Hard to find any info on the Ellipse here on the forum. I received one as a gift a few years ago. Black lacquer with 18 k gold trim and an 18 k two-tone nib. There are no markings on the nib denoting size but it writes like a medium. The large, asymmetric cap band is stamped with France, the new Parker P logo, the name Parker, a hallmark and a date code: Q. that is the letter Q followed by a dot (third quarter 2000?).

I think it's an elegant as well as hefty pen but I've always thought it a bad starter lacking a good flow. Therefore I've not favoured it at all, letting it lie hidden in the back of my pen drawer.

A few weeks ago I dug it out and sent to The Battersea Pen Home in England hoping that they could do something with it. It came back the other day. I inked it up with Visconti Brown (or Sepia). Would it write? Would it flow? Like a dream! Smooth as butter.

Thanks to Simon att BPH it now resides in my pen pouch alongside my Duofold Amber Check (F) and my Sonnet Cisele (MI).

Any one out there have any experience with the Ellipse?

BTW, the barrel is a little scuffed. Can anyone recommend a suitable procedure for polishing it?

Cheers

Anthony

I can't help you with your questions, but I do have a Parker Ellipse MP. It's one of my favorite MPs, very solid, very attractive and the lead retracts entirely inside the body of the pencil.

I also can't help too much with questions, but the Ellipse is certainly on my rather lengthy list of pens to try. It's probably about 4th after a 51 vac, a Pelikan, and a 100. I may buy it first because it's a challenging pen to purchase from what I have seen.

I can say that I read somewhere on the Internet that at the time the pen was made, a good number of people seemed down on it because of its similarity to the Waterman Carene. If they write similarly, that would be high praise. I personally think the Ellipse is the more striking pen. I'm not sure why it wasn't more popular. I'd rather have it than a Sonnet.

I have a copper Ellipse. It, too, is a slow starter with poor flow so I don't use it as much as I anticipated I would. It was purchased in honor of my becoming a full professor, and it was new on the market at the time. Since it is not one of my high use pens, I don't worry about polishing it. I don't have it here at home, so I can't help with the questions about the markings.

I hadn't considered trying to have the flow adjusted; thanks for the suggestion!

After feeling a bit guilty for not using this pen more frequently (after all, I did buy it to celebrate becoming a full professor!), I decided to give it another shot. This time I filled it with Diamine sepia, and have been carrying it about for the past three days. It is currently showing itself as a reliable starter, not skipping on medium to good quality paper (still having a bit of problem on cheap notebook paper, but hey - it's cheap paper!). Flow looks good, no feathering, and the color is a compliment to the coppery shade of my pen. I even allowed someone to use it this afternoon to sign a form who I was sure knew nothing about FPs; it was fine for him.

Sharon in Indiana

I used one ofr a bit before I put it in the collection and I found it excellent. Did the same with the 100 also and I can't figure out why they have both been ostracised. Probably far more practical but not as elegant as the Duo. I like the weight of them too.

I tried the three different finishes and all three pens did not work well for me. The nib/feed unit almost required a certain angle for the pen to be held to write without hitting the lower side of the feed.

Only the FP and BP was released in NZ.

The BP though.. GOLLY.. that thing wrote WONDERFULLY.... for a bog standard parker BP refill, talk about making it seem to flow. That Ellipse BP is the best BP out of the many that I have tried. The balance and weight/length was perfect for me. Favourite colour would be the blue. Wonderful.

After almost 2 months of daily use I'm convinced. My Ellipse is a great writer. An instant starter. I flush it with cold water(as I do with all my work horse pens) on Sunday evening - my small ritual to the FP Gods that watch over us.

Really love this pen

Cheers

Anthony

I have one, and have been fairly happy with it. It has a surprisingly expressive nib, and is also very comfortable, especially considering it is on the heavy side. It is a bit heavy and large to carry in a shirt pocket, but it is one I rotate through my backpack.