Thursday, May 6, 2010

Parker Latitude Fountain Pen


Here is one of my recent purchases from the Fountain Pen Hospital, a Parker Latitutde medium nib fountain pen in Silky Black. The pen is on sale at FPH for 50% off, which made it even more attractive. This is my first Parker, fountain pen or otherwise and I'm definitely curious to see how well it compares to my beloved Pilot Namiki pens.

Among the pros are the elegance of the pen itself, the matte silky black barrel and gold accents, as well as the six gold rings around the cap (which I believe has something to do with planets in their motions around the sun). The pen comes with an interesting-looking converter so I didn't have to go looking for one, and will take long and short cartridges as well.

Cons? Ink creep on the nib, and the flow is not consistent. But I'm using the Noodler's Old Manhattan Blackest Black, so that might make a difference. I've heard some FP enthusiasts mention that their favorite pens don't care for Noodler's, so maybe I'll try another ink and see if I get the same problems.

While I'm not fond of medium nibs, I've gotten to like this one quite a bit. There's something about the shape of the nib that seems different--a bit squatter and broader than most of my sleek Japanese and German pens.

2 comments:

  1. In my experience, it wasn't just the ink that was causing the flow inconsistency. I noticed a lot of skipping and poor flow quality as well before I shelved it for good.

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  2. That's too bad, as I do like the way this pen looks. Maybe some nib adjustment will help it? Or am I just in denial? :)

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