Parker 25

[Maja]

I have two Parker 25 fountain pens (eBay wins) and one ballpoint from a generous fellow FPNer from England

 

I think the pens are very good writers, durable writing instruments and, yes, attractive (once you get over the fact that they look a bit dated....or post the cap )

Now, is it just me or do they seem to be going up in price on eBay?

 

 

Hi,

 

Yes definately on the up! I used to sell the brushed alloy model for around £15 - £20, I sold one recently for £34. The matt black or models usually fetch more.

 

Kel

Ha! Thought so....

Thanks for confirming my theory, Kel. They are well-made pens and definitely stand out. I only have the brushed steel (?) versions. I've seen the matte black ones go for more on eBay, as you said....

[london]

:meow:

I was in Hove, East Sussex, UK visiting friends and saw some fountain pens in a post/office corner shop.

They had a whole bunch of Parker 25 Flighters with green trim on a cardboard display like in the olden days. £5 so got one.

Lovely pen. Not slippery smooth no but still only slighlty toothy with good feedback. Cheap and cheerful filling system with not much ink but a good knockabout pen.

Anyone who sees them in boot sales or chrity shops should get one.

 

Armchop

 

You could buy the bunch of them and resell them at twice the price!

 

Andy

 

I went past that shop today - they still have a tray of them in the window.

 

- Mark

[finansista]

I went past that shop today - they still have a tray of them in the window.

 

- Mark

 

 

Oh come on, guys, you could snatch some for other FPN fellows.

I'd love to have a green one to fill it with some green ink

Or other colours too...

[richardandtracy]

I have a Black Parker 25 that is now 28 years old. I got it new, used it fairly regularly for 2-3 years and carried it around with me in a pencil case for 20 years after that as my spare pen should my trusty P61 fail. Since 2000 it's been in my desk drawer at work ready for instant use should I forget my 'real' pen.

 

I have had to replace the nib section once in 1982 due to it getting severely bent under load, when I foolishly carried the pen in my trouser pockets.

 

The pen writes fairly well. The nib is fairly smooth, but unresponsive. It just does the job without flair or style, but equally there are no foibles to forgive. The balance is nice and it's a reasonably light pen. Unusually for me, I prefer to write with the cap posted.

 

So how has it lasted over the years?

 

The c/c gave up on me at the end of the 1980's, and I've had to get a new one.

The matte black colour has polished so that it's a 'silk' finish and chipped off entirely at the end and shoulder of the barrel, revealing the brushed stainless steel underneath.

The plastic clip tang has worn to the extent that the Parker Logo is virtually impossible to distinguish. Otherwise the pen has been unaffected by its life.

 

I still feel the pen is a 'Ford' compared to the 'Mercedes' of the P61. Had I not had the P61 comparison, I'd probably have liked the pen rather more. However, I always feel it's an undemanding, unresponsive, workhorse pen. Neither flashy nor dull, always there when needed as an understudy should the 'Diva' be unable to perform for any reason.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[GeeTee]

Ugh...i have one of those at school in the 80's. For years i tried to write with it but it was skipping a lot. I loved the looks, but it was a horrible writer both with converter and with a cartrigde. I recently found it in a box in the attic. I cleaned and filled it...didn't write. I also have the ballpoint and the pencil (which isn't in a good shape). Mixed feelings about this one.

[AlleyViper]

I bought one new (black matte) in ~2002, and until about one year and a half ago it was the usual FP on my jackets pocket, with lots of use during class. Unfortunately it was lost in a public place and I've never seen it back.

It as a medium tip, wrote very wet and broad but would easily clog up after a few days of no use and had some tendency to fail during exams too whilst being a uncapped for a bit. At least with Parker's Quink cartridges, it wasn't a really prompt writer.

I miss it still, it had great simple looks!

Edited March 8, 2009 by AlleyViper

[ishimaru_kaito]

I bought one new (black matte) in ~2002, and until about one year and a half ago it was the usual FP on my jackets pocket, with lots of use during class. Unfortunately it was lost in a public place and I've never seen it back.

It as a medium tip, wrote very wet and broad but would easily clog up after a few days of no use and had some tendency to fail during exams too whilst being a uncapped for a bit. At least with Parker's Quink cartridges, it wasn't a really prompt writer.

I miss it still, it had great simple looks!

 

Never even heard of a black matte version. Wow! Must have been a unique one! Remeber mine used to clog after a few days non-use, and took that as normal. Guessing the student market it was aimed at, it wasn't designed to hold ink for ages between uses...

[ishimaru_kaito]

Ugh...i have one of those at school in the 80's. For years i tried to write with it but it was skipping a lot. I loved the looks, but it was a horrible writer both with converter and with a cartrigde. I recently found it in a box in the attic. I cleaned and filled it...didn't write. I also have the ballpoint and the pencil (which isn't in a good shape). Mixed feelings about this one.

 

Wanna get it off your desk? PM me if you're interested

[GeeTee]

Ugh...i have one of those at school in the 80's. For years i tried to write with it but it was skipping a lot. I loved the looks, but it was a horrible writer both with converter and with a cartrigde. I recently found it in a box in the attic. I cleaned and filled it...didn't write. I also have the ballpoint and the pencil (which isn't in a good shape). Mixed feelings about this one.

 

Wanna get it off your desk? PM me if you're interested

 

 

Another FPN'er already got them....

[richardandtracy]

...Never even heard of a black matte version. Wow! Must have been a unique one! ...

I've got one in my desk drawer at the moment. Dates to 1981. The black laquer is flaking off - revealing the ss barrel underneath - and the 'matte' has gone shiny.

 

All I have to do is find the BP & Fibre-tip that came in the same set with it..

I know the box is long gone. Sigh.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

[ericthered2004]

I used this pen through school and (some of) university. Although I have one as a memento, I can't use it now as I keep thinking I'm regressing if I do so.

 

Regards

eric

[dogpoet]

They do that, sadly: my own black one isn't even remotely matte anymore.

Has anybody seen one of the white versions I've heard mutterings about?

[Philips]

They do that, sadly: my own black one isn't even remotely matte anymore.

Has anybody seen one of the white versions I've heard mutterings about?

 

I have a white ballpoint Parker 25, it's matte white with a thin light blue and a thin dark blue strip around the base of the 'upper section'. A ballpoint and mechanical pencil were given to my father many years ago by one of his students as a leaving present, my father kept the pencil and gave me the pen.

 

Edit: My 25 fountain pen is my favourite, it's a very smooth writer, perhaps I got lucky with mine. I like the styling, not too fancy.

Edited March 16, 2009 by Philips

[dogpoet]

Thanks. You're dead right about the 25s being smooth writers: the couple I have to hand have excellent nibs.

[Scrawler]

I happened on this thread because my daughter was rifling through my pens looking for things that I would not miss to raise some money, and was busy photographing my Parker 25. This is the only one I have ever seen. It is a late 1970s UK made pen.I do not remember ever using it. When I bought it, it came with an aerometric style converter that says Made in USA on it. It is quite strange seeing made in two different countries on one item. It also seems strange to think of container loads of fp converters being shipped from the US to be assembled in England.

[dojocho]

I used the Parker 25 all through high school, peadagogical academy and my first ten teaching years. I still have it and once in a while I ink it up and use it. It still looks great and the M nib still performs great. Now that I'm used to the Duofold's nib it's a bit stiff, but still: it's a wonderful pen!

 

Kind regards,

Hugo

[Paul_D]

Csn the nibs be replaced?

I have found my old 25 then remembered why I put it away. I dropped it ~20 years ago and bent the nib.

[richardandtracy]

The sections used to be sold as a complete nib unit, never separately. I discovered this having knelt on my pen and broke the connector part of the section.

 

I doubt if they are easily available now. I think I saw some at the London pen show last year, but I'm afraid I can't remember who had them.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[dogpoet]

You could try the Battersea pen home. Not affiliated (and I confess I haven't got onto them about this) but they do make up replacement sections for 25s. It could be worth a look, if you don't mind paying twenty quid for a new section. (I have seen P25s go for more than that, but you can also get lucky and find a working one for less...)

[georgeb]

Montgomery Pens sells Parker 25's. I bought one a couple of months ago from them. No problems.