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Parker IM and Jotter fountain pens

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
As many of you already know, I have somewhat unconventional tastes with fountain pens. I don't like plastic pens, threaded grip sections from screw on caps, and prefer cartridge converters over integral fill systems. I am also cheap.

Many of my cheapos have needed a little nib tweak when they first arrived, to get them writing as well as I want. Just a bit of light scribbling on a cheap foam nail buffer did the trick. Not so with these affordable modern Parkers.

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I now have four Parker IM and one Jotter. All of them wrote perfectly on first fill (although I did give them a quick flush first). There is slightly more feedback on the standard IMs than on the two Ltd. Ed. ones, but that may just be a fluke, and the standard ones are by no means scratchy.

For me, the IM is a very comfortable pen to hold. There is a slight step between section and barrel (noticeable transitions are another gripe of mine), but the section is long enough, and corners smooth enough, that I am not consciously aware of it, and the grip doesn't distract or irritate like with so many other fountain pens.

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The Jotter is a little too narrow for extended writing, for my tastes. However, for quick notes, and annotations, it is perfectly fine. It's not a pen that I would like to write more than a few lines with, but being Kensimgton Red, it will be paired permanently with red inks, and just used for those notes that need to stand out from the rest.

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The nibs are rather unassuming, and not in any way "showy". There are simple steel affairs, on the smaller side, and with no discernible flex at my hand. For some, that might mean a characterless pen, but for me, it means consistent and reliable. I'm not the kind of person who considers handwriting to be "penmanship", or who indulges in flourished script. These do everything that I need them to.

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There isn't a significant difference between the fine and medium nib sizes on the IM, and smaller loops aren't automatically coloured in. The Jotter leaves a little more presence on the page, but again remains legible, even without oversize writing.

All these pens are metal bodied, although there are some Jotters that have a plastic barrel. As I prefer metal pens, I cannot tell you how durable those plastic versions feel or handle. Cost wise, these pens can start creeping up the scale somewhat, but I waited for and pounced on sales, and got all of these - including the Premium Geometric and Reg Ignite Ltd Ed - for under £20 each. So bargains can be found, occasionally.

I actually paid less than £70 for all five!

None of these come with converters, but they are available separately, and in the UK at least, Parker cartridges are not hard to find. I would prefer Std Intel for a greater diversity of cartridge choice, but I am happy carrying two different cartridge types. I also refill them with a syringe, and use Parker converters too.

All things considered, I consider these to be excellent pens. Great value for money, durable, reliable, comfortable, and to my eye, they look better than their polymer clad cousins too.
 
I seem to recall there was quite a good variety of economic fountain pens in the early 70's widely available. Most of us at school had one. There were the cartridge loaders, although I did have a injector or whatever it was. It had a little lever that filled an internal chamber.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
We used fountain pens at school too. Probably early 80s at a guess. They had the squeeze bladder type converters. I had a cartridge pen at home too. I can't remember the brands of either, but I think the fountain pens at school might have been Berol.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I'm a big fan of Parkers. Love them. If I was to count I probably have more Parkers than any other single brand of pen, except maybe Pilot. Exceptionally smooth nibs. Oddly enough, I don't have an IM. Too new, perhaps.

A Parker 45 Flighter is the only pen I use, that wasn't brand new when I bought it. The only other second hand pen I've bought was a Slimfold, but we don't get along. Parkers are also the only proprietary cartridge pens I own.
 
We used fountain pens at school too. Probably early 80s at a guess. They had the squeeze bladder type converters. I had a cartridge pen at home too. I can't remember the brands of either, but I think the fountain pens at school might have been Berol.
I do have a clear memory of being given a wooden-handled pen which had to be re-filled by dipping it into a small inkwell which was incorporated into our little wooden single desks. It had what I recall to be a brass sliding cover and a small chamber for some ink. Blotting paper was a big thing I recall. And Quink ink.

I only used it briefly. The inkwells were refilled by teacher from a large bottle. Maybe early 1972.

Then we were given blue plastic cartridge pens, which I think were Berol. We could use privately purchased pens too.

I recall my dear late Uncle Louis, my Mum's only Brother, gifting me for Christmas 72' a copy of the Little Oxford English Dictionary, which I still possess, a bottle of Quink, and a fountain pen, which I do not recall the make of.

Uncle Lou was a true goodun'. May his soul be blessed.
 
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AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
We never had dip and scratch pens, although the recess for the inkwell was still there on many desks.

I don't recall there being any of the kids using their own pens, although I do remember my Grandmother trying to give me some green hooded nib pen that she owned but didn't use. Possibly a Parker 51. I politely declined, because it didn't look like a "proper" fountain pen. In fact, at first, I thought it looked that way because it had been dropped :lol: I certainly never expected that to become a very popular pen at this stage of my life.

With having younger brothers in the house, it might well have not survived my childhood anyway, so no regrets on declining it. I do have a 45 now though (Flighter, of course, due to my preference for metal pens).

Back to the opening post, I still have four of those five pens still inked up, although the Red Ignite is running low now. Aside from the washable black cartridge in the black chrome IM being wholly underwhelming, I am delighted with how they all write.
 
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If you would like to stay ahead of the group but like style and value then you could do worse than the Parker 95. Slimmer than the current fashion for fat pens the 95 was very well made and a good looking pen, especially the Gold, imho.

If you are looking for this pen beware that many sellers do not know their own pen and may missdescribe the model.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Glad you found these pens. I had a Parker way back and found it too narrow as well. Never used it much. I was partial to the Parker jotter for a time collecting many colors and various anniversary editions. Haven’t used them in ages I should resurrect one as a ball pen backup.
 
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