The Parker Frontier Review! (Brushed Chrome And Gold-Plated F Turned M Nib!) It's A Story Of How The Nib Fell And Rose Agian To Do What It Has To Do!

[cjpandya]

Hello there people! First of all, this is not a formal review, but i try and provide the needed information with suitable pictures! Its a light read sprinkled with just the right amount of information!

So, I bring to you the review of my Parker Frontier fountain pen! I know that it's too old a model to interest many of you but hey! Old is gold right?? Every pen becomes one with its user! So I've heard...well, that's too much intimacy now! But, i decided to write a review of mine for two reasons: 1) I like this pen so much that while i was writing with it, i thought i should give it the testimony it deserves on my part! and 2) It has got a damaged nib and still it writes perfectly without a scratch! I know its not a very special pen. It is available readily and easily, and is quite inexpensive too, but, beauty (and performance!) in simplicity is THE thing about this pen! Many of you who own this pen and like it, must know what i am talking about! As mentioned in the title, my pen has a gold plated fine-turned-medium nib with other features, also mentioned. But of course the pen comes in a variety of nib sizes and body finishes such as Matt-black, brushed chrome with silver accents e.t.c.

 

LOOKS AND FEEL: This baby is a solid metal pen! With the sleek brushed chrome design and the golden colored arrow-head metal clip and other golden accents..it has got pretty much everything going on for it in the matters of looks and feel!

The chrome body has a nice rounded-off feel with just the right amount of texture of brushed chrome that feels silky but not slippery!

Its juicy!

 

The Head to toe view!

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2874/9340080017_7593947d90_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-15-31-690 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

The toe to head view!

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7444/9340085169_d78952d395_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-15-20-124 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

UPON REMOVING THE CAP, a friendly looking gold-plated nib smiles at you! It lies along with the feed in a plastic grip section. The feed is a screw-fitted one, so be careful not to pull it out just like that! You might break it and thus, ending your beautiful relationship with the pen! You can unscrew it like a normal screw and it will come out easily. The nib is sort of "attached" to the feed by two "hooks" on each side into which the nib clicks in place, which also makes aligning the nib and feed very easy because once you properly "hook" the nib in the feed, it will stay there in a way it is meant to stay! Now, is it sweet or is it sweet?!

 

The pen; Uncapped!

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5449/9342869402_1e819eab0d_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-10-08-955 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

The nib and feed! Sorry i did not separate the nib and the feed as the pen was already inked up and i did not want things to get messy by separating the nib and letting the ink flow around the cloth rag!

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/9340127445_ef359bcca6_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-13-53-301 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

THE NIB that i had in this pen was a "fine" one, but now it writes medium. Here's how it happened. One fine day while writing with it, i kept it aside for a moment to get to a book, but, the luck had its way and the pen rolled off my desk hitting the edge of the drawer on its way down. Praise be to the heavens that the pen did not hit the ground with the nib facing down! (it hit sideways). But, when i picked it up, i saw that the damage had been done by the drawer. Which pinched my heart. The writing end of the nib had bent a little with the tines being displaced away from each other. I applied some pressure and carefully straightened the bent part and pushed the tines toward each other to be aligned and fortunately they snapped in place with a satisfying click! But, when i wrote with it..the nib had changed! It was more wetter and drew a broader line than earlier by which i was actually happy! However, it did loose a bit of its smoothness but it does not bother at all because the difference is very minute.

 

THE NIB THAT WAS ONCE A "F"

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/9340125361_10047ee0c1_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-11-22-764 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

As you can see, the tines are not "normal" but it still writes perfectly!

 

THE INK FILLING MECHANISM is a standard Parker converter which is included with the pen and holds about 0.5 to 1ml of ink.

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/9342916954_330f0e333c_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-14-25-416 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

The pen without the body barrel

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7426/9342920606_df4a586b32_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-14-52-020 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

THE WRITING SAMPLE (Warning! The handwriting and the pen are not a good couple! But, i am working toward betterment of our relationship! )

 

I am posting this picture under natural window-light conditions to give a natural view. The paper is 70 GSM off-white.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/9342864414_295fe48eff_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-03-44-182 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

This one is just for fun and a close-up view! In Hindi

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2860/9342931792_8be304ae03_z.jpg
C360_2013-07-22-15-34-20-280 by deathadder_44, on Flickr

 

So, this marks the end of my review, please do share any comments, suggestions or your experiences or ask questions! Thanks for reading! Have a good day with your beloved pens! Enjoy!

Edited July 22, 2013 by cjpandya

[PeterPenPencil]

I have two of them because I liked the different colors, the pen is a wonderful writer, and the ink flows very nice, I like it.

[cjpandya]

  On 8/5/2013 at 4:24 PM, PeterPenPencil said:

I have two of them because I liked the different colors, the pen is a wonderful writer, and the ink flows very nice, I like it.

I agree. It is a fine writer indeed. I like matt black colour the most on this pen. Which two colours do you own?

[Inky Tom]

Bought one last week- yet to ink it up since I haven't run through the first fill of the Urban I bought previously. Mine's the chrome trim though I like your's better. My concern was that the gold plating wouldn't survive our humid climate down south. How's yours faring? Was it dry writing when in its "Fine" avatar?

[mjarman]

I have two Frontiers and although it's probably sacrilege to say so on FPN, I think they're better pens than the P45. The only problems I ever have are with the horrible convertor, which sticks and jams and eventually loses the gasket. I think some of the old squeeze convertors work from eg the P75.

 

But, as I say, the pen feels good in the hand and the nibs are lovely to write with

Edited August 7, 2013 by mjarman

[cjpandya]

  On 8/7/2013 at 9:45 AM, Inky Tom said:

Bought one last week- yet to ink it up since I haven't run through the first fill of the Urban I bought previously. Mine's the chrome trim though I like your's better. My concern was that the gold plating wouldn't survive our humid climate down south. How's yours faring? Was it dry writing when in its "Fine" avatar?

  On 8/7/2013 at 9:45 AM, Inky Tom said:

Bought one last week- yet to ink it up since I haven't run through the first fill of the Urban I bought previously. Mine's the chrome trim though I like your's better. My concern was that the gold plating wouldn't survive our humid climate down south. How's yours faring? Was it dry writing when in its "Fine" avatar?

No, it was considerabley wet which added to its smoothness..i had a few start-up problems but after that it had no issues whatsoever

[cjpandya]

  On 8/7/2013 at 10:28 AM, mjarman said:

I have two Frontiers and although it's probably sacrilege to say so on FPN, I think they're better pens than the P45. The only problems I ever have are with the horrible convertor, which sticks and jams and eventually loses the gasket. I think some of the old squeeze convertors work from eg the P75.

 

But, as I say, the pen feels good in the hand and the nibs are lovely to write with

I agree aboout the fine writing ability of the nibs. I Have not come across any problem with the converters yet, but they do feel a little flimsy. Hope mines hold up well:-P.

[perth]

I have one made in the US and one made in India by Luxor. Although they're both mediums, the US one is noticeably wetter and smoother.

[Denizzz]

Yep, i have a Brushed chrome with gold-plated nib and trim Frontier with F nib myself (actually writes more like M) and i love it. Really reliable pen, never been scratchy though. Great everyday writer, ink flows like a charm.

[i4sgeorgiev]

I have several Frontiers.

They have nice design and they are great writers!

[cjpandya]

  On 4/16/2014 at 11:37 PM, perth said:

I have one made in the US and one made in India by Luxor. Although they're both mediums, the US one is noticeably wetter and smoother.

Interesting! :-)!

[cjpandya]

  On 4/17/2014 at 5:19 AM, Denizzz said:

Yep, i have a Brushed chrome with gold-plated nib and trim Frontier with F nib myself (actually writes more like M) and i love it. Really reliable pen, never been scratchy though. Great everyday writer, ink flows like a charm.

I agree! Glad to know you enjoy the pen! :-)

[cjpandya]

  On 4/17/2014 at 4:48 PM, i4sgeorgiev said:

I have several Frontiers.

They have nice design and they are great writers!

Yes! Personally, One of the few parkers i love!

[hecya]

I have exactly the same pen. At first I didn´t like the metal finish and so it remained in a drawer for several years. Then I found it again and my impression has been very positive. A great smooth and dependable writer with the right weight. It is the pen I most use now.

[cjpandya]

  On 5/1/2014 at 2:03 AM, hecya said:

I have exactly the same pen. At first I didn´t like the metal finish and so it remained in a drawer for several years. Then I found it again and my impression has been very positive. A great smooth and dependable writer with the right weight. It is the pen I most use now.

Glad to know that you started liking it now! And ya, indeed it is a good and reliable pen. Isn't it pleasantly suprising how our impressions for the same things change over time?! Anyway, Enjoy ur FP's! :-)

[touzeen]

This was the pen that started it all for me...But the section was too broad for my grip and I have moved on to slimmer pens...

[cjpandya]

  On 5/5/2014 at 11:38 AM, touzeen said:

This was the pen that started it all for me...But the section was too broad for my grip and I have moved on to slimmer pens...

ya, its a good starter FP:-)