Parker IM Chrome Trim Retractable Ballpoint Pen with Medium Nib, Gift Boxed - Black Chrome Trim

These pens feel excellent, they have a nice weight to them and the QuinkFlow cartridges will last a very long time (I have found that I can nearly get through a whole academic year with two).So why only 4 stars?I am in education right now, so I write quite a lot, and I have found that the finish on the metal starts to wear down after a while (I'd say around 4 months). This is not an isolated issue, I have bought two of these pens and used them in the same way, only to have the finish come off in streaks along the side of the pen where my hand rests (See the attached images). This is particularly noticable just above the lower section of both pens where I apply most pressure when writing. The lack of finish exposes the raw metal beneath the smooth coating which is quite scratchy and unpleasant to hold. I would have deducted more stars, but I am aware that I am quite a heavy user; I would expect the pens to last much longer for a person who is just taking brief notes.I highly recommend these pens, and I think that the aesthetics and writing experience are worth buying a new one occasionally.

I work in medical photography in a local hospital but my degree was in fine art, I love sketching with ballpoint pens, Parker are among the finest.I had a sketch in mind but I haven't been liking the Mont Blanc rollerball I was using it was too leaky and way to expensive.With this pen I was able to depict in great detail the ulceration one patient had on his scrotum, I was even able to very accurately capture the sheen of the seeping wound which was exactly as it had presented, this is almost impossible with rollerballs. In general this pen is a very nice weight and has a very satisfying clicking action.For the price it is brilliant quality. I would strongly recommend this pen for general and artistic use.Get it you wont be disappointed. btw, its a budget pen so don't expect a fancy presentation case, however, if you bought a fancy presentation case, the recipient would think it was a very expensive pen.

I mainly use ballpoint pens as they're harder to smudge and I own quite a few parker ball points ranging from Jotta to Sonnets. I just had it delivered today and instantly noticed some problems with the pen. Mainly, the hole when the ink cartage prutudes are too large compared to the nib of the pen, giving rise to a rattling noise when writing at some angles. Also, the chrome button can easily be scratched by simply operating it normally. Other than those problems, I found the pen to be quite pleasant to use, it have a perfect weight and the nib prutudes st just the right amount and the grip is perfect even though it's metal.

I received this 22 May, less than 1 month ago. In that time I’ve written maybe 30 X A5 pages and the pen is no longer consistently writing. It feels like the ink has run out already. A standard Quinkflow Medium ballpoint. Surely each cartridge should be able to do more than that??Was delighted when it arrived as just the sleek style I like the smooth writing action, nice weight etc. But horrified that it has run out so quickly. I shake it a bit and it writes for a few characters and then stops again. :(

This is a great pen with a reasonably weighty feel to it that is substantial enough to feel like a quality item without being too heavy to be uncomfortable.The pen used standard Parker ball pen refills which are always consistent and good quality so you know when you replace them they offer pretty much the same smooth writing experience.Clicker is smooth and gives a satisfying sound. Pen is obviously a wider bodied pen than say a plastic BIC disposable which so it's obviously no good for performing an emergency tracheotomy in conjunction with your swiss army knife but your could conceivably customise it to fire poison starts using some form of compressed air cartridge perhaps. It also makes it more comfortable to write with.