Parker Frontier (56k alert)

[Wilfred86]

This is a review of the Parker Frontier. I hope you like it!

 

 

1. First impressions

 

I bought this pen because of its (a low price and (b nice design. It also writes very smooth.

 

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5985/dscf4734gi2.jpg

The pen comes in a plastic parker box with a manual

 

2. Appearance & Finish

 

The cap is made from stainless steel, the barrel from ABS plastic. There are also pens with a stainless steel barrel.

 

3. Design/Size/Weight

 

The Parker Frontier has a classic, cigar-like shape, with a modern touch. It has a very archetypal and recognizable fountain pen design. It is also a very clean design. The pen weighs 15 gram, somewhat heavier than the Pelikan M200, but lighter than the Sheaffer Prelude.

It is a medium sized pen, comparable to the pelikan M200, Parker Sonnet, Sheaffer Prelude, etc.

 

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5571/dscf4681ij3.jpg

Don't pay attention to the text, that's from other pens

 

4. Nib design & Performance

 

I have one of the older Parker Frontiers, with the "fleur de lis" nib, wich I like more than the newer ones.

The Medium nib on the Frontier (wich writes more like a Broad) is a very rigid steel one, but writes buttery smooth.

 

This pen just always writes, it never lets you down, it's just, how shall I put it, a silent obvious quality, wich you only notice when it is too late (when you have lost the pen for example). It is like some trustworthy old employee who only got sick three times in 30 years and never expects anything back, because he "just did his job".

 

But, like the old employee can get an illness, this pen also has a minor drawback: when you use this pen a lot, the cap will become loose. How do I know this? My brother had a Frontier, and I had one as well (I lost that one), and both our pens had problems with the cap.

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1254/dscf4808vc5.jpg

As you can see, the Frontier writes very broad (not an entirely fair comparison, as the Solo sports a Japanese nib)

 

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4070/dscf4715ca9.jpg

close-up from the nib. Do you see the "fleur de lis"?

 

5. Filling system

 

Cartridge/convertor. You can use cartridges as well as the deluxe twist action convertor (and the "normal" convertor too of course).

 

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3826/dscf4723zc0.jpg

Some old Quink cartridges

 

6. Cost/Value

 

When you buy the Parker Frontier, you get a lot of pen for a very reasonable price. Considering its looks and the way it writes, the Parker Frontier feels like a much more expensive pen.

 

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6337/dscf4725xw3.jpg

On an old Parker catalogue

 

7. Overall Opinion/Conclusion

 

pros

 

Classic Parker design, smooth writer, inexpensive, reliable

 

cons

 

When you use this pen a lot, the cap will become loose

 

 

Some additional pictures

 

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9293/dscf4718vb4.jpg

 

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4476/dscf4724sl7.jpg

 

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3909/dscf4639qz3.jpg

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the review. Thanks for reading!

Edited January 9, 2008 by Wilfred86

[richardandtracy]

Thanks for that review.

 

I've been thinking of getting a Frontier, but having heard of the cap problem, I'll give it a miss. I use pens a great deal & have problems with the Vector of the cap falling off after 6 months use, which I don't want to repeat with any future pens I buy.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[AlejoPlay]

I love my Frontier. I have a flighter and I haven't had cap issues with it. I love how insanely smooth the nib is. I use carts with it since Parker converters (as so most converters) don't hold much ink and this pen is a gusher.

 

My three Vectors on the other hand (two plastic ones and a flighter) have major cap issues. The caps always all off. I do love those pens as well.

[rplatt]

Any thoughts on where I could get one of these pens?

 

Thanks-

RP

[AlejoPlay]

I got mine from eBay. there are a whole bunch if you do a search for Parker Frontier.

[hatherton_wood]

A very nice nib, better behaved than the Sonnet but oh dear that cap - the first one I bought is now unusable as it just falls off - Parker really need to do something about this.

[brh]

Cap issue killed my Frontier too. A shame!

[juhtolv]

Yeah, this is one of those cheap but good fountain pens. I can recommend it to beginning and advanced fountain pen users. I haven’t seen loose cap phenomenon, yet, but my Parker Frontier is so new.

 

My Parker Frontier is of finishing Twilight CT. I like to match color of pen and ink and this pen matches well with blue-black inks. Just like blue-black inks, its barrel shows different colors depending how you look at it; Mostly it is blue, but sometimes I see green and even violet colors. I have inked it with Parker Quink Blue-black. I bought this pen with medium nib and then I immediately sent that pen to Parker Nib Exchange in order to get fine nib. That nib is very smooth.

Edited January 9, 2008 by juhtolv

[Jimmy James]

As the owner of 4 Frontiers with one on the way and one Frontier Writing set I'll probably offer in the marketplace (due to duplicate color only), I have to say I agree with the review. I haven't had any cap issues, and I really hope they're not coming for me. I find the pen to be the perfect size (though the Waterman Phileas is not too big for me either), and every one I have is quite reliable. I don't have any of the newer pens with the different nib described, but I'll have to obtain one soon to see the difference.

[brh]

I thought the different nibs depended on whether you had the plastic or stainless body... Is this no longer true?

[Combat Marmot]

I have a frontier and also had a slight cap problem. In fact I have two frontiers - one with a plastic barrel and one with a stainless steel barrel. I find that the one of them - the stainless steel version (if I remember correctly) suffers more from "shuggly" cap than the all plastic one. It could be that I've just used one more than the other but I'm not sure.

 

I certainly like the design of the frontier (I don't like "bling" pens) but I find the nib is a little too wide for my tastes (I do more maths than plain writing). I'm not sure if it is just me, but I find it particularly difficult to get any of the Parker pens in anything but medium on the street (ok.... so here in the UK that limits me to WH Smith).

[Wilfred86]

Hey Combat Marmot,

 

I don't like bling pens either, that's why I like the mid-range pens from Parker so much, they are classy, but subtle.

Parkers indeed run a bit wide, maybe you should try a Sheaffer (perhaps a Prelude), their pens come with finer nibs.

 

Wilfred

[Combat Marmot]

Hi Wilfred,

 

Thanks for the advice - I'll look out for Sheaffer pens in future!

[wvbeetlebug]

Thank you for the review. I still want one of these.

[Maja]

Thank you so much for the review and excellent photos, Wilfred! (and once again---nice handwriting!!)

 

I have a Rouge et Noir (red and black ) Frontier fountain pen and matching ballpoint and both are very good writers. I appreciate you mentioning the cap problems I may encounter with the FP down the line; I really appreciate it when people mention a pen's bad points, as well as its good points

[alvarez57]

Very nice looking pen! For eons I wrote with my Parker Vectors, which I loved. I can see the "fleur-de lys"because I SEE IT EVERYDAY HERE IN NEW ORLEANS!!!

How long is this pen?

[Ozzy]

Elo,

 

I just bought a Parker Frontier FP, i think a week ago (or more). The stainless steel one. I wasn't very fond of the other finishes, neither do i like gold! it's the first parker i buy after using hand-me-down parker 51's.

 

The pen is really nice. i do find the nib a bit wide for my writing. i got used to the smaller 51 nib. i don't have cap problems yet. i guess i should've scoured this forum before i bought it! oi!

 

so far it's very smooth. it doesn't skip after being left for a few moments. i'm still using the blue quink cartridge that came with it. i bought the slide-pump type convertor. i didn't know the Frontier could use the other deluxe convertor, is this true? maybe i'll buy that one also.

I don't have that Fleur-De-Lys. the parker's we have here, are made in UK, i guess they don't they're different from the US made ones.

 

End of line.

 

[NateEssex]

Is it possible that the stainless steel version doesn't suffer from the cap issue?

 

Has anyone with the stainless steel version had a cap issue?

[hatherton_wood]

My Stainless Steel one is the worst - will not hold on whatsoever. The caps I think are all the same internally. Actually it is the section that wears most rather than the cap.

[Wilfred86]

Hello there,

 

Thank you all for your replies.

 

Update:

 

I just got these from eBay, how do you like them?

 

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9426/dscf5005gs8.jpg