Duofold Fountain Pen

I purchased this Parker Duofold Centennial Big Red with a medium nib after already owning the Chevron Blue in fine. Needless to say, I already like the Parker Duofold line, and the Big Red does not disappoint. I like that you have the option of using an ink cartridge or converter, although I intend to use the converter with this pen given the limitations on ink options with Parker's proprietary system, which does not accept standard international ink cartridges. When the Big Red arrived, I inked it up with Diamine 1864 Blue Black using the supplied cartridge converter. It was easy to fill and began writing well immediately. The writing experience is outstanding, as the nib glides smoothly on the paper, as you would expect with a gold nib. I would call this a wet nib in medium, as it lays down plenty of ink. The Big Red feels very light-weight for it's size, especially compared with the Chevron Blue model, which has a metal body. I think that will make the Big Red comfortable for long writing sessions, and I had three pages down in a Leuchtturm 1917 B5 notebook before I even realized it. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my purchase and feel I got great value for what I paid for the Big Red. I will note that the barrel and cap of the pen are closer to a burnt orange color than red to my eye, but I like the color. The Big Red is not as elegant looking as its Chevron Blue brother, but color combination and styling definitely delivers a vintage vibe.

An exceptionally good value in a fine fountain pen. A lovely, smooth writer and comfortably balanced when used unposted. The pen is a bit too long when posted, but wasn't really designed to be used that way. Puts down a nice moderately wet line with real character, especially when using Parker's own Quink inks. Arrived nicely packaged in the appropriate Parker box with converter and two ink cartridges.

Well made, fountain pen that worked out of box w/o issue. The red is a great color - not showy, but different. The barrel is plastic "resin", but the pen section has metal threads. This also results in being more heavier towards the nib. The pen writes well unposted, and the nib is well aligned.

Parker Duofold Centennial has been the pen of my dream for many years. Finally, I was able to get my dream pen "Duofold Centennial Big Red" after many years of saving!I am extremely happy with my purchase. I like its appearance, construction quality, and its nib. My pen came with a medium nib but I exchanged it for a fine nib through the Parker Nib Exchange program. The fine nib gives me lots of feedback, which I cherish. The nib looks gorgeous. This will be my daily writer for many years (or decades) from now on.By the way, the Parker service was beyond what I had expected. It was a truly white-glove service. My email exchange with Parker U.S. (for the nib exchange program) was absolutely professional and the turnaround time was just a matter of hours!Again, I am very happy with my purchase.

When I was a teenager, I used to go with my dad to his office on the weekends to do my homework there while he was working on the next deal. His business partner was a fountain pen aficionado, and one time he let me use his Parker Duofold, and ever since then I've wanted to have one myself but never felt I should splurge on one as I think they are very expensive. Funny I should feel that way because a few years back I did plurge, and I went for a Monthblanc Meisterstuck instead.Imagine my surprise when I saw that the Big Red was for sale for less than $300. Still a lot of money, but I just had to take advantage. I have to say that it does not feel as solid or heavy as I remember, maybe the material for the red (well it's more orange than red) is lighter than other versions. Either way. this is a great deal for a Duofold, and I've actually come to really like the funky color.The medium nib writes fantastic, I'm very happy with it. This is my go to pen now, I find myself looking for things to write, and taking more notes than I'm used to. This pen is on par with the Montblanc, neither one is necessarily 'better' than the other, just a little different feeling when using it.