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

The pen arrived in a beautiful gift box that proudly displayed the pen. First time touching the pen, it is just pure class and luxurious. I love the gold on ivory color combination. I did a close inspection and the craftsmanship is flawless; not a single faulty with the pen. I immediately installed the included cartridge and the pen started to write immediately without any issues (Parker also included a converter installed in the barrel). The “ace” design of the nib is gorgeous and timeless to say the least. Of course the writing quality is superb and smooth. Mine is the Fine nib and its line size is exactly the same as my Sailor Pro Gear 21k. Note that this pen is big and I don’t post the cap when writing; this will only make the pen too big and awkward. I probably won’t write with this pen everyday but it will forever be in my collection.

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.

Has a bit of scratchiness to it even though the flow is good. The cap doesn't post too deeply, but at least it does post. And when you post the cap onto the back of the pen, it is very, very large. Add to this that it does not even have an integrated filling system! But to its credit, it did ship with a converter for bottled ink and two ink cartridges. While I know it's a "Parker", I would personally recommend getting it only if you absolutely love the style or must have a Parker Duofold. For me, I think it is not worth the money at all. For a fountain pen, it should be much smoother. I have extra fine points that are cheaper that write a lot smoother and which feel more comfortable. It is like Montblanc, very overpriced for what little you get. But if you do get it, you will get a comfortable-to-hold fountain pen that performs very well and which looks very beautiful. However, as I have already mentioned, it is not a good value given the wide array of other pens on the market in this price range or even lower.

It does not look expensive.

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.

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.

Firstly, Good value and delivered from USA to Dubai in just five days. Great service. The pen is reviewed well across pen blogs and does not disappoint. I chose the fine 18ct nib and the line is more medium I’d say. Feed flows well and it’s perfectly set up straight out of the box with a variety of inks. Full marks to Parker for this and the nib is attractive with its ace of spades engraving. There’s no real flex, though the nib has enough give to keep your writing smooth. The converter is Parker branded and a push fit. It’s just ok (Montergrappa by comparison are screw fit and better quality - but then it’s FPs cost a lot more). And be sure to push the converter fully in, otherwise it rattles in the barrel. Overall it’s met my expectations comfortably. For $220 (AED880 delivered) it’s good value meaning the Duofold heritage in the classic colour ( with the cool Duofold vintage style engraving on the barrel) can be added to your collection secure in the knowledge you can use it every day.

C'est mon 3e Duofold F. Le 1er est "made in UK" avec la plume gravée de flèche acheté il y a plus de 25 ans. Le 2nd, comme ce 3em sont "made in France" avec les plumes gravée de cœur. Je constate que la qualité reste inchangée pendant ces deux décennies, toujours excellente. La souplesse des plumes et largeur des traits sont identiques. La livraison est très rapide, sans problème. Je n'ai pas eu de problème de "déjà utilisé". A ce prix-là ce serait incroyable. Donc merci à Amazon.

el trazo de tinta es continuo y suave, sin interrupciones, como un bolígrafo suave, aunque lleves varios días sin usarla; el diseño clásico es muy bonito; pesa menos que las antiguas, pero no parece afectar a la calidad de la estilográfica; un magnífico comienzo para usar estilográfica