Happy Holidays

Comparing a counterfeit Parker Sonnet to a real one

As the trend of fountain pen usage comes back in fashion, the rise in the number of counterfeit fountain pens occurs as well. For first time buyers, this can be a costly and embarrassing mistake, one which could be avoided by sharing information with fellow enthusiasts.

I have the unfortunate honor, of presenting first hand information on the subject with everyone. While searching for a good deal on fountain pens in Ebay, I came across a Parker Sonnet at a too-good-to-be-true price. Despite noticing that the seller is from China, I threw caution, and common sense, into the wind, bid for the pen, and won.

Went the pen arrived, it felt wrong right from the start. The weight of the pen was lighter than the rest of my Sonnets, and the material felt a little cheap. A closer look revealed workmanship errors which was uncharacteristic of the Parker Sonnets.

Here are some comparison photos to help fellow enthusiasts in identifying counterfeit Sonnets.

"Jewel" on top of the cap

While the quality of lower end Parkers have been questionable these past few years, they have still maintained some standards in their mid and higher-end products. The plastic "Jewel" on the top of the Sonnet cap should appear center, as shown on the left, and not touching the edge like the counterfeit on the right.

The depth of the lines on the arrow clip

One of the things that eluded Parker counterfeiters, has been the "feather" lines on the Parker arrow clips. Most of the time, the lines will be too shallow or not clear enough on a counterfeit (as shown on the right), though this could be hard to detect without a comparison. 

Length of the threads

Small details, like thread count, isn't something most counterfeiters pay too much attention about. As shown on the right, this example of a counterfeit has a shorter thread than standard Sonnets, I have seen examples with longer thread counts in other Parker products.

The thread count of feed to section is about 1 and a half turns on a standard Sonnet, but this counterfeit requires 3 full turns.

Magnet-attracted nibs

This is the first test which I use for any Parker pens which I have doubts on. Modern Parker nibs are made of a non-steel alloy and should not be attracted by a magnet. As you can see on the right, the "18k" nib is obviously not what it claims to be. 

Do note that counterfeiters have caught on recently, and I have a counterfeit of a Parker IM which can pass this test (failed the previous test though).

 Loose nib on feed

For the Sonnet, the nib of the pen is fastened onto the feed mechanically, and should be a secure, non-moving fit. This example of a counterfeit has a feed that moves away from the feed on slight pressure.


I have already raised a dispute on paypal for this counterfeit, and even if I don't get my money back, the price I paid for it is low enough to be an inexpensive "lesson fee". Good hunting!

Hero against the World - Hero 336 vs Pilot U

If you have no idea what this series is about, please click here for a brief intro.

The challenger: Pre-owned Pilot U

There is little information about this pen online, all that I was able to gather was:

1. Yes, this pen was manufactured by pilot for a short while.
2. It might had been a predecessor to the Custom 74

The pen came with 14k 585 nib, and the older version of the Con-20. It writes like a F nib and has a unique feed which seem to be joined to the section.

Score Table

	Hero 336	Pilot U
Smoothness	✔
Price	✔
Ease of maintenance		✔
Look & Feel		✔
Filling mechanism		✔
Ink flow		✔
Hard Start	✔
Feedback	✔
Availability	✔

Smoothness 

I'm not sure if it is due to abuse from the previous owner or a design flaw, but somehow the Hero 336 nib feels smoother to write with compared to the Pilot U.

Price

At SGD $1.20 per pen in Singapore, the price of the Hero 336 is hard to match. 

Ease of maintenance 

With a removable converter, the Pilot U is a lot easier to clean and maintenance, compared to the Hero 336, where the plastic sac is glued directly onto the section.

Look & Feel

The Hero 336 looks and feels cheap, that has always been one of the main reasons why it has never been able to compete with more expensive pens, even though it is a decent writer.

Filling mechanism 

Sometimes it is a lot easier to fill a removable converter like an eyedropper fountain pen, in this aspect, the Pilot U has a better filling system than the Hero 336

Ink flow

Hero 336s are notorious for the lack of QC, one of the more constant issues involves out-of-the-box ink flow problems, which requires some tuning before the pen is usable.

Hard Start

Again, the Pilot U has a hard start issue which I cannot determine, if it is due to abuse or design flaw.

Feedback

The Pilot U has a strong feedback when drawing across the nib. This could be due to the thin nibs which are not supported fully by the feed.

Availability

The Pilot U is no longer in production, and will take some effort to acquire. 

Hero Wins

Hero against the World - My champion, the Hero 336

In my (very) few attempts to review fountain pens, I found that it was very difficult to gauge the degrees of differences on a single pen. There are no scales or standards to compare them too, and the only way for me to judge was how I was feeling about the pen that day.

To overcome this problem, I decided to use an inexpensive, widely available fountain pen to compare against the pens which I will be reviewing from this point. I chose the Hero 336 as it is still in production, cheap, and easily purchased over the counter or online.

Announcing the beginning of the "Hero against the World" series, your constructive comments are very much appreciated.