This is the "Reader's Digest" version. ....

As the result of finding some letters (written w/ a FP) in my dad's house after he passed away, I have been able to track down and visit family in Lithuania. Talk about a fairytale come true....

Well, now it's time to correspond. So I figured I would get out my old Parker 21 and order some Noodlers Black so I could write letters that would have permanence as the 50 year old letters I found.

Well, the 21 seeems to have a breathing problem that isn't flushing out. So, that prompted me to look for something else that I could use while I figure out how to reverse the Emphazima the 21 has...

So I now own a Parker Falcon 50 and a Parker 100 in addition to the 21. For those interested, here is a photo of my fledglling collection, plus a scan of how they each write. When workng, the 21 has the heaviest line.

-Bruce
(working on penmanship...damned computers!)

My collection:



and how they each write:

Bruce,

Thanks for sharing your story and pens.
How do you like that 100? That color scheme is nice. Do you post the cap?

Regards,
Jeen

P.S.
You shouldn't store your Parkers like that. They breed.

Sure, sure...pass on the blame!

Welcome to FPN, Bruce!

Pen collecting is like that, oftentimes---you find a pen, then want to try a different pen, then a different ink, then.....It never ends really, unless you have some willpower

Hi bruce,

as Maja says: it is always great to blame soemone else for your addictions!

Thanks for sharing your story and photographs!

Warm regards, Wim

Or an empty mad-money stash! -Bruce

The 100 is the heavyweight among the pens, so the cap stays off. Only the Falcon 50 is light enough for me to be comfortable with the cap posted. Even then, I need to be careful where the clip ends up. So I guess overall, I prefer the caps off.

That was the first ink out of the pen. I need a little more time with it to have a really good idea. My initial impression is that the Falcon and 100 had more - to put it in driving terms - surface feedback than the 21.

I find that the Falcon must have been designed for really poor paper, because on el-cheapo paper it writes a nice line. The vellum surface is fairly hard, which I needed when I only had the 21.

I must admit that the converter only being press fit in the 100 scares the begeebers out of me....one mistake while filling and.....

-Bruce

DOH! They've been together 24 hours, I'm in serious trouble now! -Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Nice story. It's wonderful that you've connected with family in another part of the world.

Your Parker 21 writing sample looks great. Rich and contrasty. Is that a medium nib?

I'm going to assume that the 21 is a medium. Not sure where I might look to figure it out. The 21 belonged to my grandparents, so it was inherited.

I've had a little more writing time with the new pens. To my own amazement, I've taken to the Falcon 50 much more quickly that the 100. The 50 is a delicate pen and I have fairly large powerful hands (many years of accordion playing) yet that is the one I can just pick up and write with. The 100 I finally discovered how to hold so it is comfortable over a long period of time. We'll see how that goes. I should also point out that contrary to my many years of writing with instruments that I could press very firmly with, I am trying to develop a very, very light pressure technique with the FPs.

As for smoothness, it is the 21 followed by the 50, and finally the 100. Or if you prefer it in another form, the 100 gives the greatest amount of "surface feedback", followed by the 50 and the 21 gives the least.



-Bruce