Parker Frontier

[5umedh]

Parker Frontier




Intro
Now this is one of the oldest pens I have in my fountain pen collection. When you are at a initial stage of your fountain pen obsession, Parker is the brand you end up having 90% of times.

The Packaging
This pen comes in a regular cardboard box provided with most of the Parker pens. Nothing fancy here. But I have also seen a same product in a different tin box packaging.


The Body
The variant I happened to choose was the chrome one. I like the body of this pen. There is noothing going much with it. Simple yet works best.





Clip & Pocket Looks
When you carry a Parker in your pocket, everyone around knows what brand you are carrying (if they are into FP world). That’s because of the clip of the pen. Parker’s trademark arrow clip. Works great. Spring loaded. Looks awesome.










The Cap
Cap is friction fit. Not anything more with that.

Filling Mechanism
This is a cartridge converter pen with standard international cartridges. The box comes with a cartridge and Parker converter.




Writing Experience
I don’t know about the current league of Parker Frontiers, but this particular pen I have is too scratchy. I had to work a lot on this pen over last 6 years. Had to tune the nib to suit my writing style. Overall, not a very good experience.

Posting
Posting makes this pen too long (15.2 CM) but not top heavy indeed. I don’t find any difference in writing experience whether you post it or not.





Cost

This pen costs you around ₹600 in India and I saw it on Amazon US for $9.



General Info
Locking Mechanism: Friction fit
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge Converter
Posted: 15.2 cm
Capped: 13.2 cm
Uncapped: 12.3 cm
My Ratings
Nib: 4/10
Looks: 6/10
Pocket Looks: 7/10
Writing Experience: 4/10
Wetness: 3/10
Scratchiness: 1/10
Cost: 9/10

Overall Rating: 4/10



Do let me know how you like the review.
Follow my blog: https://pen5um.wordpress.com

 

Thanks,

5umedh

Edited March 3, 2017 by 5umedh

[s_t_e_v_e]

Nice review, thanks!

Is this version made by Luxor in India or is it made in UK? Looks to me like a UK made one.

I think, currently, only Luxor makes frontiers. Parker UK/France does not make frontiers anymore. It's a nice pen but the nib can be a hit or a miss, be it UK-made or India-made. Having owned several Frontiers, I can say that the overall quality of the two versions is identical.

[Flounder]

Ah, I've got a couple of these knocking around somewhere, an M and a B nib (neither flighters, I prefer the warmth of a plastic barrel). I haven't heard of any that use international carts, I thought they all took Parker cartridges and converters.

 

ps = this should be a snap cap, if yours is only friction fit, the inner cap may have worn out.

[antichresis]

An excellent review, thanks!

[lovemy51]

nice review of a very reliable pen. mine doesn't see much action -so many pens, you know...!!! your all SS model looks very nice!

[Lexus77]

I have one of these with a dark blue plastic barrel, and I love it. The smoothest nib in my (small and modest) collection, and a very wet and incredibly reliable writer. The only thing I'm less fond of is the design... it's just a cheap fountain pen, and it looks like it, too. Absolutely no feel of lucury anywhere, except in the writing experience. But I can't complain, bought it of a second hand sales site for 4 euros.

[gistar]

Thanks for the review. I have a couple of the U.K. made Frontiers and although they do lack in style and quality, I find they write quite smooth and wet. Did not touch the nib at all, factory standard. Actually they write better than my Sonnets. Use them at the office with cheap paper but good ink, and although I do not really enjoy them, they are good workhorses and cheap for what they are (or were, I got them 15 years ago and remember them as being quite cheap).

[Andrea_R]

great review, unfortunately the nib is the really weak spot of this model otherwise would be a worthy modern version of the 51

[Mercian]

Hi, I have a stainless steel Frontier made by Luxor, a black & chrome Luxor Frontier, and an English Parker Frontier in 'Luna Grey'.

The Luxor pens both have F nibs, and the Parker one an M nib.

All of mine are smooth, wet writers.

 

I am surprised that you can get Standard International cartridges to work in your Frontier.

Parker pens are designed to use Parker's own (proprietary) design of cartridges, which are a different design to the International ones.

[5umedh]

Thank you all for your lovely replies.

 

Nice review, thanks!

Is this version made by Luxor in India or is it made in UK? Looks to me like a UK made one.

I think, currently, only Luxor makes frontiers. Parker UK/France does not make frontiers anymore. It's a nice pen but the nib can be a hit or a miss, be it UK-made or India-made. Having owned several Frontiers, I can say that the overall quality of the two versions is identical.

this is a luxur-parker Indian made frontier.

 

Ah, I've got a couple of these knocking around somewhere, an M and a B nib (neither flighters, I prefer the warmth of a plastic barrel). I haven't heard of any that use international carts, I thought they all took Parker cartridges and converters.

 

ps = this should be a snap cap, if yours is only friction fit, the inner cap may have worn out.

Yeah... I could use SIC in my frontier. I think you are right... even I dont remember this being a friction fit cap originally.

 

An excellent review, thanks!

Thanks a lot

 

nice review of a very reliable pen. mine doesn't see much action -so many pens, you know...!!! your all SS model looks very nice!

mine too... rarely used nowadays

 

I have one of these with a dark blue plastic barrel, and I love it. The smoothest nib in my (small and modest) collection, and a very wet and incredibly reliable writer. The only thing I'm less fond of is the design... it's just a cheap fountain pen, and it looks like it, too. Absolutely no feel of lucury anywhere, except in the writing experience. But I can't complain, bought it of a second hand sales site for 4 euros.

great... i think its a decent design u get for the price u pay

 

Thanks for the review. I have a couple of the U.K. made Frontiers and although they do lack in style and quality, I find they write quite smooth and wet. Did not touch the nib at all, factory standard. Actually they write better than my Sonnets. Use them at the office with cheap paper but good ink, and although I do not really enjoy them, they are good workhorses and cheap for what they are (or were, I got them 15 years ago and remember them as being quite cheap).

 

thanks gistar, great to hear that... i might be the unlucky one to have this kind of nib.

great review, unfortunately the nib is the really weak spot of this model otherwise would be a worthy modern version of the 51

absolutely right.

 

Hi, I have a stainless steel Frontier made by Luxor, a black & chrome Luxor Frontier, and an English Parker Frontier in 'Luna Grey'.
The Luxor pens both have F nibs, and the Parker one an M nib.
All of mine are smooth, wet writers.

I am surprised that you can get Standard International cartridges to work in your Frontier.
Parker pens are designed to use Parker's own (proprietary) design of cartridges, which are a different design to the International ones.

Yeah... I could use SIC in my frontier. i would love to see a picture of your English Parker Frontier in 'Luna Grey'

 

 

Thanks,

 

5umedh

https://pen5um.wordpress.com/

Edited March 5, 2017 by 5umedh

[suman5492]

Parker Frontier

 

 

 

Intro

Now this is one of the oldest pens I have in my fountain pen collection. When you are at a initial stage of your fountain pen obsession, Parker is the brand you end up having 90% of times.

 

The Packaging

This pen comes in a regular cardboard box provided with most of the Parker pens. Nothing fancy here. But I have also seen a same product in a different tin box packaging.

 

The Body

The variant I happened to choose was the chrome one. I like the body of this pen. There is noothing going much with it. Simple yet works best.

 

 

 

 

Clip & Pocket Looks

When you carry a Parker in your pocket, everyone around knows what brand you are carrying (if they are into FP world). That’s because of the clip of the pen. Parker’s trademark arrow clip. Works great. Spring loaded. Looks awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cap

Cap is friction fit. Not anything more with that.

 

Filling Mechanism

This is a cartridge converter pen with standard international cartridges. The box comes with a cartridge and Parker converter.

 

 

 

Writing Experience

I don’t know about the current league of Parker Frontiers, but this particular pen I have is too scratchy. I had to work a lot on this pen over last 6 years. Had to tune the nib to suit my writing style. Overall, not a very good experience.

 

Posting

Posting makes this pen too long (15.2 CM) but not top heavy indeed. I don’t find any difference in writing experience whether you post it or not.

 

 

 

 

Cost

 

This pen costs you around ₹600 in India and I saw it on Amazon US for $9.

 

 

 

General Info

Locking Mechanism: Friction fit

Filling Mechanism: Cartridge Converter

Posted: 15.2 cm

Capped: 13.2 cm

Uncapped: 12.3 cm

My Ratings

Nib: 4/10

Looks: 6/10

Pocket Looks: 7/10

Writing Experience: 4/10

Wetness: 3/10

Scratchiness: 1/10

Cost: 9/10

 

Overall Rating: 4/10

 

 

Do let me know how you like the review.

Follow my blog: https://pen5um.wordpress.com

 

Thanks,

5umedh

Is it possible to remove the nib and feed?

[death89]

You should be able to unscrew the feed and then unclip the nib from the feed.

 

Love my battered old ss/gp Frontier, far less finicky than the Sonnet.

[Actor-out-on-loan]

Funny, I have a Frontier circa late 90's. I let people, ( non FP users) use it every now again and the response is overwhelmingly positive. The one I have is as smooth as my Townsend and about 10% its' value. Go figure. Now if memory serves me when I first got it, it was a tiny bit scratchy, a few passes over some Mylar and wallah,... Overall I'd say it's the best everyday, no frill pen I've owned

 

[Lloyd_G]

As I understand it, the Frontier uses the exact same nib and feed as the basic Sonnet. I understand that the more expensive versions obviously use precious metals and have a much higher quality control. However, for all these people saying how bad the nib is, doesn't bode well for the purchase of a new Sonnet

 

Now my version of the Frontier, made in France, is a good, smooth and wet writer. I made sure to purchase the version that actually has "Frontier" engraved on the cap, directly beneath the arrow point of the clip. My understanding is, modern Frontiers do not have this! What lets it down is that the cap doesn't fit properly and there is a gap between the base of the cap and the pen barrel. Luxor or Rubbermaid (can't recall which company) wanted photographs before they'd even look at it! Sorry, but Parker have gone down hill since the 80's and earlier. when to own a Parker meant something special. Nowadays, I find a 1 or 2 GBP Baoer 388 to be a more reliable, higher quality pen - which is very sad. I will never again buy a new Parker pen, if I ever buy another it will be a vintage model.

 

As a side note, I have never seen a Parker pen of any model number use an international standard cartridge. I'd have to ask the OP, are you sure 100% it's a genuine Parker? Does anybody know if/when Parker started to use International Standard carts?

Edited August 18, 2018 by Lloyd_G

[prashant.tikekar]

I agree with Lloyd_G. I have Frontier manufactured or marketed by Luxor for Indian market and it uses Parker proprietary cartridges and converters not the standard international ones. And the fine nib on my Frontier is wet and smooth but writes tad thick line. Just like a medium.

[5umedh]

You should be able to unscrew the feed and then unclip the nib from the feed.

 

Love my battered old ss/gp Frontier, far less finicky than the Sonnet.

Ohh I see... Let me try that

 

Funny, I have a Frontier circa late 90's. I let people, ( non FP users) use it every now again and the response is overwhelmingly positive. The one I have is as smooth as my Townsend and about 10% its' value. Go figure. Now if memory serves me when I first got it, it was a tiny bit scratchy, a few passes over some Mylar and wallah,... Overall I'd say it's the best everyday, no frill pen I've owned

 

front.jpg

Yeah... I have used at least 3 frontier with the similar kind of experience as mine here n there

 

I agree with Lloyd_G. I have Frontier manufactured or marketed by Luxor for Indian market and it uses Parker proprietary cartridges and converters not the standard international ones. And the fine nib on my Frontier is wet and smooth but writes tad thick line. Just like a medium.

Ahh! probably I fit SIC's into my Frontier since as long as my memory can go back... I have used mine with SICs only... but you might be correct

Edited August 23, 2018 by 5umedh

[JayKay3000]

I sold a bunch of these a while ago because I fancied a change. All of them were smooth writers out of the box and one of the best designs Parker has in its lineup.

 

They do suffer a few issues.

 

• The soft touch material scratches and peels off over time which can make the pen look really tatty till you get the rest off.
• The snap cap gets loose over time, but never actually fails.

They used to sell them in shops in a blister pack with a free material case. They always felt more expensive than they really were.

[bigt]

A couple of short strips of duct tape applied to the inner cap seems to stop the cap

from moving once it starts to get a bit loose - I really like Frontiers. my fave colour is the

red/ black one (have 3 of these!).I also found some Stub nibs -very nice

Tony

[mitto]

The original USA made Frontiers were good pens. All the Frontiers I have are wet writers. None of mine take the standard international cart/converter.

[Pentagram1]

I have 2 from the 1990s. One is made in the US and the other is UK. Frontier USA or UK is on the cap. The UK one is a polychrome violet and green finish. The US one in blue. Both survived years of neglect in an old drawer uncleaned. Had to soak them for some time though.