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Parker Premier Monochrome Titanium PVD Fountain Pen: A Review
(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
I have never owned or even tested a modern Parker fountain pen. I once owned a Parker 51 in Cedar, but I could never get that pen flushed out, and I eventually sold it.
My old Parker 51
So, I wasn’t at all sure what to expect from a modern Parker, like this Parker Premier Monochrome Titanium model. This pen arrived in a black clamshell box with black velveteen lining. The black velvet really shows off the silver finish on this pen. Included with the pen are a box of blue Parker cartridges, a converter, a polishing cloth, and a booklet.
I must say that this pen is absolutely gorgeous. The titanium PVD finish is etched and that gives the pen a semi-matte look.
The barrel is adorned with triple sets of engraved rings—two sets on the grip and one at the base of the barrel. The rings make the design interesting without overwhelming the classic lines of the pen. Plus, the grooves on the grip provide some texture so your fingers don’t slip as much.
The snap cap has matching rings on the finial and cap ring. Plus, the Parker logo, name, and the word “France” are engraved on the cap ring. This is pretty low-key branding, and it suits the pen. The clip is a classic Parker arrow design. It flexes well and will clip easily to a shirt pocket or pad of paper.
The pen is postable, but as usual, I find posting throws off the balance too much to make it practical, especially since this pen is fairly weighty. The Premier is a medium-sized pen. It is 5 inches uncapped, 6.2 inches posted, and 5.5 inches capped. It weighs a total of 45 grams.
You can fill the pen with the supplied Parker cartridges or with the converter. The converter is an especially nice model with metal fittings. It holds .5ml of ink.
The nib is a Ruthenium-plated 18k gold medium, and it writes beautifully. It is engraved with Parker’s arrow design.
It has a little give to it, so it doesn’t write like a nail. It offers a tiny bit of line variation.
I used this pen to take notes during my Honors Old Testament oral final. While the students responded to my questions, I wrote their responses as quickly as I could. The nib kept up with me, and never missed a stroke. I was very impressed as I wrote constantly for an hour and a half with no problems whatsoever.
One thing I don’t like about this pen is the metal grip. Even with the engraved rings, my fingers slipped when they got warm and sweaty. This is simply unavoidable with a metal grip. Still, I found the Parker’s grip to be much better than smooth metal grips. I never had to wipe my fingers off in order to keep writing.
The only other minor quibble I have is that ink gets caught in the engraved rings when you fill the pen. This isn’t a major problem, but you do have to clean out the rings if you fill the converter via the nib. You can avoid this by simply filling the converter and inserting it into the pen.
I fell in love with this Parker Premier. It convinced me that I need a modern Parker in my life. I’m looking for one with a non-metal grip so my fingers won’t slip as much.
If you are looking for a classic modern pen that writes beautifully and exudes professionalism, the Parker Premier in titanium is an excellent choice. You can purchase this pen from Goldspot Pens for $419.95 (current sale price).
Pros
- The Parker Premier in titanium is an elegant, professional looking fountain pen. I particularly like the etched/matte exterior.
- Although I normally prefer screw-on caps, the snap cap on the Premier attaches firmly to the barrel, and it does not rattle or rotate loosely.
- The pen is hefty, but I found it completely comfortable while writing constantly for an hour and a half.
- The nib is fantastic. It is smooth and has a bit of bounce to it.
Cons
- Because the grip is metal, it can get slippery if your fingers sweat like mine do.
- Ink can get caught in the engraved rings on the grip when you fill the pen.
- This pen is expensive, retailing for $525.00. Goldspot is currently offering it at a sale price, but it is out of stock. I read elsewhere that this pen is no longer being produced. So it may be difficult to get your hands on this exact model.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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DesignWorks Standard Issue Notebook Review
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)
This is the first time I've used a DesignWorks notebook, and the experience was a bit mixed. There are some features I love about it, and some that didn't work very well for me.
The DesignWorks Standard Issue Notebook is a hardcover, spiral-bound notebook. The spiral is twin-ring, brass colored and is only bound at the top and bottom third of the book. The rings are wide--about an inch in diameter. They're already starting to bend a bit after only light carry--so they're already beginning my primary pet peeve of ring-bound books. They also tend to snag at the cover or pages when I'm closing the book. Of course, the rings allow the book to lay flat or fold over on itself--so there are upsides, too.
The front cover has a pale green crosshatch pattern, the logo, and a sticker label. The sticker on mine is crooked, which drives me a bit crazy. There's also a list of the notebook's specs printed directly on the cardstock. It's useful information to have, but I don't particularly like having it printed on the front. At the upper right is a narrow elastic band that serves as a pen loop. This is one of the features I like. It's not quite stretchy enough to handle a very wide pen, but most will fit fine. One advantage to the wide rings is that you can hide another pen in there if you need to color-code on the go.
The back cover has another crooked sticker that repeats the notebook specs, and the company info. The inside front cover has room for all your contact info and a map of the time zones. The inside back cover has conversion charts. The notebook comes with a removable stencil ruler that has all the marks and icons you need for planning or bullet journaling. The stencil is definitely my favorite feature of the book. It's sturdy and handy, and I think I'll be using it long past when this notebook is full.
There are 192 lined pages that have the months and day numbers listed across the top. The left margin has a column for your bullet icons. The rest is pretty open form--it's not too restrictive of a layout, so it could be used as plain lined paper as well. The pages aren't perforated, so if you need to remove one, it will have the dreaded fuzzy edge.
When I first felt the paper, I thought it would probably be a pencil or ballpoint-only notebook. But the performance totally surprised me. There was light show-through, but no bleed-through for any fountain pen I tried with it. Huzzah! It showed shading nicely, too. The dry time was very long with wetter inks, though. Overall, I'm thrilled with its performance. It's also acid-free, which is always a plus.
When it comes down to it, I don't love the binding, cover, or attention to detail with this product. But the paper is lovely enough that I'm definitely going to check out some of their clothbound books. All their products seem more than fairly priced, especially for good paper. As tempting as the nice paper in this books is, I can't get past my pet peeves with the cover and binding. I'll probably hand this one on to the kids, and they will likely use it for nefarious planning. Except the stencil. I'm keeping that part.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
