PARKER Duofold Centennial Fountain Pen, Classic Black with Gold Trim, Fine Solid Gold Nib, Black Ink and Convertor (1931381)

Beautiful orange color, nice thick section, good weight, the cap posts well, the nib is gorgeous and writes a fine to medium line, i bought the fine point, the nib works, no skipping or hard starts, high quality product, comes with a converter, comfortable to hold, i got it for an incredibly low price ($225 USD), this is everything you want in a flagship pen, smooth nib, posts well, thick comfortable grip section, easy to fill with bottled ink, from top to bottom is a professional looking elite pen that can used in the office, school or in your scriptorium, keep it somewhere safe or with you at all times and never lend it to anyone for any reason, it's your pen protect it at all costs

Every once in a while a really great deal comes along. To wit, the Parker Duofold Centennial Big Red is such a deal. In the world of high end, high quality fountain pens, this Big Red is a fantastic deceptive sleeper. IMHO, today Parker is thought of in a historical aspect as a legacy brand. Indeed, the word “vintage” finds its way into the title description for this particular fountain pen. Worry not - Old School Rules! You would be hard pressed to find a better writing fountain pen than the venerable Big Red. Color me definitely impressed! The Big Red in particular takes attention to detail to an even higher level. When writing with nib to paper, the Big Red’s barrel engraving is viewable for reading - not hidden underneath, not obscured on the side - but, aligned up and presentable as you’re writing. Very cool! Other than writing, fit in the hand is most important to me, and here the Big Red really excels. The Big Red’s grip section is stellar, contouring down to a moderate flare at the end. Brilliant! For comparison, the flare at the end of the grip section on my Sailor Realo 1911 and Pelikan Souverän M805 are less pronounced, and my Aurora Optima is more pronounced. The Big Red hits the sweet spot. I have been writing up a storm since receiving mine. In person, the aesthetic of the Big Red reminds me of a beautiful MB Hemingway I missed out on years ago. It’s your loss if you don’t pull the trigger on a Big Red; I am pleased as punch I did.

I ordered a Parker Duofold (from a different vendor), and ordered its Chinese clone, the Jinhao 100, around the same time, both with a Medium nib. I had the opportunity to test both pens, compare and contrast the two. The Duofold exhibited all of the things I expected from a cheap Chinese pen: skips, hard starts, inconsistent ink flow, and a line that looked more like a broad nib. I wasn't totally surprised, because plenty of reviewers have said the same thing about the Duofolds they received...so, THAT Duofold was returned for a refund. The Jinhao 100, however, turned out to be a very good, smooth writing pen, with an Asian medium-fine/western fine line, so it'll stay in my collection. But I couldn't leave well enough alone, and I wanted to give Parker a chance to redeem themselves. I ordered the pen with a fine nib this time, and kept my fingers crossed...and was blown away! The fine nib writes a generous fine line and is super smooth with Parker Quink ink on 90gsm copier paper. This Parker pen writes as well as my Pilot Custom 823 and Diplomat Aero pens. The nib is bouncy, and with a little (!) pressure, you can get some line variation. Keep in mind, the Duofold was designed to make copies using carbon paper before ballpoint pens were in everyone's hands, so it needed to be pushed hard enough to make a carbon copy without splaying the tines. And the new version of the Duofold holds true to that design spec. I'm glad that I gave Parker a second chance, and that I was very lucky to get a pen with a perfectly tuned nib.

This pen is beautiful and made me fall in love with writing again. Thank you for making a man happy.

It meets my expectation and delivery was fast. The nib is great.

I bought this pen with a fine point as that was what was offered, but before I purchased I made sure I could have it switched to an extra-fine point. Parker does this. For free No shipping. You just send the pen out with their label, the point gets changed, and it quickly gets sent back to you. The extra-fine is perfect for drawing. The pen itself holds beautifully, handles easily, writes and draws like silk. I am perfectly happy with this purchase, to work with, look at, hold, it's a lovely useful tool.

This pen apparently aims to provide the fountain pen enthusiasts with the experience to see, touch, and use the historical Parker Duofold as if it is just launched this year. I haven't tried the ancient original Duofold, but the experience of using this pen is enchanting: smooth writing expected from a high quality gold nib — yes, very low feedback — and wet ink.

The MSRP on this pen is $760. The price on Amazon is a far more reasonable one in the 250 range. The pen is slightly smaller than my vintage Parker Duofold Big Red from the 1925 era. However, the orange shade between the two pens is very, very close. The finish on the pen is impeccable. The nib is smooth, and the ink flow is generous. Parker Quink tends to be a dry ink (like the Pelikan inks), so the feeds have larger channels. Thus, if you really want a wet nib, use a wetter ink like Waterman or Sheaffer. There is no skipping. Even the top of the nib is polished, so that reverse writing is silky smooth.

The resin is solid and beautiful. You don't feel it like a cheap plastic nor less precious than other high end resin. The nib is artistic and gorgeous. It writes perfectly even when reverse writing.

J'avais commandé un exemplaire à plume fine parce que je savais que les «pointes» moyennes Parker avaient tendance à être assez épaisses. Je ne me suis pas trompé : j'ai reçu un (beau) stylo-plume avec une plume dont la largeur d'écriture se situe entre fine et moyenne. Pour ceux qui s'interrogent sur la présence d'un convertisseur (la pompe à encre), sachez que le coffret du stylo comporte deux cartouches d'encre noire... Pas de panique : le convertisseur est déjà placé dans le corps du stylo. J'ai choisi une encre noire Parker noire (Quick) pour alimenter l'outil. Quelques éléments techniques. Poids du stylo avec le convertisseur : 29 g. Longueur sans le capuchon : 13 cm. Longueur avec le capuchon vissé (donc stylo fermé) : 14 cm. Longueur avec le capuchon posté (clipsé à l'arrière du stylo) : 17,5 cm. Diamètre moyen du corps : 1,3 cm. Et maintenant pour l'écriture : écoulement bien fluide de l'encre mais sans exagération, plume douce qui glisse parfaitement ; elle reste rigide. Elle n'est pas faite pour les pleins et déliés ; je «trimballe» le Duofold partout dans un petit étui en cuir : la plume ne sèche pas ; elle est toujours prête à écrire. Pour les amateurs de croquis à l'encre : il est possible d'effectuer du «reverse writing» (écriture ou dessin avec la plume retournée) pour obtenir une trace très fine correspondant à celle d'un Lamy Safari doté d'une pointe EF. Enfin l'ensemble : très bel objet qui fait son effet — j'ai acheté le modèle Red Vintage. Sobre mais très chic. Article cher, évidemment, mais vu sa qualité (Parker haut de gamme, tout de même !)... Il faut donc l'acheter lorsque le prix baisse sur Amazon. Je suis très satisfait de mon achat, de la livraison et de l'emballage. Je recommande pour ceux qui veulent (se) faire un très beau cadeau.

I think the pens sold here are second grade items. The slit of the nib was not cut symmetrically. This is a small issue, but I expect gold nibs at this price point to be perfect. You also do not get a gift package, but standard box. I did send it back because of all this.

One of my favorite fountain pen, a definite classic.

Tengo tres plumas Jinhao y he visto que exteriormente la Parker Duofold es exacta a las plumas Jinhao, en tamaño ,color, calidad externa, tanto que se intercambian sus piezas,una desilusión...El plumín es de mayor calidad pero no justifica pagar lo que se paga, no me ha convencido.