Sunday, October 26, 2008

A. PARKER SONNET

AS YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE I AM GOING THROUGH AN REORGANIZATION STAGE IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CONTENTS MORE ACCESSIBLE AND TO IDENTIFY WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE ADDED.


The Parker Sonnet is a modern fountain pen with a lot of fans, and many haters. It has been in the Parker line up since 1993 (15 years) with many transformations. Touted by the company as the writer's pen some times it just did not write :) The consensus today is that once you get one going it is a highly enjoyable pen. I will try to post in the page information about this modern pen
  1. The cap opening - regulations and drying of the pen (COMING SOON).
  2. The section - an exploded view with parts and points of trouble (COMING SOON).
  3. The nibs (COMING SOON)
  4. The models (COMING SOON)
  5. Spot the fakes:
NOTE 1: The magnet test that I proposed in my Penhero.com article, is not a panacea for the recognition of the fake Sonnets! It only worked in the early fakes. Recent ones are non magnetic stainless. Another possible test (suggested by Richard Binder) is to take out a nib marked 18K and try to scratch an area away from the tip (high, in the area that is in the section). Fakes are plated steel and scratching will reveal the "silver"-colored steel.

NOTE 2: With the many Sonnet fakes sold on ebay, at this point I would suggest (unless you feel adventurous) that you buy a pen only from Brick and Mortar Shops or from online retailers that have 100% perfect reputation (Pam Braun, Swisher Pens, and Pendemonium). There are specific ebay resellers that I know have bought fakes in the past, and chances are that they are or will be selling them on ebay. Ask me for a particular name if you wish to tell you my opinion about a specific ebay seller.
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4 comments:

Mark S. Miller Online said...

Hi,
I just got a Sonnet on Ebay. It looks great but a little different than an older Sonnet that I have that I'm fairly certain is authentic. On the other hand, this is a "new" style Sonnet and the other one is an older style.
One of the differences is that on the grip just behind the feed on the new Sonnet one can feel a seam. The old Sonnet is seamless.
Also, the new Sonnet has a yellow monochrome nib that indicates it 18K while the old Sonnet 18K nib is two-tone.
Lastly the new one has an inexpensive slide converter. One would think that a Parker with an 18K nib would have the more common, and higher quality twist-type converter.
I'd be very interested in your thoughts as I have another 5 days to decide to return the pen.
Thanks,
Mark

6:21 PM
a-z said...

Mark I am not sure how old is your post. There are so many models in the Sonnet line. It is important to know the exact model we are talking about before I say anything.
Usually the fakes can be detected from the nib, the inside of the barrel and cap and the tops of the barrel and the cap but it takes a trained eye to see them.

AZ

8:20 PM
Lee Banas said...

Parker Sonnets are great pens! We sell authentic Parker Sonnetsfrom Parker Pen at my office supply store and ship them nation wide. Thank you for these tips, I will be sure to pass these onto my customers. Many thanks!
-Greg

6:01 PM
Unknown said...

Nice post dear………….keep updating!!
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2:39 AM

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