Is The Parker 100 A Rarity?

[xyverz]

One of my first fountain pen purchases was a Parker 100. It was actually my 3rd pen purchase. The first two aren't important in this message.

 

I know it was only made for a handful of years. I see them on eBay for usually around $375 and up, but the last Pen Fair I went to, I didn't see a single Parker 100. I also don't read about them much on /r/fountainpens and haven't seen much about them here on FPN.

 

Was I just one of the lucky ones to buy mine when I did, or is this pen more rare than I'd like to believe?

 

EDIT: Yes, my avatar is my 100. It's still my favorite pen that I own.

Edited January 29, 2016 by xyverz

[Barry Gabay]

My experience with the Parker 100 has been hit or miss with significant differences in performance. I have had several which wrote perfectly right out of the box. Others I have encountered were scratchy or hesitant with ink delivery regardless of what I did to try to remedy the problem. I still like the design and have 3, but don't use them too often. Mine all have medium nibs. At one time I believe Richard Binder figured out a way of safely disassembling the front end for nib adjustments.

[Jerome Tarshis]

No, the 100 is not rare. While it is true that Parker sold many more 51s than 100s, the 100 was in production for a number of years.

 

The world of pen shows and message boards is a tiny, special world. The 100 did not capture the imaginations of the people who live in that world as much as some other pens did. The pens exist, though.

[richardandtracy]

They are not common, but not rare.

I have one, but haven't used it for several years, and probably never will use it regularly. The P51 is a much better pen. And so is the P17.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[alexander_k]

I guess there are many 100s hidden in drawers because of their pedestrian performance. As a keen user of 51, I was interested in the 100 and got one that cost me a bit of trouble before flow became good but even then it was far from inspiring. I blame it on the tiny nib and feed.

[Wolverine1]

I too have heard about the pedestrian to less than pedestrian performance of the Parker 100 fp. Therefore I didnot buy one when I visited Pam Braun's Pen shop. But later, I bought one used from Pentrace at a good price, and initially, I was about ready to throw it into the waste paper basket, because it skipped, and wrote so badly. Thenmy friend, Vivek visited me, and he spent about 10 minutes with the pen. He got the dried ink gunk out of the feed area, he flossed the nib, and he aligned the tines. Since then, the pen has worked like a charm, and it is a very smooth writer. I liked it so much that I bought another used one which also writes very well. And am trying to convince my friends to buy one too, problem is, that nowParker 100 fps go for a pretty high price.

[FLZapped]

I have two, both are great, wet writers. They are common on the bay, but prices have gone way up.

[Eccles]

I also have two, and would not object to another, except for the prices now.

They write well without any adjustment dramas.

Even the Ellipses have gone up 2-300%.

I'm certainly glad I got mine when I did.

Glenn.

[dcwaites]

I also got mine from Pam Braun some years ago. And, like pretty much all other P100s, it had been filled and tested in the factory, and not cleaned out properly. And, because, like pretty much all other P100s of that vintage, it had been in storage for some years, the ink and dried hard, and it was a fairly dry pen.

So, I filled it with some old Parker Quink Blue-Black with Solv-X and wrote with it every day for a week. After each day, it was a wetter and darker writer, until about day 5 it stopped improving. It has been a delightful pen ever since.

[xyverz]

I also got mine from Pam Braun some years ago. And, like pretty much all other P100s, it had been filled and tested in the factory, and not cleaned out properly. And, because, like pretty much all other P100s of that vintage, it had been in storage for some years, the ink and dried hard, and it was a fairly dry pen.

 

This might explain why the pen never worked very well for me until I let the section soak overnight in some Goulet pen flush. Since the flush, my 100 has worked Flawlessly.

[wspohn]

The Parker 100 is all too common.

 

What is rare is a Parker 100 that functions properly without any issues.

[mitto]

The Parker 100 is all too common.

 

What is rare is a Parker 100 that functions properly without any issues.

So the element of rarity, somehow, is there.