Duofold Classic Big Vintage Red Fountain Pen, Fine Nib, Blue Ink

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

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.

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.

It does not look expensive.

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.

This is an expensive pen but it does excel in all departments. The craftsmanship is amazing; smooth writer. It has a nice weight to it but well balanced. Bought the fine nib as that’s what I prefer. No complaints.

The MSRP on this pen is $760. The price on Amazon is a far more reasonable one in the 250 range. The pen is slightly smaller than my vintage Parker Duofold Big Red from the 1925 era. However, the orange shade between the two pens is very, very close. The finish on the pen is impeccable. The nib is smooth, and the ink flow is generous. Parker Quink tends to be a dry ink (like the Pelikan inks), so the feeds have larger channels. Thus, if you really want a wet nib, use a wetter ink like Waterman or Sheaffer. There is no skipping. Even the top of the nib is polished, so that reverse writing is silky smooth.

J'avais commandé un exemplaire à plume fine parce que je savais que les «pointes» moyennes Parker avaient tendance à être assez épaisses. Je ne me suis pas trompé : j'ai reçu un (beau) stylo-plume avec une plume dont la largeur d'écriture se situe entre fine et moyenne. Pour ceux qui s'interrogent sur la présence d'un convertisseur (la pompe à encre), sachez que le coffret du stylo comporte deux cartouches d'encre noire... Pas de panique : le convertisseur est déjà placé dans le corps du stylo. J'ai choisi une encre noire Parker noire (Quick) pour alimenter l'outil. Quelques éléments techniques. Poids du stylo avec le convertisseur : 29 g. Longueur sans le capuchon : 13 cm. Longueur avec le capuchon vissé (donc stylo fermé) : 14 cm. Longueur avec le capuchon posté (clipsé à l'arrière du stylo) : 17,5 cm. Diamètre moyen du corps : 1,3 cm. Et maintenant pour l'écriture : écoulement bien fluide de l'encre mais sans exagération, plume douce qui glisse parfaitement ; elle reste rigide. Elle n'est pas faite pour les pleins et déliés ; je «trimballe» le Duofold partout dans un petit étui en cuir : la plume ne sèche pas ; elle est toujours prête à écrire. Pour les amateurs de croquis à l'encre : il est possible d'effectuer du «reverse writing» (écriture ou dessin avec la plume retournée) pour obtenir une trace très fine correspondant à celle d'un Lamy Safari doté d'une pointe EF. Enfin l'ensemble : très bel objet qui fait son effet — j'ai acheté le modèle Red Vintage. Sobre mais très chic. Article cher, évidemment, mais vu sa qualité (Parker haut de gamme, tout de même !)... Il faut donc l'acheter lorsque le prix baisse sur Amazon. Je suis très satisfait de mon achat, de la livraison et de l'emballage. Je recommande pour ceux qui veulent (se) faire un très beau cadeau.

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.

趣味が昂じて本業となるとまでは行きませんが、万年筆蒐集は道楽となってしまいました。書く手はひとつなのにどこで血迷ったのか集めた万年筆は星の数ほどは大袈裟ですが数多有って道楽三昧になり周りの騒音もどこ吹く風と云ったところです。舌が肥えると申しますがこの場合指先が肥えると云うのか兎に角書き味に拘って万年筆道に邁進しています。 主に大手文房具店、万年筆専業店で買い集めていますが、こちらで買う気になったのはお店に出向くのが億劫になり物は試しに買いました。それも随分と昔の事で未だ物価も今のように目を剥く程高くない頃です。 それが今となってはこの万年筆の書き味は日に日に良くなって手放せない逸品となりました。まあ、万年筆の価値は買った時に分かるのは稀で長年使って遣って漸く突如その素晴らしさに感動するものですが。なので、諸兄の中に初見で諦める方が居るとしたらそれは惜しいと老輩は思います。 さて、パーカーのデュオフォールド、古くはミズーリ号でマッカァサー元帥が奥さんのビッグレッドを使って調印したこともある、名品中の名品であることは言わすもがなでしょう。勿論、メイド・イン・USAです。今はフランスで製造されていますが発祥はアメリカ合衆国なので、メインイベントに使われた訳です。尚、UKのも有り、これは貴重でプレミアが付いています。 小生は、こちらで買ったのと、お店で購入したのと、UKのヴィンテージものを使っています。どれも甲乙付け難く、個性的です。 インターナショナルと違い、センテニアルはそれよりも長いので、大きな手の人向けかと言えば、キャップを外してもバランスが良いので、小さな手の方でも大丈夫でしょう。 GTはゴールドトリムで金メッキが、CTはクロムトリムでロジウムの銀色です。好みで選ぶことになります。値段差はありません。 ペン先のことです。総じて、海外産は国産に比べて、字幅は同じFでも太いと言われます。海外産のFは国産のMぐらいあります。 小生は海外産も国産もEF、F、M、Bと使って来ました。それで思うのですが、漢字圏の日本では、abcと違い、細かい字が多く、せいぜい国産ではM（中字）までではないかと思います。なので、海外産のは、人にはEFかFを勧めています。パーカーも然りで、漢字を書くにはFが妥当だと考えます。よくFはカリカリとしていると聞きますが、18金のニブはそんなことはありません。 また、本品のペン先のしなりは、モンブランの149よりは柔らかく、パイロットの845よりも硬く、丁度良い塩梅です。このしなり加減に慣れるのは普段ボールペン使いの人は多少時間がかかるかもしれません。硬い万年筆が好まれる所以ですが万年筆の王道を極めるには避けて通れない道です。是非ともペン先のしなりに慣れて頂きたいと切に願うものです。 最後に、パーカーは万年筆の王様、キングと云われるように、愛好家の方は揃えておいても損は無い万年筆だと断言しておきます。殊に、フラッグシップのデュオフォールドはその書き味の素晴らしさから是非是非と申し添えます。