New (To Me) Parker "21"

March 3, 2014

eBay has been kind to me; I picked up a lovely desk set, a Parker Model 110 which came with a Parker "21", thusly:

Let me start with these impressions: I really like this desk set. I like the size of it, the weight of it, and the look of it. I like the magnetic holder, the color of the stone, everything -- the camera doesn't pick up the subtle greens and browns in the base. And this is before writing with the pen!

I suspect that this piece lived in a smoker's house, because there was a light brown film on both the pen and the base, but it wiped off without having to resort to anything more than warmish water and a little elbow grease.

First order of business was to see if the bladder would draw, so into the water it went; no leaks, filled nicely... of course, there was residual dried ink in there, a really remarkable shade of blue that I'd like to find. Rinsing out the holder itself revealed a mish-mash of inks that had evolved into a purply-black. So it had seen some use, although I wouldn't care to guess how recently. I filled and emptied it of water a few times, then left it to soak while I went to work. Upon my return, it was clean enough for me, so I fed it some Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and took it for a test run.

There was no hesitation in the ink flow; I am really pleased with the line it lays down, and I think I'm going to really love it with a good blue-black, or maybe even just a rich blue. I have a large hand and like a longer pen, so it felt quite comfortable to hold. The nib glided quite smoothly over the paper (the sample above is on some plain white from the printer). This is going to be a really good stay-at-home pen, and inspires me to clean off my desk in the living room just so I can both display and use it there.

This is my first Parker; my previous was an Esterbrook J that I miss bitterly. It's hard to say how much of this is the pen itself, and how much is the pleasure of finally having another working FP in hand again... first time since last June, when the Esterbrook went walkabout during a move. If nothing else, I can see my penmanship needs a little work!

Even taking that into account, though, this is definitely a pen I already like and expect to use frequently.

March 4, 2014

Congrats,

I like desk pens and that is a nice compact set.

FYI, an F nib does not play well with some blue inks (e.g. Pelikan), unless it is WET. The thin ink line makes the ink "look" washed out. This is a visual effect, the ink is not washed, out, it just looks washed out. So you probably would want to stay towards the darker blues. Waterman Florida Blue (now called Serenity Blue) is a standard blue that I like.

March 4, 2014

Congratulations! That is a great find. I have several Parkers, but only two or three are in my regular rotation: a great old 51 and two equally great 21s. My Parker 21s both write much better, smoother, and with fewer problems than my Parker Vacs.

I have admitted that I have a TWSBI 540 that has edged into my pen rotation. This is the first time I have admitted that my pen rotation includes two Parker 21s. ~~The 21s are almost as good as my Esti Js.~~ I did not just admit that!

I hope you enjoy your new fountain pen. I think you will. If you can't come up with an Esterbrook J to carry with you, then I think the Parker 21 is a good second choice.

-David

March 4, 2014

Estie - I'm still on the prowl for a replacement Esterbrook J. There are several on my watchlist on eBay... as are other things.

Anyway, this one can't really be a proper replacement since it has to live in its pen holder and can't ride in my pocket. But it's going to be nice to have about the place, and will be most useful on the desk in the living room. I will say the J was a better pen... but it's a near thing indeed.

AC - thanks for the advice on the inks; I was unaware of that, and will probably keep to the blue-blacks then. And while I'm generally not a fan of plain black, I do like the way it looks coming from this pen, and might even stick with what's I've already got.