My New-ish Parker Ellipse

[KBeezie]

So I got this in trade for one of my pens. A Parker Ellipse with an 18K Fine Nib, in the Blue color even though it looks a bit more marine/green to me.

I don't know much about the pen, just that they were made from around 2000 to 2002 and they weren't very popular with the mainstream crowd (probably because it looks so different than what I'd expect of Parker).



Wanted to give it a good cleaning so got it all disassembled, cleaned the individual pieces in the USC. Really put the shine back on the nib (I did dip the nib into the USC before the pic above, but wanted to get at all the components when I noticed some trapped red ink that didn't flush before).





I noticed a couple of markings that I would be curious to know the history of.

Base of the Nib : Eaglehead engraving
On Nib just under "Parker", not seen when installed : P over W, arrow going right between them, inside a Diamond
On base of the cap : Square with P over W and a line going between them.

Edit Matlock on FPN filled me in on the markings.
"P over W is sponsor (or maker) mark for Parker Waterman. The Eagle head is the French assay mark for 18k gold."





I initially inked it with Parker Penman Sapphire, but seemed a little too dry, so went with Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. Can see them both on this write sample. (The Taccia Momenta is the other one I got today/yesterday).

[Flounder]

Very interesting, thanks for posting! What an odd kettle of fish. I'm trying hard to think of any other Parker with that lamy 2000 style of clutch ring, but can't think of one.

[Ernst Bitterman]

The first thing I thought of, looking at the first two shots, was the Waterman Carene (which Force has shown the guts of so admirably on FPN); two clutch studs near the joint, strange complexity of section. I wonder if it was an abortive attempt to fuse some production lines.

It is a little funny looking, I suppose, but it's the sort of funny-looking that appeals to me. Jealousy once more rears its head....

[Chrissy]

Yes I also thought it almost looks like a Carene copy. I like it though. I'm a fan of quirky pens. I especially like the colour

[snedwos]

It also has the slightly oddly shaped nib of the taperite

[pajaro]

It looks like Sonnet technology to me. Different shaped nib, same clip-onto-the-feed. There is nothing wrong with Sonnets, and this pen looks like a neat way of taking Newell Rubbermaid's design and putting it in a jazzy new envelope. There are similarities to Carene in the parts, but I think it looks less like a Carene than a Sonnet successor. I like it. Although I don't want any more pens, some will have to go to make room for one of these.

[ac12]

NICE looking pen.
congrats.

Now I need to look for one myself.

[KrazyIvan]

I bought mine almost a year ago and the fact that it looked like a Carene was what drew me to it.

[KBeezie]

A write sample in Caran d'Ache Electric Orange since I got around to re-inking it (due to testing a pair of Parker 45s with the same cartridge).

[Chrissy]

I finally found a Parker Ellipse in red. The cap has a couple of enamel dings that go down to the brass, but I know the chances of finding another cap are somewhere between remote and impossible, so I've tried the effect of repainting it. I'm still not 100% happy that I'm leaving it as it is rather than attempting to repaint it again. However, it's a beautiful writer and I'm enjoying writing with it.

I wonder if the RB cap is the same size as the FP cap??

[christof]

I like your pictures Karl!
C.

[amk]

Like other posters it made me think of the Carene, but I'm afraid it misses the French elegance of the Waterman. The nib section is a little like the Arrow / 95, isn't it?

That's a lovely collection of 45s, by the way.

[Chrissy]

The Ellipse nib section is definitely not like the Arrow/95.

[amk]

Sorry, I didn't quite define what I meant - not so much the section, as the way the nib is half-hidden, with that rounded almost fingernail-like end. You're right, the section itself isn't like the Arrow/95 at all. It just reminded me of it, but looking closely, the machining is different because of the section taper.

[Chrissy]

Sorry, I didn't quite define what I meant - not so much the section, as the way the nib is half-hidden, with that rounded almost fingernail-like end. You're right, the section itself isn't like the Arrow/95 at all. It just reminded me of it, but looking closely, the machining is different because of the section taper.

The Ellipse is a thicker section and a thicker pen overall than the 45/Arrow or 95, and I like it for that.

Not only does the nib come out more, and you can always see it while you're writing, but there is a feed cover on the back that makes you write at a reasonably upright angle. I find it particularly comfortable, but because of the feed cover, I can see why some might not.