Hate The Nib On My Parker Im

[hharry]

So I have a good looking Gun Metal Parker IM but it is a slow starter, and it skips and it is scratchy. Can one replace the nib on this nice looking pen? Or should I toss it in the bin??

[jotterius]

Contact you retailer. I believe he will be able to replace our nib

[Florida Blue]

All new Parker FPs come with a 2 year warranty so they might replace it for free under warranty if you send it to the factory. Try contacting Parker and see what they will do. Parker has excellent customer service.

[studiohead]

My first post.

 

Well, I own 4 Parker IMs (2 Fines and 2 Mediums) and I can tell you for a fact that this range has this problem even after I got them adjusted by KS Gills in KL for better flow. But some are slightly better then others within the range so getting a replacement nib might not help as there are only a total of 4 nibs sections for the whole range. (Fine & Medium with Gold Plate or Chrome Plate) A good cleaning will help as I got slightly better results from an ultrasonic clean after purchasing the cleaner. (Personally, I use Pilot Iroshizuku Kon Peki as my everyday ink and the color was too dark from every other pen I own) I still like the weight and feel of this range so 2 are on its way to Richard Binder right now and hopefully, the nibs can be set to a better writing pen. But bare in mind that the nibs used in the Parker IMs are the same as the vectors.

[hharry]

I have heard that the low end Parkers and even the Sonnet series suffers from poor nibs. Would it be possible to use a nib from a Vector pen on my IM? I am afraid that I don't have the receipt anymore. I Maybe someone else would like to tinker with this pen in exchange for a bottle of ink. The color of the pen and the overall design is a great

[Bo Bo Olson]

First get a rubber ear syringe that you need as a life time buy. Run some water under squeeze pressure through the section and nib. Could be you need a couple of drops of liquid dish soap in the water.

That gets rid of any manufacturing oils.

 

2. you need a good 10-15X loupe with good glass and good coating. Again a once in a life time buy.

With that you can see if your tines are aligned. That is often a problem with scratchy.

If you know a jeweler perhaps you can borrow his to check to see if your tines are aligned.

 

If aligned, try the brown paper bag trick. It is the least abrasive way of 'smoothing' up a nib. Quick too.

[hharry]

I am on my way to the Liquor store for a brown paper bag. ;-)

[richardandtracy]

I know how you feel about your IM. I wasn't greatly impressed with mine.

 

To be honest, with my I didn't bother to tweak it as I have a few other good pens & put it down to experience.

Had I been in the position of having no other pens, then I'd try to play with it, using this article as a reference source: http://www.nibs.com/Article6.html

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Florida Blue]

My first post.

 

Well, I own 4 Parker IMs (2 Fines and 2 Mediums) and I can tell you for a fact that this range has this problem even after I got them adjusted by KS Gills in KL for better flow. But some are slightly better then others within the range so getting a replacement nib might not help as there are only a total of 4 nibs sections for the whole range. (Fine & Medium with Gold Plate or Chrome Plate) A good cleaning will help as I got slightly better results from an ultrasonic clean after purchasing the cleaner. (Personally, I use Pilot Iroshizuku Kon Peki as my everyday ink and the color was too dark from every other pen I own) I still like the weight and feel of this range so 2 are on its way to Richard Binder right now and hopefully, the nibs can be set to a better writing pen. But bare in mind that the nibs used in the Parker IMs are the same as the vectors.

 

 

I agree that the nibs on the IMs seems to be hit or miss. I have the same IM as the OP that I bought last year and it was also a hard starter and it leaked from the section a bit. After the few few months it has become a reliable nib. I think the culprit maybe be factory residue. My nib is a medium and was smooth. Perhaps the fines are a little more scratchy.

 

Cleaning it may help.

[ylw]

All new Parker FPs come with a 2 year warranty so they might replace it for free under warranty if you send it to the factory. Try contacting Parker and see what they will do. Parker has excellent customer service.

Since EU regulations and Dutch law already protect the buyer for things like these up to a point, I'd suggest going back to the retailer. If it doesn't work out you can always contact Parker directly (or go the legal route but that is expensive and takes time). If the retailer is a real fp shop they'll probably even adjust or replace the nib themselves. If not they'll probably exchange it for a new one or sent it off to be repaired.

[penrivers]

I am on my way to the Liquor store for a brown paper bag. ;-)

Just only the brown paper bag, eh?. Lol.

Edited November 11, 2011 by penrivers

[aarjoh]

I find vector nibs to be the most infuriating I have come across. If only the good ones weren't such pleasant writers I wouldn't care that the bad ones were so irredeemably dreadful. If you want a nice writing vector, it is best to buy in bulk.

 

The chiseled gunmetal IM I owned also had a bad habit of drying out, which I traced to the (anti-choking?) air vent under the clip.

Edited November 14, 2011 by aarjoh

[lovemy51]

just happy to say: i'm very satisfied with all -i mean all- my Parker pens... but i don't own an IM

 

i do have an Urban and tho' i don't like the look of it that much, it writes very smoothly and feels good in the hand. my vector is a heck of a wet and smooth writer as well. lets not forget my Frontier -one of the smoothest steel nibs i own. and oh yes, my jotter FP... just sweet!!!

 

all the other Parkers i have are vintage (i'm including the 45's and 75) and you all know what that means: awesomeness!!! -unless u are a Parker hater... yeah u!

[georges zaslavsky]

send it to mike masumaya and it will work well again

[studiohead]

While we are on the topic of tweaking the IMs, I have sent 2 of my to Richard Binder. I have 2 more which I can send to another nibmeister. Any suggestions as these are steel nibs. Ideally I was thinking of visiting a pen doctor in Japan but my travel there is not for a few months any good suggestions.

 

SK

[RyanM]

I have a few Parker IM's, in all different writing styles, and I have to say that I bought a Fountain Pen in the Gunmetal, and it skipped like mad, it would take forever to start writing, and scratched so much it actually tore through some of the thinner papers I use. I sent it back to the company I bought it of, and they admitted that there was a problem, and gave me a new one, this time in the Limited Edition Blue-Black. This one works beautifully, and is very smooth on the page. My only issue with it is that I was told it's a medium nib, but it writes like a fine. Does anyone know how to check this sort of thing?

[btreloar]

I have three Parker Ims. i love the look and feel and the way it writes. If only I didn't have to go through hell to get the ink flowing after the pen sits for a couple of hours. I've washed it several times to try and emove any manufacturing residue to no avail. A nibmeister worked on one of them without success.

 

Is there a better way to clean the nib than warm water? I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner ...

 

Sounds like there's nothing else to try besides sending them all in for repair/replacement ... is that the consensus?

[ac12]

Here are what I look for:

• CLEAN the pen.
  If plain water does not do the job, I switch to a 10% ammonia solution.
  I use a bulb syringe to force the cleaning fluid through the pen.
  On used pens, I will also use an USC, to clean dried ink.
• Check alignment of the nib with a loupe. Most of my scratchy pens are due to alignment issues, fix the alignment and the scratchiness goes away, most of the time.
• Check nib profile. Do this at the same time you check the alignment with a loupe. You are looking for a baby bottom profile.
• Check nib slit. If the slit is too wide in the front, that is stopping the ink from starting easily. Again do this while you have the loupe out.
• Check nib slit. If it is too tight, you won't get good ink flow. I use both a loupe and a small piece of brass sheet 0.001 and 0.002 inch thick. But a tight slit is and all the time slow flow problem, not a hard start problem.

As you can see, you NEED a loupe to do many of these checks.

 

While I hate to say you NEED to get an USC. If you have many pens, or you buy pens regularly from eBay, you definitely should get an USC, as it will make cleaning dried ink out of the pen soooooo much easier and faster. You don't need to get a $500 USC, there are decent ones for about $40.

Edited January 16, 2015 by ac12

[studiohead]

I have three Parker Ims. i love the look and feel and the way it writes. If only I didn't have to go through hell to get the ink flowing after the pen sits for a couple of hours. I've washed it several times to try and emove any manufacturing residue to no avail. A nibmeister worked on one of them without success.

 

Is there a better way to clean the nib than warm water? I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner ...

 

Sounds like there's nothing else to try besides sending them all in for repair/replacement ... is that the consensus?

 

Many moons since I sent my IMs to Richard and now having studied under him in his home also many moons agao. But firstly, I will say, warm water alone with not cut it. You need either dish washing liquid or ammonia. And with the IM, I find that 50% dish washing liquid with a ultrasonic cleaner a few times will improve the situation. Something about Parker and made in China feeds.

 

You will most likely need an ultrasonic cleaner to well, reserve the situation.A complete soak and flush will help.

[SockAddict]

I do think it's a shame the IM seems to be such a troublesome pen. I rather like the Emerald Pearl model.