Parker Vector

It's okay, no I've been grabbing this or the uh Watermen allure right away.

Parker (like Waterman, Sheaffer and Cross) is essentially a company in managed decline, extracting the remaining value from the brand without significant investment in R&D. The Duofolds are still great pens - but very traditional, and aimed largely at the gift/presentation market. The Vector is a solid, cheap, workaday pen.

I used a Parker Vector and Lamy Safari through University for my lecture notes, and found that I could write faster b/c of the flow of ink, put less pressure, and ultimately not tire out easily. I suggest you try both.

I didn't even think about replacing my Parker Vector until the converter broke. Thinking back, it was too light, too slim, the nib was too broad, and the thought of the ink in it drying out bothered me. Before the Vector, I had been using a Golden Star (a Soviet era Chinese pen) for over 10 years, until I dropped it and broke the feed. While looking for a replacement, I found out about Pilot VPs, bought one, and have been using it ever since.

I bought a Parker Vector in stainless steel and it is without a doubt the pen I’ve written most with. I throw it in my pocket (as a member of the armed forces I might add) and have 0 concerns over it in a rough life. It’s reasonably smooth to write with, never burps ink and worked perfectly with no hard start after a 4 week break.

I write with my left hand, so I had always been iffy about ink smearing (though that happens with gel pens too); turns out the Quink ink dries really fast and is great for its cost overall. I even remember buying a small syringe to transfer some of the black quink ink I had to the blue bottle to make my very own blue-black ink. ​. Vectors are seriously one of the best pens out there, good on ya for finding yours.

I haven't had that many pens (the reason I like ink pens is that I don't have to buy a new one). Of the recognizable pens, I've mainly used 2 Lamy safaris and a Parker vector something that I had picked up for like 300 inr (around 5 usd then). One safari developed a loose cap and a wiggly nib after about 2 years. The other one still is scratchy after 2 years (tbf I haven't "daily driven" it, so that can just be on me).

* Parker Vector - It's simple, it's cheap, its pretty reliable. This is the pen which a lot of people who learn how to use fountain pens in school use.