Italix 'parsons' Essential' Fountain Pen.

[Bemo]

Hi ya Mags,

 

I haven't received mine yet. I have such poor handwriting that my few experiences with stubs have been underwhelming. So I opted for the fine point and am interested to see how it writes. I have a few Pelikan's both modern and vintage so if you say the Essential hold's it's own, that's high praise indeed.

[cbaytan]

Anyone here willing to exchange green cap and barrel with my amber one I dislike? Mine is immaculate as new since almost never used except coupla times, I have to ask the same. I am located in Turkey, please PM me if you intend to exchange for details. Here are the pics.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/252363-italix-parsons-essential-color-combinations/

[CairoMN]

I've had my parsons essential for nearly a year now. I use it every day at least twice a day. It looks great.

I have been using the same ink in it (diamine syrah) and have nearly used the whole bottle up.

All I can say is it is a quality bit of kit and you should get one..... Right now!

Ps I am 16 years old so you know I do a lot of writing.

[LeChef]

This is great! I was looking for a new pen and did not think to check in with FPN for reviews first. Silly me! But, as luck would have it, I ended up ordering a parson's essential with a medium italic nib. After reading all your reviews it appears that I won't be disappointed. I will have to be patient though. Canada is a bit farther to ship to. I'll check back when I get it.

[TSherbs]

This is great! I was looking for a new pen and did not think to check in with FPN for reviews first. Silly me! But, as luck would have it, I ended up ordering a parson's essential with a medium italic nib. After reading all your reviews it appears that I won't be disappointed. I will have to be patient though. Canada is a bit farther to ship to. I'll check back when I get it.

Love mine! (same as yours)

[Virobono]

After reading this thread, and being in the market for a daily use pen for work, I narrowed the choice down to a Parson's Essential and a Kaweco Dia 2. I ordered on Monday night and today my Parson's Essential in burgundy with a fine nib arrived; I must say that both the pen and Mr Pen's service lives up to the reviews.

 

I also ordered the matching ballpoint pen, for quick notes on the go, and am pleased with that too; it has a nice heft and is comfortable to write with.

 

No doubt I will end up buying the Kaweco as well at some point...

[Blue_Moon]

After reading this thread, and being in the market for a daily use pen for work, I narrowed the choice down to a Parson's Essential and a Kaweco Dia 2. I ordered on Monday night and today my Parson's Essential in burgundy with a fine nib arrived; I must say that both the pen and Mr Pen's service lives up to the reviews.

 

I also ordered the matching ballpoint pen, for quick notes on the go, and am pleased with that too; it has a nice heft and is comfortable to write with.

 

No doubt I will end up buying the Kaweco as well at some point...

 

You made the right choice. Welcome to the club!

[pjford]

[TSherbs]

Mr. Ford: My nib and feed are not coming out when I pull quite hard (Parson's Essential). But I did unscrew the feed sleeve from the grip section. However, I have still not been able to separate the nib or feed from the sleeve. Were all of your versions of the Essential friction fit? I have a Burgundy with the medium stub? Any suggestions on how to loosen them a bit to get them out for cleaning?

[4x4xpens]

You've removed the converter from the pen I assume?

[pjford]

Mr. Ford: My nib and feed are not coming out when I pull quite hard (Parson's Essential). But I did unscrew the feed sleeve from the grip section. However, I have still not been able to separate the nib or feed from the sleeve. Were all of your versions of the Essential friction fit? I have a Burgundy with the medium stub? Any suggestions on how to loosen them a bit to get them out for cleaning?

You should not unscrew, just pull. Screw it back in then pull it out.

[TSherbs]

You should not unscrew, just pull. Screw it back in then pull it out.

I'll try again, thanks!

[Quadratus]

I bought a Parsons Italix some months ago, as I was looking for a good, reliable FP with a medium italic nib. At £35 it was an excellent purchase, with qualities of weight, balance, ink flow and general look that would quite respectably compete with much more "up market" labels. I use Mr Pen's excellent own brand of Brilliant Blue which is a diamine royal blue with an added ingredient and also Pelikan royal blue, and the result is extremely pleasing. The only serious design fault is the very stiff clip, which other reviewers have remarked upon.

 

The packaging and delivery from Mr Pen was absolutely first rate.

 

Overall I would recommend this pen to anyone who wants a reliable, all-round FP.

[ballboy]

I don't even mind the tight clip, as it still works plus, has no chance of becoming loose and detracting from the tight build quality and reliability of the pen.

[Tom Traubert]

I've had my burgundy w/ medium stub for a week now. £/performance it's, along with my TWSBI Diamond 580, the best pen I own. It'll also play quite happily with some difficult inks.

[pjford]

We are going to introduce to our range two new models, these are up market premium quality that will compete with pens costing around £500 ($800 USD). We will add the lines at the end of July. No pictures yet, but will show here when available. They are:

 

'Italix Imperium State' with 18k solid gold two tone nib medium at £169 inc VAT or £141 (export) about $232 USD. Italic version with stainless steel two tone in our usual variety of nib types at just £89 inc VAT or £74 (export) about £122 USD. This pen if offered by a premium brand would be sold at about £380 or $627 USD. Des: Large weighty fountain pen, sprung clip, screw cap, all brass with diamond cut high gloss lacquer finish. Gold nib pens are grey lacquer, the others are plain black lacquer.

 

'Italix Vipers Strike' with 18k solid gold medium nib (no italic options to start with) at £95 inc VAT or £79 (export) about $130 USD. This pen if offered by a premium brand would be sold at about £175 or $288 USD. Des: Slim (ish) pen with textured black barrel, polished bright work, 18k gold nib.

[TMac]

After a year or more of wanting this pen, I finally purchased one. Even though all of the reviews are great, I still was not prepared for just how good this pen is. I have been using this every day since I purchased it a month ago. Inked with Diamine Imperial Purple, it has quickly become my favorite pen. I love everything about this pen, from the consistent medium nib to the smooth finish. I really love the cap band.

[Cryptos]

Hey snap! Mine is inked with Imperial Purple too! Great pen.

[Tom Traubert]

Mine developed a fault that eventually stopped flow completely. I had a new nib unit less than 24 hours after first emailing Peter Ford about it. It's even better than the first one before it developed problems. Incredible pen and incredible service.

[TSherbs]

We are going to introduce to our range two new models, these are up market premium quality that will compete with pens costing around £500 ($800 USD). We will add the lines at the end of July. No pictures yet, but will show here when available. They are:

 

'Italix Imperium State' with 18k solid gold two tone nib medium at £169 inc VAT or £141 (export) about $232 USD. Italic version with stainless steel two tone in our usual variety of nib types at just £89 inc VAT or £74 (export) about £122 USD. This pen if offered by a premium brand would be sold at about £380 or $627 USD. Des: Large weighty fountain pen, sprung clip, screw cap, all brass with diamond cut high gloss lacquer finish. Gold nib pens are grey lacquer, the others are plain black lacquer.

 

'Italix Vipers Strike' with 18k solid gold medium nib (no italic options to start with) at £95 inc VAT or £79 (export) about $130 USD. This pen if offered by a premium brand would be sold at about £175 or $288 USD. Des: Slim (ish) pen with textured black barrel, polished bright work, 18k gold nib.

Very intriguing, Mr. Ford!