Parker Duofold: A Very Negative Experience

[raffaele]

Last month i 've bought a parker Duofold International Blue marble.

A beautiful pen, i've desired it since the first time i saw.

At least, i bought it (€ 350).

I usually use a MB 146 and some other low price FPs.

When i started writing with the parker, i didn't like it at all: the nib was beautiful to see but terrible to write, strong and absolutely unflexible.

I couldn't go on, so i've resold the pen on Ebay.

 

One advice: before buying a duofold, try it first!!!

[camoandconcrete]

Sometimes the nibs are bad but just need a little tweaking to make them right well. I'm sorry you didn't like the pen as they are gorgeous.

[John Cullen]

Modern duofold nibs are very firm but usually very smooth. Firm is not necessarily bad. All depends on one's taste, I guess.

[pajaro]

Well, you tried it and now know it's not for you. I have tried several pens this year after using Parker 51s and Montblanc 146s and 144s most of my life. My experiences with some of these new pens were a mix of plus and minus. You are not alone. I have addressed some of the issues by trading pens and nibs. I think that I will probably end up selling most of these pens that I have tried out this year.

 

 

[rockspyder]

One of my best and most trustworthy writers - it only ever skips or does not start if it has NO INK in it - is a Duofold Centennial, B nib, from the early 1990's. Yes the nib is rigid, but it is teflon smooth, if I have to run and grab just one pen for the day, it is very often this one. If I have to make a florid signature and be absolutely sure it will not skip or miss out even a wee bit, it is this one. I can put it down on the paper and move as fast as I like, the line is there, big and solid.

So, again - as with any FP out there, they are as different as people's personalities - no two are ever the same.

[skipwilliams]

Duofolds are great pens, but the nibs are built like most non-fountain people like them, very stiff. Every since Parker reintroduced the Duofold in the 80's (right?), the nibs have been extremely well made and stiff. Vintage Duofolds from the 20's and 30's, were also very stiff-nibbed pens.

 

Remember, many buyers of mainstream fountain pens have no idea how to actually use them and expect them to be able to act like a ballpoint, including the ability to write hard.

 

Skip

[torstar]

My complaint was finding it in my collection and wondering "what is this" and then thinking "this is it?"

 

This pen is what the fuss is all about?

 

But it writes SO WELL that I keep it inked up and I even put it in regular rotation when I remember it.

[argonavis]

Well, I must agree that one should try any pen before forking out a duofold price.

I have two modern duofolds, and I love'em. But if you want something soft, their

obviously not what you're after. Try a Pilot.

[raffaele]

Well, I must agree that one should try any pen before forking out a duofold price.

I have two modern duofolds, and I love'em. But if you want something soft, their

obviously not what you're after. Try a Pilot.

a Pilot???

maybe you're right...but i'm used to using MB 146...

[georges zaslavsky]

I had one that was very badly repaired despite a lifetime warranty I was charged 60€ in 2003 for a new nib which was alright but not as good as the original that was when I bought the pen. Of my five vintage senior flat top single band duofolds, I have four that have semi-flex to flexible nibs and they are much better built than the modern ones.

[Ondina]

Raffaele, Auroras, Stipulas and other modern pens keep a good degree of softness, and some fall in the semiflexible category, but you're never sure unless you try it. Many if not all of the first generation Sonnets are semiflexible. Waterman Le Man 200/100 series vary from soft to full flexible. Pre.80's Montblancs are very special and great nibs, you're not going to have it easy matching the writing experience with most modern nibs. Regarding Pilot, unless we're talking the FA nibs, I find them soft at best. The Titanium nibs are elastic, but I would not define them as having flex in terms of line variation. Pelikan M1000 are springy.

The Duofolds have very good nibs and are beautifully constructed, but their nibs are stiff (the ones I've tried don't fall into the "nail" catheter, but are quite firm). I've very briefly tested an Aurora 88 full sized italic and it was very soft, a little semiflex. An Aurora Archivi Storici /Internationalle was even more.

[raffaele]

i don't mind about stiffness or flexibility...i'm not an expert but only an enthusiatic user...i think writing is also an emotional experience...and Duofold is a pleasure for my eyes but it doesn't give me any emotion...

[raffaele]

perhaps i can't explain... (my english is terrible...i know)

 

try using a MB 146 of the first '80s...you will desire writing although if you don't have anything to say....

[picautomaton]

I have a Duofold Italic Fine nib for my International and it is easily my best Italic nib.

[arashdeepsinghmann]

Last month i 've bought a parker Duofold International Blue marble.

A beautiful pen, i've desired it since the first time i saw.

At least, i bought it (€ 350).

I usually use a MB 146 and some other low price FPs.

When i started writing with the parker, i didn't like it at all: the nib was beautiful to see but terrible to write, strong and absolutely unflexible.

I couldn't go on, so i've resold the pen on Ebay.

 

One advice: before buying a duofold, try it first!!!

 

 

I am sorry to hear that. But here is my experience with Duofold.

I am a hard core fan of Parker Sonnets (i.e Fougere,Crocodile Vermeil, Cisele,Vision,Athen) and all the fountain pens I had so far were Sonnets. I love them and they are very nice smooth writers. But I bought a Duofold last week from ebay and got it today at the lunch time. I went home to pick it up because I didnt have patience to wait till 5PM (after office). I cleaned it with tap water and filled it with Private Reserve Super Show BC ink. I am so much impressed with this pen that I cant tell you in words. The nib is so smooth and it started without any skip or any problem at all. Nib is M and is butter smooth. There is no flexibility in the nib but its a hell of smooth writer. I am so glad I bought it and trust me this will be in my pocket everyday from now on. I am planning to buy more Duofolds based on this experience. I love the pen and its awesome writer.