Parker Jotter Medium Point Ballpoint Pen - Blue

Parker pens are my all time favorite pens. The feel so great in my hand, I bought 2 and glad I did

Last year I decided I had enough with "disposable" pens, the kind that are 100% plastic. It is just a waste of resources to throw such pens away. Many of them are "refillable", but the ink refills frequently cost more than the original pen did. The ink refills are also sold in 2 packs, while the pens are sold in multi-packs of 5/10/12 pens per package. Where is the logic in that? It is just cheaper to buy new pens.I decided that from that point on I was only going to buy higher quality pens(and pencils) designed for long term use that use refills which last longer than a few weeks. First I bought a Lamy Fountain Pen, which I am satisfied with.I purchased a blue Parker Jotter Ballpoint Pen(as well as another pen with a similar concept) on Amazon in December of 2012. The pen arrived with a black ink cartridge, I prefer blue ink. I actually found an old pen that uses identical cartridges that I received more than a decade ago, it had an old blue ink cartridge. Since the old pen is red in color I actually ordered and now use it with red ink. The old ink cartridge could still be used to write, so I installed it into my new Parker Jotter pen(big mistake - see below).A couple of days ago the old ink cartridge that I installed in the pen began to leak (large amounts of) ink for no apparent reason. This created a long term headache for me. I threw away the old ink, but did not get a chance to clean up the pen until a time when more than a day had passed. The leaking ink dried inside the pen and created a purple and blue mess. This mess required several different types of cleaners(rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, etc.) and several hours to clean up. I rinsed and cleaned the inside several times(with water and rubbing alcohol and plenty of Q-tips) and every time there seemed to be more ink remaining. I finally filled the inside of the pen with nail polish remover(I have yet to use it for its intended purpose, since I am a guy and never really felt a need to use nail polish), that seems to have gotten most of what was left of the ink but as a result it turned my sink blue. Now this just made the situation go from bad to worse. This ink residue dried quickly and I was left to deal with a massive stain in my sink that refused to be washed off with water. I tried several cleaners to get it off(only Comet powder type cleaner was able to remove most of the stain from the sink - and only with lots of elbow grease).After this whole experience the pen no longer functions as it used to(my fault). I used it for about 3 months without issues. The writing tip would extend and retract with a push of a button on top of the pen(like with many ballpoint pens), until recently, now it only extends - if I want to retract it I have to turn it and unscrew the 2 main parts of the pen first and it either retracts because of this or I have to press the button several times after unscrewing it. I don't know if there is a way to fix this, but it happened after the ink leaked out. Even after this I still use the pen.The pen itself is very basic, mine was made in France. The partial metal construction makes it at least somewhat durable. The lower part is made of plastic(I think) and does not have a "soft" grip like many other ballpoint pens. The pen uses standard Parker style ink cartridges(refills) - without these it is useless. These are sold in gel or "regular" ball point ink, gel ink(in other pens) in my experience smudges and smears far too easily. I use "generic" ink cartridges which I bought in bulk - cheaper and more efficient(regular Parker cartridges are quite expensive). My experience has shown me that using decade old ink refills is a bad idea. If I had used a new ink cartridge I likely would still have a pen with no issues.

This is a fine pen! However, I ordered a medium point pen. A label affixed to the package says "medium," but the package itself says "fine." I ordered medium point because, due to recent optical recognition downgrades, some mobile deposit apps have trouble recognizing fine point.I like the cobalt blue color of the barrel so much that I'm keeping it. My other two Parker jotters have fine points, so I can buy medium refills for this pen and add the cartridge to my supply of refills.Besides, I have no choice. I didn't notice the mismatch between label and package till I'd destroyed the blister pack to open it. If you care about getting the type of point you want, I recommend reading the package itself before opening.

When I ordered this pen, I was aware that it was made in India by Luxor, a company that is licensed to produce Parker pens and Parker inks. I have a few Indian-made Parker Frontiers (fountain pens), and they write well. I do own a few French-made Parker Jotter ballpoints and like them a lot. For the price of about $7 total, I can live with the fact that this Jotter isn’t made in France. It writes very well and is well-constructed. The fine blue refill it came with performs well, too. I am not a Jotter collector, just a user. My Jotters are tools — effective, reliable, and fun to use. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Jotter made in India. The French Jotters are great, too. Both are good pens.

Its a Parker jotter. It works. Looks good and writes just fine. Classic pen.

It writes very smooth & doesn’t blotch— which is a pet peeve with me. Love the color & workmanship. I guess that’s why I have 8 of them.

Blue ink, medium point, that sounds reasonable to me, just try and find one. Most ballpoints come with black ink with a fine point. Yes, I know that black ink copies better but I hate them. The fine point just doesn't feel right on paper to me. This is a great pen for everyday use. Comfortable, bold and blue ink.

Ink started to leak after 6 month.Threw it away. Parker used to bedissent quality writing instrument.One I received was inferior quality.