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A Warning to be careful with Lacquered pens I own a few pens that have lacquered finishes. The first lacquered pen that I bought is a Parker Urban, in the ‘Navy Blue’ finish with chrome trim. I bought it in 2013, and I always used to post the cap on the end of the pen whenever I wrote with it. Being slightly-obsessive about having things arranged ‘just-so’, I always posted the cap so that its clip was aligned with the centre of the pen’s nib. This habit is actually useful if one’s pen has a hooded nib, like a Parker “51”. Aligning the clip of the posted cap with the nib of a “51” means that one always has an obvious visual indication of the position of that pen’s nib. Anyway, back in 2021 I was about to post the cap of my Navy Blue Urban when I noticed this: It is a small scuff in the lacquer, through which one can now see the brass of the pen’s body. OK, it is only small, and is hardly ‘the end of the world’. But it made me realise that lacquer (on this pen at least) is not as durable as I had assumed that it would be. Now, it may be that this lacquer on this pen is, for whatever reason, less durable than the lacquer on other pens. Or it may well be the case that I am especially ham-fisted, or clumsy in the way in which I post the cap on this pen, but… If you are, as I am, a person who would find a small scuff mark like this one to be disappointing, I advise you to take care when posting the cap on any lacquered pens that you own. I no longer post the caps on the few I own that have lacquered finishes. Slàinte, M.
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Parker Urban (first version) in ‘Chiselled Ebony’ finish.jpeg
Mercian posted a gallery image in FPN Image Albums
From the album: Mercian’s pens
My most-recently acquired Parker! This NOS pen is the latest example of the first version of the Parker Urban that I have bought. Its ‘Chiselled Ebony’ finish is a lacquer that has been laid over the brass of the pen’s body. It can appear to be black at first glance, but a closer inspection shows that it is actually a very dark brown, like the wood for which it is named. I hope that the difference between the colour of the lacquer and the black of the grip-section is visible on this photo. This pen has a ‘M’ nib.
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Parker Urban in ‘Navy Blue’ lacquer - scuff mark where lacquer has been worn away by ‘posting’ the cap.jpeg
Mercian posted a gallery image in FPN Image Albums
From the album: Mercian’s pens
In case anyone is interested, I took (& have uploaded) this photo to show where I have worn away a small part of the lacquer on this pen’s barrel by ‘posting’ its cap. I bought this pen in 2013, and I always used to ‘post’ the cap on the back of the pen while writing with it. In 2022 I discovered this small scuff-mark, where the lacquer has worn away, and through which the brass of the pen’s body can now be seen. I am fairly sure that ‘posting’ the pen is what has caused the scuff-mark, because it is exactly in-line with the clip of the pen when I post it - and because I always ‘post’ the cap in exactly the same way, so that the clip aligns with the pen’s nib. Since I found this small scuff-mark I no longer ‘post’ the nib on this pen, or on any of the other lacquered pens that I own.
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Parker Urban (first version) in various finishes.jpeg
Mercian posted a gallery image in FPN Image Albums
From the album: Mercian’s pens
I am unusual on FPN, in that I rather like this, first, version of the Parker Urban - enough to have amassed examples of it in four finishes (so far). Top-to-bottom they are: ’Chiselled Ebony’ - ‘M’ nib; ’London Cab Black’ - the glossy-black lacquer, not the matte-black - ‘F’ nib; ’Brushed Chrome’ - finish applied over brass - ‘F’ nib; ’Navy Blue’ - ‘M’ nib. All of mine have chrome trim, because I far prefer its appearance to that of gold trim. They are, like all Parker pens made after 1993, cartridge-converter pens. Nibs are all steel, and they were available in ‘F’ or ‘M’ only. They have the same nib that can be found in the Parker 15/Jotter, Vector, and first-version ‘IM’. It is very much a ‘nail’. One of these pens came to me with a nib that somebody had ‘sprung’, and whose tines I could not get back together, so I had to buy a replacement nib-&-grip-section. I also have another one in the ‘Chiselled Ebony’ finish (with a ‘F’ nib). I ‘managed to’ bend the clip on that pen at its ‘elbow’, and cannot bend it back in to the correct shape. A reputable repairer told me that the cap on these pens can not be disassembled, so I have had to buy another whole pen In 2016 a new version of this pen was launched, along with a new model of the ‘IM’. The post-2016 Urban & ‘IM’ share more components than do their pre-2016 versions. I don’t own any of the newer ones, because they do not have the extravagant curves of this model, which is the feature that made it attractive to me in the first place. These pens do not ‘post’ well, because the cap is fairly hefty, and so posting it so makes the pen feel rather unbalanced. If you wish to post the cap of one of these, you need to know that I posted the cap of the ‘Navy Blue’ one so often that I have worn away a small patch of the lacquer on the barrel, and one can now see the brass beneath it.
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How-to: Set, or change, personal info that others can see about me
A Smug Dill posted a blog entry in Sus Minervam docet
It helps to explore this yourself, revisiting once in a while if need be, and keep in mind where each of those personal info fields are entered. Don't leave it until the urge to change something specific to come upon you, and only then bother to ask the question! Invest the time surveying upfront, instead of waste it later waiting for an answer from nobody in particular. Most of the fields shown above are self-evident as to what they are. I think the only ones that could do with explanation are: Security and Privacy: There is only one setting under there, and that is a toggle for whether your online status (including ‘last active’ date or time) is visible to others Content View Behavior: That has nothing to do with what others can see about you, but only where you would like to start reading when accessing content Enable status updates: This toggle enables/disables the public feed on your profile page; if you disable it, then nobody (including you) can post publicly visible ‘status updates’ or any other message against your profile, but if you enable it, then anyone — friend, foe, or complete stranger — can post something there whenever, without waiting for you to initiate and then only reply to what you wrote Notification Settings have nothing to do with what others can see about you, and so is out of scope for this article, and I'm not going to delve into those right now. (You can look here, here, and here to wrap your head around how notifications work with respect to followed content.) N.B. There is a possibility that some of the above settings and data fields may not be available to Bronze members and/or Silver members, but I have no way of testing that or scoping it out. — • — Another way of getting to the Edit Profile dialog, and the way to change your profile photo (or ‘avatar’), is here: — • — Freeform, custom member titles that one enters for oneself are long gone, and have not been a thing since FPN came back from a long hiatus and platform upgrade late in 2020. -
Hi all, can anyone tell me how to go about disassembling the cap of a first-series Parker Urban? Because I am a scapegrace klutz, I have bent the pen’s clip, and so I now need to get the cap apart in order to try to bend the clip back down towards the curved cap. I have several first-series Urbans, but the one that I have ruined is - of course! - the one in the pretty ‘Chiselled Ebony’ finish; a shaped/moulded lacquer finish that will, undoubtedly, just get ‘chewed off’ the pen by any metal tools with which I try to grip the pen. The bend in my pen’s clip is not in the ‘body’ of the clip, that is still the correct shape (a pleasant curve); the deformation has occurred in the ‘elbow’ of the clip. The part that comes out of the top of the cap, and is parallel to the top of the cap finial, is still at the correct angle. The problem is that the ‘body’ of the clip is now not bent at a right-angle with respect to the short length of metal that comes out of the top of the cap; that bend/‘join’ has now undergone a plastic deformation (as opposed to an elastic, or springy deformation). The result is analogous to having pressed down too hard on a nib in the hope of getting some ‘flex’, and having ‘sprung’ the nib. I estimate that I have deformed that ‘elbow’ in the clip by about twenty degrees 🤦♂️ Exerting pressure on the end of the clip doesn’t enable me to bend that ‘elbow’ back in to the correct shape - because the body of the cap prevents me form being able to bend the clip far enough to reverse the plastic deformation. I need to get the cap apart, so that I can try to bend the ‘elbow’ back to the correct angle. So, does anyone know how to get the cap finial off the top of the cap, so that I can then remove the clip and try to bend its ‘elbow’ back to the correct angle? Is the finial glued? Should I be attempting to un-screw the smooth and polished finial from the top of the pen? Should I be putting a wooden dowel in to the pen’s inner cap, and then trying to push/knock the finial off the top of the cap? My thanks to you in advance for any answers. Slàinte, M.
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Hi, I was just looking through the Fountain Pen Reviews board, and noticed that there do not seem to be any reviews of the 2016 redesign/'refresh' of the Parker Urban yet (as of 2017-04-13). Or, indeed, any reviews of the redesigned version of the 'IM'. As these are both mid-range pens, I am slightly surprised that it seems that nobody on here has either of them. Even if no-one on here has gone out and bought one yet, I would have expected that they are the sort of pens that might often get gifted to people. So I am puzzled (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose... ) Do any of you out there in FPN-land own either of these pens? If so, what do you think of them? I am particularly interested to read your opinions of their nibs, the appearance of which reminds me somewhat of the nibs on my Parker Frontiers. Are these nibs 'nails'? Do they have any 'spring' to them? The nib on my 2005 Frontier M seems to have just a teensy bit more 'character' than the nibs on my Vector, Jotter, and (old-shape) Urban. I was wondering whether the redesigned pens' nibs share that (illusory?) trait. Or can it really be that nobody on FPN has either of these pens? Have the redesigns of these pens provoked only a universal 'meh' from FPN-ers? If that is the case, I fear that Parker may be in big trouble indeed. Full disclosure: I have just ordered a NOS old-shape Urban with a Fine nib, to complement my existing old-shape Urban with its Medium nib. Why did I not order one in the new shape? Becuase the 'coke-bottle'/'Gina Lollobrigida' curves of the older one please me greatly, and it is those curves that been redesigned out of the new one Also, I know that its Fine nib/section will be interchangeable with the Medium of my existing pen.
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Parker Urban Black & Gold Review (2017 Model) The old Parker Urban never got stellar reviews—its build quality was somewhat questionable, the pen had a weird shape, and the nib was just plain awkward. However, with the 2017 Urban refresh, I can confidently say that parker has learned from the mistakes of their last design and delivered a fantastic product. First the design: this pen has an almost all-metal design (except for the grip, which is plastic), and it has a nice weight for long periods of writing. And, the metal construction makes it feel like a solid, expensive pen. The pen measures 13.5 cm long from the cap to the barrel and 11 cm from the section to the barrel, and the tapered plastic section (which I find extremely comfortable), measures about a centimeter in diameter. The pen’s shape is still curved like the old Urban, however, it is much more subtle, and in my opinion, more professional-looking. My particular model has a black-lacquered body with a gold trim, however, many, many different color varieties are available. Additionally, for about $20 (USD) more, you can purchase the Parker Urban Premium pens which have an all metal-construction (including the grip). However, the pen’s lacquer is also one of my gripes: after only about a month of usage, it is already showing scratch marks and scuffs, and under the clip, the lacquer is gone, exposing the gold metal below. Although, on the Premium pens, this should not be a big problem. The design and feel of these pens, though, are top-notch (and in my opinion) maybe comparable to a Lamy Studio. The cap on this pen is a simple snap cap with a solid click to confirm that it’s on tight. The finial is a blank gold mirror without any decoration. The clip is a modern take on the classic Parker Arrow; although it’s better than the old Urban, it is still nowhere near as good as the old 45 and 51 designs, as it still looks kind of stamped and inexpensive. However, it is not too tight, so it can clip onto a shirt pocket with ease. The pen is a cartridge/converter, and unfortunately is a proprietary system. However, the pen includes one cartridge which I managed to refill easily. The pen now has three center bands, along with another gold band where a blind-cap would theoretically be (although this pen is still a cartridge converter). Then, on the end of the barrel is a gold jewel very similar to the finial (a nice little bit of design symmetry). Overall, this pen has a very simple, well-balanced, and pleasing design. This, however, brings me the star of the show when it comes to this pen: the nib. The last Parker Urban was notorious for its pretty awful, weirdly shaped, extremely dry tip. However, parker was very quick to correct this for the 2017 Urban and they delivered in force. The actual nib is quite small—just a little bit shorter in length and wider in width compared to a standard #4—so it has a very strong pentagon shape. Criss-crossing the nib are decorative etchings which give it a modern and professional look. The nib side (medium in my case) is visible on the underside of the feed. The writing experience with this pen, however, is incredible. The nib is a very wet writer—probably the most wet I’ve ever seen from a steel nib thanks to what I believe to be an incredibly robust feed. The actual nib writes extremely smoothly with just the tiniest hints of feedback. It makes for a very comfortable writing experience—in fact, I was able to write a two-hour long, three essay exam with very little exhaustion. Compared to the old nib, this is a godsend. Now, the pen isn’t exactly inexpensive. The normal version retails for around $56 (USD) while the Premium Retails for around $70. However, I think that it is a very nice, well-constructed, all around fantastic pen, and I highly recommend it. ------- If you've enjoyed this review, and would like to see others like it, please consider taking a look at https://pensonpark.com.
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Greetings to all of you. This is my first pen review and it is of the pen Parker Urban. I love this pen as for 50 dollars, I think it is a real STEAL. Appearance and design-9/10 This pen looks classy with black and gold trim. The peculiar shape of the pen has given it a plus point. I was planning to buy the premium one with all black trim and Tron lines all over. But ended up buying this one due to my love for classic pens with black and gold trim. One mark has been cut due to the nib trim. The whole pen has been furnished with gold except the nib. Otherwise a real looker. http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb457/Adit1026/DSC_0008_zpse81w83in.jpg http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb457/Adit1026/DSC_0006_zps8cabhpq6.jpg Construction and Quality-10/10 I believe this pen is made out of brass. Quality is awesome and I have never gotten any issues with it. Size and Weight-10/10 This pen is of the perfect size for me and fits very comfortably with a good amount of weight. Nib Design and Performance-10/10 The nib is a smallish nib but is paired perfectly with the pen's shape and tapered section. The performance is excellent and the nib is a champ. Ink flow is just perfect and writes like a true medium. It wrote perfectly out of the box unlike the Parker Vectors which need prayers for the nib to be smooth. http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb457/Adit1026/DSC_0007_zpsfy0ncyqy.jpg http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb457/Adit1026/DSC_0004_zpsfxlklhmq.jpg I removed the ink from the red Pilot Varsity that I have and filled it in the Parker cartridge instead. Overall-9.6/10 This pen is for anyone who wants a classy pen with a smooth nib. For about 50 dollars, you get a pen with a gift box and a cartridge. There is no converter though but it is better than the Lamy Al-Star which came with neither converter nor cartridge. I am very glad with my purchase. Thanks for reading my first review. Be sure to comment in the section and any questions are welcomed.
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Hey guys, I need your advice!! I always liked the Parker Urban but didn't really think it was worth its 60 EUR price tag. I found a nice deal on ebay for 17,5 GBP + 6 GBP shipping (brand new) and thought I should go for it. The pen arrived today and although I would say that it is genuine, there are some things that bother me. A ) The pen arrived with a few small bumps/dings on the cap. They're not terribly visible but they're there and shouldn't be. B ) The pen arrived with a slide converter and no cartridge. I know that the Urban is supposed to come with a cartridge and no converter. The item description was ambiguous about that. At one point it says indeed that the pen comes with a converter and no cartridge and later on it mentions a half full packet of cartridges. C ) I contacted the seller to ask about the nib size (item description was ambiguous about that too) and although I was told I would get a M nib, I got a F instead. That's not really a problem as I would change the nib either way but I didn't like the misinformation. The seller (from Israel) does list some obviously fake pens among the authentic ones, but the packaging of this specific Urban seems genuine to me. The engraved date code is IIU, the seller lists the pen as made in India, and the manual has the Newell Rubbermaid logo on it. So, what do you think I should do with this pen? Should I return it? Should I ask for a partial refund and if so how much would you ask for? Or should I just accept it as I got a really good deal either way?
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So I have a Parker Urban in bay city blue that came with a medium nib and I'm looking for another nib section in fine instead. The chrome collar just beneath the nib also seems to have problems with leaking on my current nib section. Anyone know where I can get replacements? I tried theonlinepencompany.com which has exactly what I'm looking for but I'm looking for other places that might have cheaper shipping rates.
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I received my Parker Urban Premium in Metallic White, M nib, last Christmas, and have been using it regularly for close to a year now. Right now it's inked with a mixture of Diamine Yellow and Pelikan Brilliant Red. These are my thoughts on how I feel about the pen! Appearance and design http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/hockairu/randoms/IMAG0128.jpg http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/hockairu/randoms/IMAG0129.jpg The Parker Urban Premium is a beautiful pen. I love the streamlined hourglass shape, the lovely pearly white finish. The crisscrossed lines on the barrel and cap add a touch of elegance to the look. Being made of metal, it feels well built and has some weight to it, but not so much that it causes hand fatigue easily. The clip is an unusual, arrow shape, and it feels quite tight. However, one thing I'd like to mention is that the pen scratches very easily, despite the care I've taken to keep it looking as new as possible. You can see the big paint chip on the cap and little scratches on the end of the barrel. The grip is made from shiny black resin that tends to pick up fingerprints easily. The pen posts, but posting makes it top heavy so it's not something I usually do when planning to write for long periods of time. Unposted, the balance is alright. The nib is unusually small - one of the smallest nibs I own. http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/hockairu/randoms/IMAG0121.jpg Filling system The Parker Urban Premium uses a c/c filling system. The converter that comes with the pen is solidly build and holds a decent amount of ink. What I especially like about it is that, instead of having to twist to draw in ink, all you have to do is pull up a plunger (I'm not very sure how to describe it, so I'll just post a picture below). There also happens to be a little ball bearing in the converter that you can shake when ink gets stuck at the top. http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/hockairu/randoms/IMAG0124.jpg http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/hockairu/randoms/IMAG0126_1.jpg Performance The nib is a steel, M nib. The medium writes slightly narrower than the other mediums I have. It is quite stiff, with no flex or line variation. However, mine is very smooth, reliable and wrote perfectly out of the box. I have yet to experience any skipping or hard starts. Flow is somewhat drier than my other fountain pens. Overall impression Despite some minor minus points, all in all I'd say the Parker Urban Premium is a pretty reliable pen with a fantastic design. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking to get an eye-catching yet functional pen for a reasonable price. Thanks for reading my first review! (:
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I'm looking for a pen that costs around £40(price of converter included). I would prefer it to be a wet writer, or just not dry. I'm considering the Faber-Castell Ambition, TWSBI 580, Parker Urban and Lamy Studio Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Parker Urban Fountain Pen – Metallic Chrome review The Parker Urban comes in both rollerball and fountain pens. I received my Urban fountain pen in December 2011. It was my first fountain pen, and I still love it. Appearance (10/10): A Work of Art Of course this is subjective, but I think the pen looks fantastic. I love the thinner-in-the-middle, thicker-at-the-cap design, and the stainless steel body looks like that of a pen five times the price. It does scream “steal me”, but it's very impressive. Design/Size/Weight (8/10): Functional and Forgiving My immediate thought when I picked up the pen was “Whoa, this is lighter than I expected”. It's evenly weighted, but for a full-metal pen, it's almost as light as a cheap metal ballpoint. I like this because it means I can write for longer without tiring out my hand. Unposted, the length is perfect for my medium-sized hands, if a little small, and the thinning-out around the middle makes this a very comfortable pen to use indeed. I only have two complaints about the design: Firstly, the cap is too large to post without making the pen feel top-heavy. So if you like easy posting, maybe steer away from the Parker Urban. My second complaint is that the grip is smooth plastic and tapered towards the nib, so my fingers frequently slide down and touch the nib itself, resulting an inked-up thumb and index finger. If you're used to gripping your pens like disposable ballpoints, as I am, this may be an issue for you. The cap sits nicely and firmly on the pen when capped or posted. It's not a screw-type. The clip is quite stiff but is usable. The metallic chrome body is fingerprint-resistant, but there is the potential for scratching. I've had mine for over a year now, and it's pretty scratched up if you look at it closely. I don't take very good care of my pens, throwing them in my bag with my keys and such, so this won't be a problem if you're a keep-them-at-home kind of person. Nib (7/10): Good, but Not Perfect Firstly, it's so small! I have the medium nib, which is quite smooth and worked out-of-the-box. The smoothness of the nib should not be overstated, though. It's certainly not scratchy, but it's nothing to write home about (no pun intended). Fortunately it has seldom skipped, and ink flow is consistent. It is quite a “dry” writer, using Parker cartridges. I have yet to try a converter with this pen. It's very rigid, even for a steel nib – a little too rigid for my tastes. I assume this is because it's so small. The biggest problem is, though, that you can't remove the nib. Not easily, anyway. I've tried, and failed. I've also heard that it can damage the feed if you try to remove the nib. This shouldn't be too much of a problem, but you may want to take it into consideration. Filling system and maintenance (9/10): Easy, easy, easy Filling with cartridges is fine, though perhaps it's a little difficult to unscrew the pen. The standard Parker cartridges hold plenty of ink, and while I haven't used a converter yet (it didn't come with one), I assume it would hold a similar amount. Maintenance is virtually non-existent. I've only cleaned it once or twice and it still works as well as it did when I got it. Cost and Value (10/10): Bargain It's a steal. I got mine for AU$75 plus shipping, which is a great deal for this high-quality pen. I've seen it for higher prices than that, but in my opinion, it's still worth it. Overall (9/10) I love this pen. It's almost infallible for the price. The biggest thing stopping the Parker Urban Metallic Chrome from receiving a perfect score is the nib: It's not bad, but it's not perfect. Nonetheless it's well worth the price, and I would recommend it to anyone provided they don't like flex or changing nibs.
