Parker Vector - A Classic?

[Geordielass]

I have to agree -- when I thought I lost the original Vector I got one of the Urban sets they sell at places like Office Max (pen, four cartridges, slide converter and bottle of Quink) and had all sorts of problems with converters; the second time I sent it back for warranty repairs they sent me a new one which has just been an awful pen -- scratchy nib that leaks from the top from under the section. I'm tempted to send it back again because I still have a couple of years left on the warranty (which is course on the *original* pen, not this new one...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I'm pretty confident that that is the same nib as the Vector (and Jotter et al), so you should be getting similar performance from it. If it's scratchy and leaky then send it back - whether it's a pen or anything else, new should always mean that it looks and performs like new.

 

I agree Geordielass. The style of the nib on the I.M was the only let down for me on such a great pen, being too skinny and elongated. It would have definitely benefitted from having a more classic shape of nib, such as found on the Sonnet and Frontier.

 

I suppose it got the Vector style nib as the I.M / Profile was an update of the Vector XL and 3-in-1, so it's part of the Vector family. However, the redesigned all metal I.M, (being a heavier pen) deserved a heftier nib than what was on the earlier plasticky Profile version.

I think the IM (and the Urban, for that matter, though perhaps I need to take Ruth's experience as a warning) look like nice pens, but I'm in no rush to buy either. After all, the nib is the most important part of any pen and I already have 3 of these ones.

 

If a very cheap pen is so good than the Vector is, then you will never like to purchase an expensive one that does not performs like it. I own many Parker Vector pens and once in a while end up writing and drawing with them. I have even interchanged parts among the many styles of Vectors. It is a very shameful fact that other more expensive pen's nibs perform so bad when the pens are new. I've had to learn by myself to repair the nibs of many of my expensive ones, because, when compared to the Parker Vector nibs, they cannot perform so nice. The Parker Vector is one of the standards of cheap pens, and of quality. If you want to start in fountain pen use, please try to purchase a Vector, you will not repent from the decision. This topic and the nice people who wrote here are the proofs of what we say here.

My very cheap Parker has been so good and reliable over the years that I am always a bit shocked when I read about someone spending $500 on a pen and it not working perfectly straight out of the box. My very favourite pen/nib is actually a Faber-Castell, but the Vector isn't too far behind it in performance, and the cost is a fraction of my F-C Ambition.

 

The Frontier nib was quite nice. It actually unscrews from the grip section if done carefully. I didn't like that the section was rubberized though.

 

Dillon

I like rubberised sections, but I gather the rubber wears quickly on some Frontiers - put's me off a little. I'll almost certainly still get one, but that and the gradually slackening lid seem like inherent faults - it's a shame - otherwise, it seems like a high quality pen for the money.

[swanjun]

I currently have five Vectors and two Jotters and I, too, really enjoy the way they write. And I don't have to worry about what ink goes in them or anything. Love 'em.

[Centopar]

My school pen was a navy blue Vector as well - I think they were the prescribed pen at my boarding school in the 1980s. (I wonder what happened to it!) We had sloping desks with flip-tops and a depression for the pen to lie in, with a little hole for an ink well, both set above the hinge. We used to have to sandpaper and polish them at the end of every term to get the ink stains and graffiti off.

 

My Vector had a lovely smooth medium nib. We all believed with all our hearts the myth about the nib adapting to your hand (in fact, I'm pretty sure the teachers perpetuated it), so we really weren't supposed to swap pens, but of course we did, and they all felt very similar.

 

I later graduated to a silver Parker Sonnet my parents gave me when I left school at 18, but very sadly, it got lost in a house move in my 20s. I really ought to replace that pen, just for sentiment's sake. Like Geordielass, the quality of those bog-standard Parkers back in the day habituated me to the idea that fountain pens were nice to write with, and lovely to use, setting me up for many years enormous enjoyment of them. I'm glad we were lucky enough to have them.

[Mike 59]

Hi All, Interesting to read how many people like and still use the Vector.

It was my first fountain pen, 1993, a dark blue barrel and cap, UK made with the usual medium steel nib.

I have never had the feed out of it but it gets a flush through every few months, it's very smooth and writes with a slightly wide medium line. I also found the sharp edge on the barrel, so I rounded it off, and it can be seen in the photo. A totally reliable pen.

The Frontier is probably my most used pen, a 'daily writer' since I bought it in 2008.

The issue with peeling on the grip, also shows on the photo, I think there is a polythene coating which wears through, but this is after many years of use. The nib in this one is very smooth also, a very ordinary medium line.

The Frontier's feed is unusual, it has a one turn thread, then it pulls straight out. Very easy to service, the nib has the extra feature of clipping on to the feed on each side, so that the feed and nib go back into the section 'as one'.

Apart from the purple barrel, a colour I never liked, it's very hard to find fault with it, maybe a little light in weight.

The cap has got a very small amount of movement, but it's been used many hundreds of times.

I have used all of the refill options, but the favourite is a Penman cartridge, which I refill with black Quink.

I remember I paid £7 for it in W.H.Smith sale, so little for a well designed pen.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Mike 59

[sandy101]

Parker Vectors are half price in WH Smiths this week.

 

For the record I have the Frontier and the I M (Premium). The nib on the Frontier is scratchy - the IM is not so. Both are medium nibs.

[Geordielass]

My school pen was a navy blue Vector as well - I think they were the prescribed pen at my boarding school in the 1980s. (I wonder what happened to it!) We had sloping desks with flip-tops and a depression for the pen to lie in, with a little hole for an ink well, both set above the hinge. We used to have to sandpaper and polish them at the end of every term to get the ink stains and graffiti off.

 

My Vector had a lovely smooth medium nib. We all believed with all our hearts the myth about the nib adapting to your hand (in fact, I'm pretty sure the teachers perpetuated it), so we really weren't supposed to swap pens, but of course we did, and they all felt very similar.

 

I later graduated to a silver Parker Sonnet my parents gave me when I left school at 18, but very sadly, it got lost in a house move in my 20s. I really ought to replace that pen, just for sentiment's sake. Like Geordielass, the quality of those bog-standard Parkers back in the day habituated me to the idea that fountain pens were nice to write with, and lovely to use, setting me up for many years enormous enjoyment of them. I'm glad we were lucky enough to have them.

You're bringing back memories, we had desks like that in junior school, too - though I don't recall the sandpaper part. We all had different pens - Vectors and Sheaffer No Nonsense were the most common, then Parker 15s/Jotters and the occasional Lamy Safari.

 

Hi All, Interesting to read how many people like and still use the Vector.

It was my first fountain pen, 1993, a dark blue barrel and cap, UK made with the usual medium steel nib.

I have never had the feed out of it but it gets a flush through every few months, it's very smooth and writes with a slightly wide medium line. I also found the sharp edge on the barrel, so I rounded it off, and it can be seen in the photo. A totally reliable pen.

Yes, I wasn't sure when I wrote the review whether I'd get appreciation or derision for the Vector, in response, it's definitely a little under-appreciated on FPN in general, I find, but it's nice to find out that it has more fans than I thought.

 

Ah, so it probably was me who got lucky not having any sharp edges on the barrel - either that or I took an emory board to it and it's so long ago I don't remember!

 

Parker Vectors are half price in WH Smiths this week.

 

For the record I have the Frontier and the I M (Premium). The nib on the Frontier is scratchy - the IM is not so. Both are medium nibs.

Thanks for the heads up about W H Smith - do you know if it's just Vectors or all Parkers?

 

Unfortunately, it's only useful to anyone who has a local one right now, though, as I gather the website is shut down for the foreseeable, after that Kobo ebooks debacle.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Geordielass

[henkm]

I have a vector flighter that got little love after the converter broke. (read, it spent roughly ten years in a forgotten pencil case, with the remains of the inky mess that the broken converter left behind).

 

I must have been exceptionally boorish with mine as the clip has lost all its spring and then some and the cap doesn't click onto the section anymore. Anyway, I cleaned it out and when time permits I'll see about getting carts or a new converter.

 

Thanks for the nice review and the Adams quotes, I recognised them before I saw you had the source written there.

Edited October 14, 2013 by henkm

[Vendome]

Although Newhaven shut in 2010, the Vectors I've bought in the last year have all been English made New OId Stock FPs and Rollerballs.

 

[sandy101]

Thanks for the heads up about W H Smith - do you know if it's just Vectors or all Parkers?

 

Jotters & Vectors only, I think. I don't recall seeing any urbans in the sale.

 

 

[WaskiSquirrel]

A Vector was my very first pen, and it served me for years. Sometime during one of my moves it disappeared.

 

I liked the pen. My only real complaint was that it was fine, but wrote a little wide for my tastes.

[Mike 59]

Hi All, Regarding the W.H.Smith sale, (UK), it did seem that all the 'Jotter' range and all the 'Vector' range was included in the sale, (or promotion I think) but I did see an 'I.M' ballpoint too. I bought the claret red Jotter ballpoint for £5.

Regarding the 'I.M' and 'Urban' nibs, I have one of each and find them to be very smooth writers. But I tried to fit the nib from the Urban into an old Vector, it didn't fit. The shape is slightly different, looking at them from the side view.

I did get the feed and nib out of an old Vector, but nearly destroyed it in the attempt.

My original '93 Vector will not be taken apart, it writes better now than it did when new, it's a good 'back up', as I know it will always write well. Not 'special' or valuable, it just keeps working !

[stephanos]

Excellent review, thank you.

 

The Vector is most definitely a classic model: good quality, practically unbreakable, very forgiving of all kinds of treatment, and not expensive. Honestly, what's not to like? It also happens to be an excellent 'gateway'...

[Geordielass]

Hi All, Regarding the W.H.Smith sale, (UK), it did seem that all the 'Jotter' range and all the 'Vector' range was included in the sale, (or promotion I think) but I did see an 'I.M' ballpoint too. I bought the claret red Jotter ballpoint for £5.

Regarding the 'I.M' and 'Urban' nibs, I have one of each and find them to be very smooth writers. But I tried to fit the nib from the Urban into an old Vector, it didn't fit. The shape is slightly different, looking at them from the side view.

I did get the feed and nib out of an old Vector, but nearly destroyed it in the attempt.

My original '93 Vector will not be taken apart, it writes better now than it did when new, it's a good 'back up', as I know it will always write well. Not 'special' or valuable, it just keeps working !

Thanks for the info about the IM and Urban nibs, that's very interesting - I think I read (on FPN?) that they were the same nibs as the Vector but I wasn't absolutely sure if they were the same or not. They do look alike, at least from what I can see in photos, so perhaps it isn't surprising that unless you actually look really carefully or try to swap them, that even people who own both IMs/Urbans and Vectors/Jotters will assume they are the same.

 

 

Excellent review, thank you.

 

The Vector is most definitely a classic model: good quality, practically unbreakable, very forgiving of all kinds of treatment, and not expensive. Honestly, what's not to like? It also happens to be an excellent 'gateway'...

Thanks.

 

This thread is proof, if anyone needed it, that Vectors are amazingly effective as a "gateway drug"!

[Geordielass]

Huh! Went to W H Smiths, thinking if they had Vectors cheap, I might just purchase one to replace the cracked body (its, not mine!) None were reduced, and they were all £14.99 - for a Vector!

 

Aside from that, the shop was so badly lit I thought it was closed at first, so badly set out that standing between two shelves felt claustrophobic, and every member of staff had a face like a slapped arse that had been sucking lemons (I know, I know, a very odd mixed metaphor) - and they wonder why we are all moving over to the convenience of internet shopping. It's a while since I had been in and I think it'll be even longer until I go back!

Edited October 17, 2013 by Geordielass

[PeterPenPencil]

The Frontier nib was quite nice. It actually unscrews from the grip section if done carefully. I didn't like that the section was rubberized though.

 

Dillon

The Frontier is another of the very good ones. I purchased 2 and the nib is outstanding, writes very well. However, don't let it be without using for too long because the ink blots out of the pen.

[Vendome]

Geordielass

 

Type "Parker Gent Pen" as a search in Amazon. A lovely U.K made design for £4.50, free postage. Or the Vector Premium models are about a tenner.

 

Jason

[robofkent]

Huh! Went to W H Smiths, thinking if they had Vectors cheap, I might just purchase one to replace the cracked body (its, not mine!) None were reduced, and they were all £14.99 - for a Vector!

 

Aside from that, the shop was so badly lit I thought it was closed at first, so badly set out that standing between two shelves felt claustrophobic, and every member of staff had a face like a slapped arse that had been sucking lemons (I know, I know, a very odd mixed metaphor) - and they wonder why we are all moving over to the convenience of internet shopping. It's a while since I had been in and I think it'll be even longer until I go back!

Agree generally about WH Smiths these days. Amazon and Ebay are far cheaper!

Edited October 17, 2013 by robofkent

[Geordielass]

Agree generally about WH Smiths these days. Amazon and Ebay are far cheaper!

The real shame about it is that I'd rather give a local shop the business, but they have to try to give reasonable service, shopping experience and prices - it's no wonder it's rumoured that Smiths are having financial problems.

 

Geordielass

 

Type "Parker Gent Pen" as a search in Amazon. A lovely U.K made design for £4.50, free postage. Or the Vector Premium models are about a tenner.

 

Jason

 

Thanks Jason, I had a look but I'm trying to be strong - ducking into Smith's was a real impulse thing. What I mean is that I've bought so many pens, inks, notebooks etc in the last couple of months, that I keep telling myself that I won't buy anything else stationery-related until at least the new year! Maybe I can give myself a Vector Premium as stocking filler if I can keep from purchasing anything else for the next two months - (or I could get a Frontier instead of the Premium (the black ones are only £6.89 on amazon right now) and keep watching this Vector cracking up until it really does fall apart).

 

I wasn't sure about the Gent one, at least in the picture on amazon (it looks almost fluorescent, even the blue parts) but I like to look of it in your photo, (either that or I'm just dazzled by the array! ) so if my Vector drops to bits sooner rather than later, I'll be sure to give that one a try.

 

Elise

[Sridhar]

A very nice review....tempts me to pull out the old vector (out there somewhere) and restart it......

[HildyZ]

My Vector is black, medium nib, U.S. made, and I must have purchased it between 1994 - 1996. (When did I get so old!)

 

 

I used it all throughout college, and ever since. It has never given me a minute's trouble, and it is one of the pens I take along on trips or on the train, when reliable performance is a must.

 

I don't notice any sharp edges on the body or section, but I may have just worn them off!

 

I had another one in silver with a fine nib, but a friend "borrowed" it, and I haven't got the heart to make her give it back, she loves it so.