recently discovered they're much much cheaper on ebay: in fact, you can get a set of 3 or even all 4 for about 20-30 euros, including shipping. Makes the yucky silver plastic much more palatable!

[olivier78860]

It's not really the colour that is at stake. But the grey plastic is too thin. The first time I mounted the converter, for some reason I didn't attach it well and it got stuck inside the body. When I finally could remove it, a little pressure on the body (using (softly) a precision screwdriver as a lever to make it glide inside) resulted in a crack on the threads. The pen was broken before I could even ink it !

 

Also, there is a hole at the end of the barrel, so it's not possible to use the pen as an eye-dropper, which is a shame considering the amount of ink used to write a page. Pilot certainly wants to sell lots of cartridges.

 

This kind of nib on a twsbi pen (by that I mean, affordable, well-built, and high ink capacity piston filler pen) would be awesome.

 

Last but not least, since the pen is usable in every position, it would be nice to consider one side on the nib not to be square, but curved, to simulate something approaching italic.

[cikavac]

I thought the converter was only for cleaning? I think I read that somewhere. (I'm a prospective buyer....)

[olivier78860]

Yes it's what the paper says. But I just filled it with Waterman Blue, I'm not going to buy their cartridges.

So far I just noticed a tiny bit of leaking inside the section, otherwise it works great. I might add a little bit of plumbering silicon grease on the external part of the converter to prevent grizzly events.

 

Among the other weird things in the manual, this sentence makes me wonderous : "IMPORTANT : Use the Parallel Pen only to write and draw." So no cat microwaving with it, I suppose ? Gosh

Edited August 20, 2011 by olivier78860

[RobW]

I have both 1.5 and 6mm models and have no problems with either quality or performance. They are great fun. Yes, the "convertor" is meant to be used to clean out the pen (I assume when you change colour of the cartridges). They can be used to write with but don't fit all that well. You can use the Pilot Con 20 convertor.

[professionaldilettante]

It's not really the colour that is at stake. But the grey plastic is too thin. The first time I mounted the converter, for some reason I didn't attach it well and it got stuck inside the body. When I finally could remove it, a little pressure on the body (using (softly) a precision screwdriver as a lever to make it glide inside) resulted in a crack on the threads. The pen was broken before I could even ink it !

 

Also, there is a hole at the end of the barrel, so it's not possible to use the pen as an eye-dropper, which is a shame considering the amount of ink used to write a page. Pilot certainly wants to sell lots of cartridges.

 

This kind of nib on a twsbi pen (by that I mean, affordable, well-built, and high ink capacity piston filler pen) would be awesome.

 

Last but not least, since the pen is usable in every position, it would be nice to consider one side on the nib not to be square, but curved, to simulate something approaching italic.

Do you know why it got stuck in the body? It's because it's NOT a converter. Sure it looks like one, and any normal person might confuse it for one, but its purpose is to really just be used to flush the pen out. In my opinion, it's dumb for Pilot making this pen as a cart only pen, but the problem is also user malfunction in this case. Every other place I've read about this pen, the "converter" is supposed to be used to flush the pen.

[olivier78860]

I am indeed pretty aware it's made for flushing. But since it clips well inside the section, it can contain ink as well. The only problem was that I didn't "force" enough to make it stuck inside the section, so it just moved when I returned the pen, and got stuck. The same thing would have happened with a cartridge, since the shape of those cartridges since I didn't figure I had to press like an elephant to have it correctly inserted.

 

For me it's not well-thought enough. With a regular barell, it wouldn't have happened. With a more solid barrel, it wouldn't have cracked.

 

So, even if I can accept I did something outside the boundaries, that doesn't give any excuse for the extreme cheapness of the barrel. I've already stuck some cartridges in some pens (some that couldn't take two short international cartridges, for instance), but the barrel didn't break when removing the stuck piece.

Edited August 20, 2011 by olivier78860

[brunico]

In my first Parallel pen, the supplied 'converter' fitted perfectly. In my second and third - bought some years later, if that has anything to do with it - the 'converters' sat loose, allowing ink to leak, but a CON-20 or CON-50 fits these perfectly again. So a possible solution for anyone having 'converter' difficulties.

[Horseknitter]

For the summer I've been using the Parallel 3.8 with various highlighter inks to mark my reading. The various angles and degree of line width add varying emphases. For example, the widest will really get your attention in Pelikan Chartreuse, but the narrow line is good for phrases etc.

 

I've enjoyed it. Yes, I do use the converter to hold ink. No I don't ever imagine I'm going to write with one, I have much better pens for that. YMMV

[inquisicorp]

. . . Also, there is a hole at the end of the barrel, so it's not possible to use the pen as an eye-dropper, which is a shame considering the amount of ink used to write a page. Pilot certainly wants to sell lots of cartridges.

What's to stop you from blocking that hole in the end with a dab of epoxy? I did this with a handful of Pilot Plumix pens and now, with the addition of o-rings and some grease, they work fine as eyedroppers.

 

Jan

[olivier78860]

Oh, that sounds great. Unfortunately, now the barrel is broken at the threads' level, so I guess it's too late to try this out.

 

Would you mind being more precise regarding the material you used ? Expecially O-rings, and how you used them ?

[inquisicorp]

Oh, that sounds great. Unfortunately, now the barrel is broken at the threads' level, so I guess it's too late to try this out.

 

Would you mind being more precise regarding the material you used ? Expecially O-rings, and how you used them ?

The process I used for the Pilot Plumix was the same as the one Brian describes here for the Preppy: Converting a Platinum Preppy to an Eyedropper Pen

 

The o-rings that he sells fit the Plumix just fine. I also got the silicone grease from Brian too.

 

I have also successfully (so far -- fingers crossed!) made a Kaweco Sport and a Stipula Passaporto into eyedroppers using only the silicone grease. Grease alone seems to work on those pens that have particularly fine and well-milled threads. Otherwise you need the o-ring as a back-up.

 

Hope this helps!

 

I love the Parallel pen and have a big handful of them, all sizes. I really enjoy the lines then make for word art or just for sketching.

 

Jan

[olivier78860]

Thanks for the reply ! I actually converted a Waterman Kultur a few days ago, but using only plumbering silicon grease, without the 0-ring. So far so good.

 

Also, I just watched that video, and Brian shouldn't apply the grease directly with his fingers. Silicon is quite the toxic stuff. Better apply it with some cotton ear pick and then clean what goes out when screwing the pen with a cloth or a tissue.

 

I'll try to find a way to close the hole at the top of the barrel of my next Parallel pen. It's very nice to try calligraphy actually, but eats up lots of ink.

I'm now looking for a pen like this, but with a narrower nib (0.7 would be enough to have fun, in my opinion).

Edited August 22, 2011 by olivier78860

[inquisicorp]

I'm now looking for a pen like this, but with a narrower nib (0.7 would be enough to have fun, in my opinion).

Good selection here. More than enough to have fun!

 

Jan

[andybiotic]

Thanks for the review and if you don't mind me saying, I was a little confused by your "r" as it look very similar to the "n", the italic r is normally written as it is. The r you write is actually a cursive r. Just a little suggestion... :embarrassed_smile:

 

Thanks again for the review, I may go and get a 3.8 or 6mm one! Looks fun!

[olivier78860]

Thanks for the review and if you don't mind me saying, I was a little confused by your "r" as it look very similar to the "n", the italic r is normally written as it is. The r you write is actually a cursive r. Just a little suggestion... :embarrassed_smile:

 

Thanks again for the review, I may go and get a 3.8 or 6mm one! Looks fun!

 

I get you regarding the writing. When writing this review, I had not made my first step into the calligraphy world yet. Since then, I have blackened pages and pages of alphabets and it's becoming readable.

 

This nib is really cool. It's enjoyable to the maximum, and for a left-handed writer as I am, it's an enabler. It's just a pity the plastics are so poor quality made.

I'd definitely love :

- a 0.7-0.9 nib on such a pen

- a metal or wood or whatever body, actually anything a bit more solid.

 

Last but not least, I confirm the "converter" can be used as a converter. No leaking after all these days.

Edited September 2, 2011 by olivier78860

[ParkerBeta]

I had exactly the same experience with the supplied converter getting stuck inside the section. Actually, the converter got pulled apart when I tried to take it out, and the rubber sac came off, together with the press bar, but the metal ring stayed stuck inside! Fortunately, the pen can be fully disassembled, giving me access to gently pry apart the ring. Anyway, I fitted a CON-20 converter in there and all is well.

 

I found with my 1.5mm pen, that writing with a corner of the nib (so as to get fine lines) was surprisingly smooth, far smoother than I expected. I think I could actually use the pen this way for regular work.

 

I agree with you about the cheap looks of the chromed plastic, but since I got it for less than $8 from an online store, I'm not complaining.