Parker 100, Cobalt Black

[smithno]

I have a couple of 100's. The one I use regularily started being hard to start after about 6 months of use. I just about gave up on it until a friend suggested giving it an extra good cleaning. That did the trick and I haven't had any problems since. I always take a little extra cleaning time before putting it away...

 

[dcwaites]

I have a new Diamond Blue GT (from Pam B, great service! ).

 

Out of the box it wrote smoothly, with no skipping or any other problems. However, the colour of the ink line it drew was a lot lighter than other, similar pens. I gave it a rinse out with 10% household ammonia in water and that improved it a little (I probably didn't soak it long enough). However, my cure for dryish pens is a good run with Parker Quink with Solv-X. Within half a page of writing after filling with Blue-Black w/Solv-X I started to notice an improvement. After five days the pen settled down, not improving any more. It then got a good rinse out (it must have one helluva collector, given the number of rinses it took...) and now works perfectly with Noodler's Ottoman Azure, giving me good, deep colour with some shading.

 

As well, I would like to give extra brownie points to Pam for the packaging. I expected a package about the size of a paperback novel. What I got was a box that could have held a couple of reams of A4 paper. The large external Parker box was nestled in a bed of packing beads and arrived in perfect condition.. All the documentation was attached to the outside, which probably helped it get through Australian Customs in only two hours (it's amazing the detail that the USPS Track and Trace can give you ...).

 

 

[luketoms]

I have decided to write a quick comment as I was worried that this thread was starting to sound as though the 100 is a faulty model to anyone reading up before buying. Sometimes people have to say when things are good, not only when things are bad. I have a 100 in Opal Silver with a M nib, and I have never once had a problem with mine. It wrote not even 5 seconds (for the nib to prime) after filling for the first time and has continued to do so ever since. It is currently my everyday favourite! I recommend it highly. It has a lifetime warranty (dependant on country) and Parker will repair or replace it if you do come across a problem. They will also change your nib within 28 days of purchase if it is not entirely to your liking free of charge. A win win situation if you ask me!

[John Cullen]

asamsky----Sorry it did not work out for you. I would agree that you got amazing service from Oscar Braun. At least that part of the deal went well. JC

[MYU]

I have decided to write a quick comment as I was worried that this thread was starting to sound as though the 100 is a faulty model to anyone reading up before buying. Sometimes people have to say when things are good, not only when things are bad. I have a 100 in Opal Silver with a M nib, and I have never once had a problem with mine. It wrote not even 5 seconds (for the nib to prime) after filling for the first time and has continued to do so ever since. It is currently my everyday favourite! I recommend it highly. It has a lifetime warranty (dependant on country) and Parker will repair or replace it if you do come across a problem. They will also change your nib within 28 days of purchase if it is not entirely to your liking free of charge. A win win situation if you ask me!

Sounds to me like the Parker 100 and LAMY 2000 share a similar situation. Great pen, but you just have to be sure you get one that was properly checked by quality control.

[bluemagister]

I got one of these and was disappointed that the only nib size I could find was B. It's WAY too big for me...I tried a trade on the forums, but no one bit. Do you think that this would be OK to get ground down to an F by a nibmeister? I heard that hooded nibs are a bear to work on.

[breaker]

nice review

[RockFL]

Received one of these for my birthday and absolutely love it. The fine nib is a bit wider than a traditional western fine, but not too much. Beautifully smooth, but I can still feel the paper. I'm using it with Montblanc Toffee Brown ink and the pairing really works well. It's the most expensive pen I own, but I don't know if it's worth a $300 investment. I'm glad my family found it for about 50% off that MSRP. Try one for yourself if you can......I highly recommend it.

[b1lynch]

I seem to be jumping on to old threads today - I guess that happens when you buy an out of manufacture pen with some skipping problems. My Parker 100 is having some of the same issues as described by man others in these forums but not as severe by the sounds of things. Oddly my pen seems to skip most when writing a horizontal line such as bullets on a bulleted list. With that said, I love the pen and would love to get it writing at 100% (or at least something closer to that) and I have seen a number of references to using ammonia to flush the pen. Can anyone tell me if there is a specific type, strength or dilution one should use when cleaning a pen - it's all new to me.

 

Thanks,

Bill