Parker Duofold Centennial Fountain Pen, Classic Black with Gold Trim, Medium Solid Gold Nib, Black Ink and Convertor (1931382)

My only other pens used are the Pilot Metropolitian (Fine), Parker Jotter (Fine), and a Parker Urban (Medium).I purchased the Parker Duofold in black with yellow gold trim pen with a medium nib. I have only used Mont Blanc ink in it to start...First impressions are very nice. The box which this came in and the converter already in the pen give this pen a very high quality look and feel to it. I filled the converter with some Mont Blanc ink and got to writing. This pen is very wet with that ink! I believe the Mont Blanc ink is thinner than Parker’s Quink and potentially some other inks out there but I haven’t done my homework on that as I love Mont Blanc color offerings. This pen and that ink write like more of a broad or extra broad - very very wet and I don’t think I like that. The larger pen diameter definitely emphasizes this pen’s placement in the Parker family and makes a statement that this is a pen of status. It is well balanced with or without the cap and I wish it could be a little heavier to complete the luxury feel of it. Applying the cap to the end of the pen while writing is a little worrisome to me - there is only a small ridge which captures the cap and it doesn’t go on very far. I do not know if it is properly on and I find myself worrying about it when I write.I don’t mean to detest this pen because I want to love it, but when comparing it to the Parker Urban, it is not worth 10 times the price...I don’t believe it’s a 10 times better writing experience compared to the Urban. Using this pen made me appreciate the Parker Urban that much more - the Parker Urban is 3 times better of a writing experience compared to the Jotter, and the price reflects that. The Duofold is a nice ornament of achievement and gift of success. Being new to the fountain pen culture, I do not see the value of the Duofold, especially in comparison to Parker’s Urban fountain pen. I really really REALLY want to love it and enjoy the solid gold nib, and gold trim pieces and “Duofold” crest in the cap’s end, and the large two-tone Ace on the nib, and perhaps the more I use it, it may grow on me and I will stay open-minded, but for now, I’m at a crossroads.

Haven't had a lot of days with this pen, but I have spent a lot of time with it over the days I've had it. I've moved from pens that are down right scratchy to those that offer middle to slight feedback, to this one that glides across paper like butter on heated glass. Not sloppy though; even on less worthy paper, the medium nip maintains it's elegance and delivers on cultured appearing text.Writing with it is an enjoyable experience. So much so, I find myself just jotting down random words I hear on TV, or when children are at play outside or those that just pop into my head.Never thought about this before, but one forms a relationship with a fine writing instrument. This Parker Duofold Centennial is a bit more classic looking that I normally prefer, but I greatly respect its nature. When posted, it makes a bold statement about what it is, then in writing exercises it surrenders itself completely to the task, it's well balanced, easy in the hand, not overly weighty thereby allowing one to indulge oneself in written verse, composition, script, scribble or scrawl, with the fervor of a literary genius.

Great pen! Nice gold nib and flows moderately well. It is nicely sized, just a little smaller than pelikan souveran M1000 and Montblanc 149. I found the included converter to not work well - at most it can only be filled half-way so there is far more ink in a cartridge. Keep in mind that similar styled pens like the Pelikan and Montblanc are piston filled and it uses part of the barrel for the ink supply. Therefore, they ink capacity will be far more than the Duofold that uses the narrow converter or cartridge. I have also found the number of threads on the barrel of the pen to be a few more than on my Pelikan or Montblanc so it takes a another twist to remove the cap. For those who do not like twist cap pens, this will be be more trying than the average twist cap fountain pen.

The writing with this pan is way too wet. It uses way too much ink. Writing lines are not medium but very bold. If you buying from the US, you have to pay for return shipping charges.

Opened package with elements missing