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I’m relatively new to fountain pens, so my budget isn’t that big yet. That being said, I have bought a Waterman Allure, Lamy Safari and Wordsworth and Black Primori. They’re all very nice to use, smooth ink flow, not much scratch etc., but I’m looking to expand my collection. The pens I’m considering right now are the Parker Jotter, Vector and Urban, as they’re all quite cheap and in my price range. What are your opinions on these pens? Which one should I get? (For reference, my budget is around $50 AUD)

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.

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.

My £3 platinum preppy feels MUCH smoother than my newly bought £45 parker urban, it does not feel scratchy but just feels quite a bit rougher than my cheapest pen. Is it just meant to be drier and feel like this? or is there a problem with it? either way is there anything I can do about it. The preppy is using sheaffer skrip blue ink and the urban is using the cartridge it came in, does this change anything?

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.

I own a Parker Urban Fountain Pen which was dropped and suffered from a nib misalignment. The nib was misplaced slightly to the left. Is there a step by step way to do this? I believe it involves heat, but I don't know the proper way to heat the pen without damaging the plastic.

Call me weird but we all have our little OCD secrets, after all we're pen fanatics. I absolutely hate people touching my Lamy Safari because they always leave it feeling warm. It's a different warm feeling from leaving it in the car or picking it up right after putting it down. And it's even worst when I use my Parker Urban Ballpoint (because I can flick this pen without the fear of ink going splat). When I let other people use it, instead of telling them that I'm OCD over pens, I end up having a warm pen (sometimes even oily GRR). The warm and oiliness is worsened by the fact that it is a metal pen. Soo... How do you fanatics solve the warm pen issue for pens other than FP. I can solve the oily issue by using the cloth for my glasses but I can't seem to lug around liquid nitrogen. And this is a real annoyance because I start to drift off school work and onto the fact that my pen is warm... >

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.