Parker Jotter Ballpoint Review

Get the pitchforks and torches ready!

The Parker Jotter is one of the most famous pens in production today. It has been a bestseller for over 50 years and many non-pen people are familiar with its beautiful design. I love the design myself. It is good looking, compact, portable, and built to last. The problem I have with the Parker Jotter is the writing experience.

When I pick up a pen to write with I don’t want to spend the entire time with it in my hand thinking about what if feels like and what it looks like on the page. With the Jotter, I was constantly concerned with the scraping I felt where the ball meets the tip. I don’t hold the pen at an extreme angle when writing - I’d say I’m more vertical than most - but I repeatedly felt a slight scrape when making certain strokes. If I held the pen in a more vertical position I had a much smoother writing experience.

Am I being too harsh on this all-time classic? Probably, but the little things matter. Especially when you take your writing instruments as seriously as I do.

So, does anyone have a great Parker Jotter hack they would like to share?

Parker IM Roller Ball Review

For a blog that reviews pens you would think that I would have reviewed a Parker or two over the years, but it hasn’t happened until now. The Parker IM Roller Ball is my first foray into the Parker market, and one of the first Parkers carried by JetPens.

Before I get into the review, let me tell you why it has taken me so long to try out a Parker. It is pretty simple really - there are no viable sub 0.5mm refills. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. This is not Parkers fault. In this category of pen, it’s not even easy to find refills under 0.7mm, although it can be done. This is what the mass market consumer wants, and by gosh, that is what they are going to get.

I’m here to change that, one micro tip at a time.

Before I go off on one of my anti-mainstream rants, let me give this pen a proper review, because I was pleasantly surprised by it. First off, the barrel is serious business. Weighing in at 1.27 oz. (a basic Pilot Hi-Tec-C is 0.37 oz. for comparison), is has a nice heft in the hand, but is not too heavy to where you will tire of writing with it. The black matte finish with chrome accents - including the famous arrow clip - are sharp looking.

The ink cartridge is an 0.7mm liquid ink cartridge. It works great if that is your preferred writing ink, but I am going to be looking at swapping it for a gel ink refill. There were no issues with this ink though. Just take a look at the writing sample above and you will see how nice it is.

If you handed me this pen blindly and asked me how much it cost based on feel and performance alone, I would have guessed $40-$50. At just $15, it feels like a steal, and might turn me into a Parker user after all.