New Parker Urban

[alc3261]

I quite like the new style Urban, it isn't as curvy as the old one and the nib is more exposed.

However I have found it to be a very hard starter, has anyone else noticed this problem?

I never had a problem with the older curvy one.

I have done all the obvious things, flushed it out etc.

[revjamesmorley]

So glad someone has posted about this as loved the old urban until I dropped it and have been thinking of trying the new one. Like you, I had no start up issues with the previous model. What nib width are you using? My Sonnet medium is flawless while my fine nib skips...

[mitto]

I have no interest in these blingy Shanghai Parkers. Not even if I am offered one for free. And yes, the old curvy Urban was kind of ok pen for biginners.

[alc3261]

So glad someone has posted about this as loved the old urban until I dropped it and have been thinking of trying the new one. Like you, I had no start up issues with the previous model. What nib width are you using? My Sonnet medium is flawless while my fine nib skips...

Mine is a Medium, writes OK once it is going. VERY hard starter.

[Funkmon]

My old Urban was also a hard starter, and I hear this complaint about the new Urbans as well. Too bad, because they look cool.

[Mr.Rene]

Well... Parker is not the pen maker used to be..definitely !!!

[Valkyrii]

I have a roller ball and a fountain pen and experience hard starts in both. I like the pens ergonomically. They feel decent in the hand. But they lack a cap seal and there is a large gap under the clip allowing the cartridge or nib to dry out rapidly.

[Funkmon]

Well... Parker is not the pen maker used to be..definitely !!!

That being said, when you get to the Premiers, Sonnets, and Duofolds, they're fantastic. And I don't think anyone makes a better ballpoint than the Jotter.

[Mike 59]

Hi, The first version of the Urban had the same design nib and feed as the Jotter FP, Vector FP and IM fountain pens.

So in my case, I had a Vector from 2006, UK made, which I had given more tine gap, and wrote very well, and I fitted it into the Urban's section.

Good combination of a smooth 'sorted' nib in the 'Glossy black' Urban pen.

I think the second version of 'Urban' has a different nib and feed, so I can't comment on it.

 

[mr T.]

I quite like the new style Urban, it isn't as curvy as the old one and the nib is more exposed.

I don't like the fact that the new model has a higher retailprice.

 

And I don't think anyone makes a better ballpoint than the Jotter.

Never really liked the Jotter ballpoint. Ballograf ballpoints (Rondo, Epoca) or Caran 'd Ache ballpoints (849) are in my opinion better than the Jotter.

[RRE]

I got a closeout color on a Parker Urban recently. Any Parker converter I put in leaks. Carts are ok in there though. Even at $29 it was not worth 29 cents. My Sonnet steel nib wasn't much better. There are many good brands out there. I personally am done with buying Parker.

[Deleted Account]

I own one Urban and I have two cons - The cap and section materials are badly selected, so it is almost impossible to remove and replace the cap several times without scratching the section.

I polished it several times, but it just happens, over and over again. The other issue is that in Serbia, it is available only with fine nibs, which can be quite dry, especially when made by Parker.

[mitto]

...in China.

[Deleted Account]

I suspected that too, because I have Vectors made in UK and one made in France. Their feeds have glossy finish. However, all Urbans I came across have somewhat ugly, and pale finish, and not only those available in Serbia. Even those I saw in Netherlands look the same.

[Flippy]

I have no interest in these blingy Shanghai Parkers. Not even if I am offered one for free. And yes, the old curvy Urban was kind of ok pen for biginners.

 

Well, that's a problem, considering that a lot of the lower end Parkers are made in China. Through my experience, Parkers in China are just as good quality as the French or English variety. I know it sounds hard to believe considering China's counterfeit history with other pens, but it's true. They are still authentic Parkers.

 

It makes me sad that people are so rough on today's Parkers. The way that I see it, some of the modern ones look 15 times better than some of the vintage ones (Except for the P51, no beating that bad boy! )

[Pachypteris]

I used intensively a Parker Urban with an F, wet nib, an excellent pen. The only drawback was its snap-on cap, its system was wearing to the point of almost losing the cap. Hope they changed it for the new Urban line.

[elpenguino]

 

However I have found it to be a very hard starter, has anyone else noticed this problem?

 

 

When my wife first got the pen it seemed to be a lovely writer. It put down a consistent line, the nib was smooth, and the flow was generous. Everything was great with it for the first evening she had it; however, the next morning we realized that if the pen was left unused for 8-12 hours with the cap closed it would not start and even dipping the nib in water would not get it flowing again. Quite disappointing to experience total dry out this quick.

[dcwaites]

I was able to get a gold coloured old-style Urban for $20, when the RRP here in Aus. is $90. And, apart from having to coat the slippy section with a grippy lacquer, it has been a delightful pen. It doesn't dry out overnight, or even after a week or so, capped but unused. The Fine nib is one of the best in my collection, and it appears to have the optimal degree of baby-bottom, deliberately cut between the tines. Rather than being rounded, it is actually a definite V-shape.

 

Mine is a bit dry, I couldn't use Borealis Black in it because it came out as Borealis Grey, but I generally like that because I have to write on poor quality paper at work.

 

I was just thinking that there are a number of Parker pens that are designed for Ballpoint users, in that they have a compact, but very strong nib, such as the Vector, the old-style Urban, the, now sadly defunct, 45, and the IM.

[ardene]

I've got an old style metallic urban for many years which is very wet, to the point of getting messy inside the cap with quink blue-black - it's drier with quink blue. I got it for 18 pounds if I remember well. They weren't selling I think. It is the wettest pen I now have. I also have an old-style IM in black which I got for 5 pounds last sping. It never dries, there are no hard starts or similar things, but it writes like a pen with a fine nib when it's not. On low quality paper it is loudly scratchy, but I do not get much resistance when writing. The Urban just flows over the same type of recycled, full of fibers, paper. Both are M. The Urban somehow feels lighter. Maybe the IM was designed to be more economical in terms of ink flow? Or is it a matter of chance whether a pen will perform within certain parameters these days? I wonder.