Parker IM Black CT Fountain Pen & Ballpoint Pen Duo Set

Nice pen set ideal gift

These are really well made, sturdy feeling pens. The kit comes in a really luxurious looking box, and the pens themselves look and feel pretty good on the hand. I will say, the more standard ballpoint pen feels like the more practical of the two, even if the fountain pen certainly is the more attractive and upmarket of the two. I spent about a week using exclusively the fountain pen trying to get a good feel for it, and I've ended up with a love/hate relationship with it. When it writes well, it writes really well, and it looks beautiful doing it. That said, out of the box there's a bit of a "break in period" before the fountain pen loosens up and starts to write really nicely. During this break in period I was having to put a bit of excessive force into the tip to get the ink to flow nicely, and it was tending to dig into and even tear the pages of my notepad doing this, and then bleeding into the pages below. After the pen was broken it it writes pretty well but you have to get the exact right angle on the tip with it facing straight up from the page in order to get the ink to flow the best, and the angle you have to write at (for me anyway) feels a little unnatural and leads to hand fatigue and wrist strain pretty quickly. Overall, I can't fault the quality of the pens themselves, but I think the fountain pen is more of a decorative piece, because writing with it has not been my favourite.

Belle penne contenute in un elegante cofanetto. Arrivato integro e nei tempi previsti. Nessuna sorpresa negativa.

Sehr edel wirkendes, funktionales Schreibset. Aber nicht so teuer, als dass man es auf keinen Fall verlieren dürfte.

Muy buen producto

My starting assumption, for bias ID: I tend to think there's MontBlanc, then everything else. BUT, that isn't to say Parker is some el cheapo also-ran. This is a good set, certainly of good quality and with a bonus of not being, perhaps, as self-conscious as a MB set can get. This is to say that when it comes down to the actual use of the item, this is no slouch and in my estimation. I stop short of saying it's similar to a Waterman, though, but more of a reasonable and more wallet-friendly substitute. For use, I'll hit the ballpoint first. It is a click-style pen, and while the roller doesn't have the buttery-smooth writing that a MB will have, it's certainly not a disposable Bic either. The pen has some heft to it and the barrel is thicker to add to the overall feel. Materials are a step-above with a design that is more classic than flashy. I do think the clicker design subtracts a little from the overall effect, though that's more personal preference than anything. The fountain pen has a similar effect. The nib is hard for me to nail down - it seems (to me) to be kind of between fine and medium. I'm a cartridge-guy and had no problems using my existing stock. Certainly with a properly-designed fountain pen the writing is much smoother than a ballpoint, and this is no exception. I kind of miss the very-firm CLICK of the cap onto the pen body like I have with my Waterman, but again...personal preference. The overall aim here is, as I said, a more cost-conscious product than I think you'd see with MB or Waterman, in that the design and aim is for the actual use of the pen instead of an attention-grabbing accessory. Performance is as expected and they work quite well. I like them.