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Parker Screw Type Converters - A Minefield?


Chrissy

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I decided to buy a Parker screw type converter as a replacement for the press bar version in one of my 45's.

 

So I looked on Amazon and on ebay and saw many different versions. I decided I wanted one with a metal end that goes into the section, so I found one on Amazon at a reasonable price, ordered it, only to find it doesn't have the metal end like the one on the picture. Nor is it anything like the Parker converter that came with my Sonnet from my best friend's shop. For a start it's thinner and longer, the twist part isn't the same and the word Parker on the metal top part isn't that clear. So I'm leaning towards the possibility that it might be a compatible version, aka a fake.

 

So it's going back, and my search will restart. However, there are so many around that look exactly the same as the one I received.

 

How do I know I'm getting an authentic Parker converter? I can't find any that look like my authentic one.

 

Does anyone know what to look for in the current Parker version?

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I'm not sure what's current for Parker, but if you order from a legit pen shop rather than from Amazon you should be able to get an in-hand description from them over the phone.

 

I got my Parker twist converter for my 45s from Fountain Pen Hospital (they're local to me) and it seems to be of high quality. It fits just fine and I've had no issues.

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It is possible that Parker changed their converters to lower cost. You can ask before buying. Try Fountain Pen Hospital or Bertrams Inkwell. I assume you've been to FPH living in Brooklyn.

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@Ron Z

Yes, that's where I got my twist converter. I have no complaints.

 

The OP, Chrissy, is in Wales, UK so I don't know what kinds of shops are near her.

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I was buying some of these for the gazillion Sonnets I bought, and a seller said that Parker had redesigned the converter without the metal tip. They seem to work as well. I think I used one in a 45 that came from Pendemonium with a fine italic nib. I have to say that I am leery of C/C pens. They dry out too fast, like overnight, and then I have to clean them up to get them to work. Includes 45, Sonnet, Frontier, Waterman Phileas, Carene and Sheaffer Prelude. They are not worth the trouble when there are other pens available to me that stay moist for far longer.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I've now looked at some reputable online sellers in the UK, and their converters don't look like my original one.

 

I have had plastic end Waterman converters split, so I had hoped the Parker one with a metal end was more durable. I had already tried a thinner version in my Sonnet, and ink came out around the screw threads because of the gap. So that has to have the thicker version. I didn't think it would be so hard to get one like it.

 

I will keep trying.

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Can you post a photo of the one you like?

If it looks like mine, I can find out if FPH still carries them and if they'd ship to Wales.

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For a P45, if you ever see one of the squeeze convertors that looks like a metal cartridge, that'll fit. Must admit they are my preferred convertor.

 

One lasted so long in my P61 I forgot it could come out. :blush:

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

+1 for the parker squeeze converter. I have been collecting these for the last few years. And now I have all my CC Parkers fitted with these converters. And, I have dozens more in spare.

Khan M. Ilyas

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The plastic ended Parker screw/piston converters seem to last. I think the 45 works better with the squeeze sac converter. I have used the 45 original type and the slimmer 75 type.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Not necessarily a minefield. When Parker changed from the Deluxe with metal collar to the black plastic collar, I and many other users found the plastic collar uncomfortably tight when first putting the converter into a pen. So I decided to regress to the metal collar.

 

Upon finding an eBay offer of the Deluxe converter with (in the photograph) a metal collar, I asked the seller if indeed he was offering the metal collar, or if perhaps it was an outdated photograph. He confirmed that he was selling the older converter, I made the purchase, and I had what I wanted.

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