The Parker 45

You can see the slight curvature of the barrel in this picture.

Greetings from Augustana College! Baseball season is underway even though there is still freezing weather predicted for the next week.  I apologize for the slight delay in this post, but my schedule has been hectic as of late.

My uncle's reward during service week in Singapore.

This wonderful fountain pen was awarded to my uncle in 1976 for volunteer work for the Singapore government. What a gift it was!  It hearkens back to a day when a prize/award was useful and didn't just sit on a shelf like a trophy.  I found it in my basement along with the rest of my older pens and this one was in the worst condition of the bunch.  That's really not saying much, seeing as it still has the tag on the clip! 

Upon initial inspection, this pen has a slight bend to the barrel, which does not inhibit the writing process whatsoever, but does look weird at times.  I can't be sure of exactly what caused this warped body, but it was either great force or a combination of that and heat.  The filling mechanism of this pen was stained black, but had very little encrusted ink within.  This pen was taken care of, though less than my Parker 51 which I reviewed here.

Until I get the opportunity to inspect the rubber on this pen and replace it, I'm not going to use this pen as anything but a dip pen.  I don't want to risk a spill in my pen case or major leaks and spotting on a homework assignment. It's unfortunate, but I already have a TON of pens that I carry around with me everywhere.

Red-Black, you never cease to amaze me!

I do like the color of this pen, and I actually wish I had a pen with a green barrel that I could use on a daily basis, because I usually end up buying blue pens. The nib is a smooth writer indeed and not completely different from that of the Parker 51, granted however that I am using it as a dip pen. The balance of this pen isn't terrific because of the materials used in making it (let's get real here, it's not a higher end pen).  Posting the cap partially brings balance back to this average pen, but it's still darn good and holds a lot of meaning and history.  Overall, I'm happy to continue using this pen for writing letters and taking notes at my desk, but there isn't anything about this pen that blows me away. 

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The Classicist