Battle For The Dark Side! Parker Im Vs Sheaffer Prelude

[twigletzone]

Here's a topic in time for Halloween: just look at these two handsome devils.

 

This is the Parker IM in "Achromatic" black (as black as my twisted heart! I'm in love!)

 

.. and this is a Sheaffer Prelude so black you could lose it in the Batmobile.

 

So, I'm torn. Tight budget, for starters. The Prelude is a price band up from the IM, but in its favour I know I get on well with Sheaffers generally; I just always seem to enjoy writing with them however cheap and nasty the model might be. Hell, my go-everywhere pen is a Sheaffer No Nonsense I found NOS on ebay. Starts from cold after a month untouched, has gone most of a year without drying up before now, comes out of the bottom of an overloaded backpack without a scratch on it. (I just need to remember to unscrew the cap rather than pull it lol!)

 

My Parker experience is more limited. I had a Vector I used at school - bulletproof as far as I could tell, and those gigantic cartridges with the extra reservoir at the top saved my skin in a number of exams, but it was so narrow in the section it made my fingers cramp to use it for long periods. I also have an I-forget-what, a Jotter I think, with a really lovely stub nib that I rescued from the depths of my stepfather's desk drawer. They both write smoothly, the stub a little more so; the Vector was never my first choice of pen at school but that was just because it gave more feedback than the others I had I think (which were all dirt cheap plastic things with springy butterfly nibs). Eventually I had to start using the Vector seriously because all the others broke, and really the only proper annoyance was the minuscule section (8mm according to Google). I got used to a little extra scritch pretty fast and it seemed to settle and smooth down a bit with time anyway.

 

Getting back to these two beasties - on looks alone, the Parker wins hands down. I mean how sexy is it? None more black, if you'll forgive me a Spinal Tap reference The Sheaffer is also gorgeous but it's just not quite so much of a window into the dimension of eternal night. But then I read around the reviews and people don't seem enthused with the IM as a writing experience. (I also note that the Prelude section has flat areas for grip - I'm one of those people who can't use a Lamy Safari because I don't get on with the triangular grip so I wonder if that would work for me in practise.)

 

GIven my generally lowbrow tastes I'm wondering if the IM writing experience would actually matter to me. The fanciest pen I own is a Waterman Carene with gold nib. Which I adore nearly as much as the No Nonsense, but really need to save up and get an F section for since it's a bit like writing with a hosepipe - and if anything I'd actually say I prefer the No Nonsense as a writing experience, just because it's always the *same* experience. The Carene responds to the paper you're writing on a little more and as with my school pens I seem to most enjoy a nib that's surface-agnostic. (I know, I know, get a biro you philistine! ) I also love my little Helix Oxford, which is a no-frills steel nib school pen.

 

So - any thoughts from those of you who've used both? What's the Prelude section like to handle? (Left handed underwriter here). How awful is the IM if you're *not* finely tuned to 18ct gold nibs?

[sandy101]

I have older IMs and they dry out very quickly.

 

They are nice enough writers, but you can't leave them in your desk over the week-end and expect it to write on Monday.

 

I don't know enough about the Shaeffer.

 

IM's are horrendously priced in most B&M stores - you can usually get them for much less online.

[corniche]

Hi Twigletzone,

 

I can tell you this much; the Prelude is a much better pen between the two.

 

I have several Preludes... and theres a reason... there great pens.

 

 

- Sean

 

PS: While I have never experienced the problem myself; I have read a few complaints of sections cracking; however, affordable replacements are readily available on flea-bay.

[bunnspecial]

I have a soft spot for the Prelude since, back in 2011 when I took an interest in fountain pens, it was the first "nicer" pen I bought after stepping up from a no-name $10 one from Office Depot. Yes, I have nicer ones now, but it was a big step then.

 

Sheaffer was the fist brand I gravitated toward after playing with some No-Nonsense and calligraphy pens based on that design from when I was much younger.

 

The metal body spoiled me early on with weight, as I took to it right away and I still tend to prefer heavier pens. I don't think I ever really had a death grip in the "full hand" sense-mine was just a "tight" tripod. I took to the shaped section right away, and it's not as dramatic as what's on a Safari, but others don't like it. Going back to the pen now, I don't necessarily like it as much as I did then, but it's there and doesn't turn me off.

 

I got an F, which is what I'd call a true F. It's not as fine as what I have on Pilots(the only Japanese pens I have) but is nice and fine. In a sense, it's a boring nib, but that's not a terrible thing either. It's smooth with almost no feedback and is a nail. I've never used any Sheaffers, going back to high end 1930s pens, that were anything other than nails, even though I know that's not universally true.

 

I love Skrip ink across the board(even though a lot of folks consider it boring), and it's one of the few brands where I'm not bothered by the proprietary cartridges. They're inexpensive, and also easy to find-I've seen them in craft stores locally. Still, though, I'm pretty sure it comes with a converter, so you're not bound by those.

 

The Prelude gets a full endorsement from me.

[bemon]

To be fair, if the space between the seat buttress and the console in the Batmobile is anything like it is in my Mazda, you could lose a whole fleet of pens bright as the noon day sun down there.

 

Hard pick! I like the look of the Parker more. I have the old IM both in fountain pen and ballpoint format. It's a fairly well put together pen. I like it better as a ballpoint than a fountain. Someone above mentioned it dries out, and while I haven't had that same experience it is a little on the sloppy side. I like a wet writer, but the ink just seemed to fall out of mine. No leaks, just gushed uncontrollably when writing.

 

I don't know how different this versions is from the last edition. It's clearly got a different nib, but I don't know if the handling is upgraded or just the body work.

 

I've also used some an entry level Sheaffer in the form of the 100 and it was a much more refined pen in terms of flow. Still generous, but much more refined.

 

If I had to pick one I'd go for the Sheaffer based on my experience with entry level pens from both brands.

[corniche]

Hi Twigletzone,

 

Here are my Preludes in chronological order:

 

 

 

- S.

[twigletzone]

I don't know how different this versions is from the last edition. It's clearly got a different nib, but I don't know if the handling is upgraded or just the body work.

 

Based on the reviews Google found me on this very site, it looks like the nib is the same as what's currently on the Vector and other low-end pens. It's not the same as the nib on my Vector - that's a cylindrical thing with a big round blob on the end and no breather hole. But then that pen is late 1970s/early 1980s vintage.

[WarrenB]

I have a '13 IM Premium. Can confirm the nib is more or less like the classic Vector or modern Jotter FP: straight-shouldered, big medium ball of tipping, wettish, pretty much a nail. Like Sandy101 mine dries out quickly. Still, the writing experience is alright, except for trying to keep a grip on the metal section. (Ditto Vectors - I like 'em too, but I need a pencil grip or something!)

I don't know how grippable that black section is. Plastic, or coated metal? The nib is different too, but I hope I can be excused for assuming it behaves like other lower-end Parker nibs.

 

Gotta say, the Achromatic IM made an impression on me too. (Also eyeballing that all-black Jotter XL) Just a bit more covetable than the Prelude's gunmetal, but I could balance that with the different - better? - writing experience. How is it from your perspective?

Edited October 27, 2020 by WarrenB

[twigletzone]

Oh god and now I've spotted this: Cross ATX in brushed black. I have NEVER met a Cross pen I enjoyed writing with, not once and I've tried five or six, but this looks as good as the Parker... and is more expensive than the Sheaffer...

 

[WarrenB]

I have NEVER met a Cross pen I enjoyed writing with, not once and I've tried five or six... and is more expensive than the Sheaffer...

Instant disqualification in my book! The texture looks interesting too, but I think it might start to get to me after writing for a while.

[twigletzone]

I have a '13 IM Premium. Can confirm the nib is more or less like the classic Vector or modern Jotter FP: straight-shouldered, big medium ball of tipping, wettish, pretty much a nail. Like Sandy101 mine dries out quickly. Still, the writing experience is alright, except for trying to keep a grip on the metal section. (Ditto Vectors - I like 'em too, but I need a pencil grip or something!)

I don't know how grippable that black section is. Plastic, or coated metal? The nib is different too, but I hope I can be excused for assuming it behaves like other lower-end Parker nibs.

 

Gotta say, the Achromatic IM made an impression on me too. (Also eyeballing that all-black Jotter XL) Just a bit more covetable than the Prelude's gunmetal, but I could balance that with the different - better? - writing experience. How is it from your perspective?

There are reviews of the IM here that compare the nib to the general low-end Parker stable so I don't think you need excusing!

 

The balance between looks and writing experience for me is pretty much the reason I'm not quite sure. I definitely don't have "Visconti or nothing" expectations for writing experience: I cut my teeth on folded steel nib school pens (which I always got on fine with) and a Vector, my workhorse now is a Sheaffer No Nonsense, and as I said upthread I own exactly one pen with a gold nib and it's a Waterman Carene which is apparently pretty rigid. I don't use Moleskines and what have you, just good old Oxford lined paper, so it really doesn't have to be a rolls royce.

 

That said, however, I also sold on a Pilot Metropolitan because I didn't enjoy writing with it; if I remember rightly the narrow nib felt scratchy and it was rather dry. Which will partly be the fact it's not a European M but I do seem to like smoothness and a nib that gives the same "feel" on any writing surface. Wet is good too, but not to the point of firehose (this is why the Carene is up for a F nib next time i have spare money).

 

I guess if we weren't on Planet Pandemic I could go and see if I could find a B&M store with an IM to test but as it is it'll have to be "cautious dip test and rinse the nib a bit if it has to be returned"...

[Pens Woods]

I concur with "Bunnspecial". I've owned a red marbled Prelude for over 15 years. Well balanced and weighty, 31g. The "F" nib writes comparable to a Pilot "F", 0.3mm line width, and quite smooth too. I liked the Prelude so much I purchased a chrome Prelude with an "F" nib. Good luck!

[sandy101]

You could as at john Lewis or Jarrods.

[twigletzone]

And the winner is:

 

[jchch1950]

Both pens are good daily writers. If you use them within reasonable time frame you should not worry about ink evaporation. If you don't feel confortable using a triangular shape section I will advised to try the Prelude first even if the angles are "softer"than in other pens.

[chromantic]

The Parker wins on looks, hands down but I same problem with My Parker Frontiers drying out that Sandy101 had on the IMs, ok if used daily but don't leave them sit for much longer than that. Certainly no complaints in the nibs, though, smooth as butter imo.

 

The main problem I have with modern Sheaffers is the square corners on the clips, they always mange to dig into my thumb no mater how I post the cap.