Parker Urban

[hecya]

I really liked this pen. It is solid, very well built and heavy.

 

I will be happy as long as it is a smooth and consistent writer. That's all I really look for.

 

It is indeed a smooth writer. Impressed by this I bought another Parker, this time a Esprit and is smooth as well. I can only imagine the nib quality of the more expensive Parkers.

[dadoody]

So I got this pen today.

 

It's a beautiful pen, but I had initial scratchiness in the downstroke when writing. I did some nib manipulation and removed the Quink ink loaded that had come with it, and replaced it with a 50/50 mix of Noodler's Bulletproof Black and Polar Black. The pen now writes smooth.

 

There are random times when the ink stalls and I get line breaks. Still working on fixing this - sometimes I need to dot my i and cross my t twice. Kind of annoying.

 

Also, previous reviews stated that this pen was heavy and had a nice weight to it - I'm experiencing the opposite. I think this pen is rather light, but maybe I'm used to writing with much heavier pens. I find this pen to be almost as light in weight as my Cross ATX.

 

Edit: It has been 24 hours now, and the pen writes pretty consistent and smooth now.

Edited July 2, 2010 by dadoody

[benrcrom]

So I got this pen today.

 

It's a beautiful pen, but I had initial scratchiness in the downstroke when writing. I did some nib manipulation and removed the Quink ink loaded that had come with it, and replaced it with a 50/50 mix of Noodler's Bulletproof Black and Polar Black. The pen now writes smooth.

 

There are random times when the ink stalls and I get line breaks. Still working on fixing this - sometimes I need to dot my i and cross my t twice. Kind of annoying.

 

Also, previous reviews stated that this pen was heavy and had a nice weight to it - I'm experiencing the opposite. I think this pen is rather light, but maybe I'm used to writing with much heavier pens. I find this pen to be almost as light in weight as my Cross ATX.

 

Edit: It has been 24 hours now, and the pen writes pretty consistent and smooth now.

 

I just got this pen today, and am impressed with the weight (32g posted). After the sad death of my Mont Blanc (which I found on a park bench several years ago!), I desperately needed a new FP but was on a tight student budget. I'd had a look in a specialist FP retailer, but the new brand of Urbans - the Urban Premium - seem to be a mixture of metal and plastic, and were VERY light. For any UK readers, John Lewis still stock the old Urban, which in my opinion is much more balanced and weightier.

 

I'm impressed by how well it writes, although will reserve my final comments until tomorrow when converter and bottled ink have kicked the supplied cartridge into touch.

Edited January 16, 2011 by benrcrom

[Phototoxin]

I also have this pen (decided to look into it since my cheap-o lamy is performing better than it..) which I got as a present but yes sometimes it 'stalls' it is not very smooth flowing on heavy papers although I'm a lefty...

[jmiket91]

I love this pen. I bought it to carry to class. It wasn't too expensive, so I don't mind if it gets dropped, and it writes rather well. Mine came in some sort of a gift pack which included two black ink cartridges, two blue ink cartridges, a converter, and a bottle of black Quink ink. Last week was my first week back in classes after the winter break, and it stood up to its first week well. I can't comment on the long term performance of this pen, but I think it fits the role of an everyday writer that needs to be able to take some abuse perfectly.

[inkspot]

I have two of these that I've been using daily for a couple months now, and I love them! They write smoothly and without any skipping for me.

[Phototoxin]

I hate this pen so much. I've been trying to use it in keeping my journal (not being able to find my two lamys **isn't** helping!) but there is next to no flow. It skips and stalls and is generally pants. I wonder if it's me being a leftie as the paper is fine for every other FP I have and it's the same on other paper. It's full of ink... I just don't know...

[dadoody]

Some of you boys gettin' screwed over in the value and usefulness department.

 

Value: I thought the value was decent. They sell the entire kit @ Staples for $39.99 USD.

 

The Kit comes with black urban with gold trim, a bottle of black Quink, 2 black cartriges, 2 blue ones, and a pistol converter.

 

I did have to return the pen once as the 1st one I got was skippy and gritty. The second one is smooth, but I can't write fast with it or it'll skip. It also takes time to develop flow. Need to use tissue to get it going some evenings.

 

 

[Moto]

I just got one today. Black premium line for about us$ 60. Came with a converter and a simple but elegant box. Got the fine nib and loaded it up with lamy blue-black ink. Kinda dry but it's on it's first day. No skipping noticed on about 200 words. Will use it to work for a week or so to test it's reliability.

 

http://www.penshop.co.uk/default/parker-urban-deluxe-ebony-fountain-pen.html

Edited April 18, 2011 by Moto

[poxy51]

I bought the Parker Urban pen at OfficeMax, I think it was packaged with a bottle of ink and several cartridges. I think the price was just under $50. It has been one of the better writing pens I have had at any price. It is always a wet starter after just sitting for days.

[rosey]

I was in the UK a couple of weeks ago and bought a hot pink Parker Urban at Pens Plus in Oxford. I am very pleased with the performance of this pen. I had not seen the Urban before I visited this pen shop and what caught my eye first was the bright color. I am happy to say it is still performing well and like other posts here have mentioned it starts right up every time.

The Urban is a nice looking pen with a steel nib that is a reliable writer.

[Alieanor]

I received one of these as a gift (the box set with carts, a converter and a bottle of Quink black). It has replaced my Pilot VP as my grading pen because of its ink capacity and balance. The VP has a better nib IMO, but the converter holds a laughable amount of ink.

 

Based on my experience so far, the Urban is definitely a decent value for the money. I'm not wowed by it, but it gets the job done reliably.

[DPH]

Bought one of these from my local stationers - silver finish with medium nib.

 

Used the cartridge that came with it initially, which would have been Quink. Pen was very dry, but then skipped and messed about before drying up altogether.

 

Found one of my Parker converters, ditched the cartridge and set about writing some test pages. Seemed OK at first (black Parker Quink), but again, was soon missing & skipping as I wrote. Tried writing faster & slower, more or less pressure and it didn't get any better.

 

Have also filled with Sheaffer Blue (which I'm not a fan of, but had a bottle here) and was no better. Have now filled with J Herbin Eclat de Saphir, and whilst it is a little better, is still a very dry writer.

 

For work I bought a couple of Lamy's - the Safari and an Al-Star and both write much better than the Parker from the first fill.

 

Really think I bought a dud Parker. When it starts to dry up, I've found that if I push the plunger of the converter up, so a little ink is visible at the base of the nib, I can get a good 2 sides of A4 out of it, before it dries again. Must be a problem with the feed. Going to try another flush through with soapy water and see if that helps.

[ThirdeYe]

I received one of these as a gift (the box set with carts, a converter and a bottle of Quink black). It has replaced my Pilot VP as my grading pen because of its ink capacity and balance. The VP has a better nib IMO, but the converter holds a laughable amount of ink.

 

Based on my experience so far, the Urban is definitely a decent value for the money. I'm not wowed by it, but it gets the job done reliably.

 

Have you tried refilling a Pilot cartridge instead of using the CON-50 converter? It will greatly increase the ink capacity of the VP.

[Zombify]

I have one of these. Such a great pen, which gets better over time. The more I use it, the more smoother it gets. My pen appears to be a very wet pen. I use it at the office on a regular basis. I find it very comfortable to hold in your hand, but awkward when posted. My only problem with this pen is that it has a very feminine look to it, and I'm a guy, even though mine is the matte black with gold trim. Doesn't bother me too much though. I still love the pen, and will continue to use it. It's also the only pen I own which does not suffer from any "nib creep".

 

I wonder how many men vs women own these pens?

[WirsPlm]

I have one of these. Such a great pen, which gets better over time. The more I use it, the more smoother it gets. My pen appears to be a very wet pen. I use it at the office on a regular basis. I find it very comfortable to hold in your hand, but awkward when posted. My only problem with this pen is that it has a very feminine look to it, and I'm a guy, even though mine is the matte black with gold trim. Doesn't bother me too much though. I still love the pen, and will continue to use it. It's also the only pen I own which does not suffer from any "nib creep".

 

I wonder how many men vs women own these pens?

I had a Parker Urban ballpoint many years ago and found it so uncomfortable and top heavy that I couldn't use it for more than 20 minutes at a time (put me off Parkers completely). I didn't think it was feminine at all, though, it seemed kind of oppressively masculine between the black/silver scheme and the weight (at the very least, designed for large hands).

[VivienR]

I have two Urban, a Muted Black GT with fine nib and a Cool Magenta CT with medium nib. Well both writes well, very rarely the fine nib skipping some loops, but both writes well. Kind of hard to tell which is the best writer, there is a lot depending from the paper that I use. On some paper the medium left a thin line, like the fine in different paper, so its dependent from the paper's absorption capability. I would not say they are wet writer. The ink dry quickly, and well, again, lot dependent from the paper, so sometimes its smudged, but really rarely, and its hard to smudge. I tried Yes, Urban's have a definitive weight, but I don't mind it, still love for their curves. Compare the Urban's medium nib to my Sonnet's medium nib in same paper the Sonnet left thicker line, but its liter, and writes better, and give less noise, but it's a Sonnet... I use them daily, both of them. It can accept all the Parker converters. There is no difference in the writing, when I use converter or cartridge. I see only one issues: as I use them regularly, there is a wear at the section, so its getting matter and scratched too. Except this, I see no other problems. I'm just worried, that when I will notice these on my Sonnet, but currently its on reserve no matter how much I live it, I keep it mint and use, it, when its really matter.

[dragonaura]

I love my urban pen, it behaves exactly as yours does. I love the curvy shape of the barrel

[Zombify]

I only have one Urban. Is it just mine, or does the cap not fit in too tightly? It seems like it if hold it from the cap while it's capped, and shake it slightly, the barrel will fall off.

[mr T.]

I only have one Urban. Is it just mine, or does the cap not fit in too tightly? It seems like it if hold it from the cap while it's capped, and shake it slightly, the barrel will fall off.

My Urban (the one that is reviewed here) doesn't have the problem you describe. Even after some years of regular use, there hasn't been a single problem with it.