Complete Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen Review

If you’re looking into a great entry pack into the calligraphy world, this Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen review can be useful. 

The Pilot Parallels are affordable calligraphy pens that feature a completely original and versatile nib. These pens are available in 1.5 mm, 2.4 mm, 3.8 mm, and a massive 6.0 mm nibs. 

Many people who look into a cheap yet reliable calligraphy fountain pen discover the Pilot Parallel pens. These pens can be a great introduction to modern calligraphy. 

Introducing The Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen 

These pens are entirely made of plastic and offer a different look and feel. You can’t write with the cap posted, but the pen body is so long you probably wouldn’t want to post it either way.

An interesting part of the design is that this pen doesn’t have a trim, but due to the cap design, the cap won’t roll over. Unfortunately, once you take the cap off, there’s nothing preventing it from rolling to the floor. 

The body and cap are made from a resistant plastic, so a minor drop might not be fatal, but it would be nice to see some mechanism to prevent this simple problem. 

In terms of looks, this pen looks exactly what it is: a cheap pen. However, once you start using it and practice a little with its original nib, you’ll see its value in the performance and fun. 

The Pilot Parallel nibs are made from two parallel plates, hence the name of the pen. The nib edges allow ink to flow out of the tip of the nib effortlessly. 

Pilot says that these pens should only be used with the Pilot Parallel calligraphy ink cartridges, which are very wet. But the reality is that you can use most inks with them if you want to. 

In fact, instead of relying exclusively on cartridges, you can convert a Pilot Parallel into an eyedropper and get a massive ink capacity.

Due to the large nibs used, these Pilot Parallel pens can use a lot of ink. Hence, you might want to consider eyedropper conversions or refilling your cartridges with an ink syringe. 

If you’re looking to turn your Parallel into an eyedropper pen, you simply need to fill the barrel of the pen with ink and then use some silicone grease on the threads before you screw the barrel. The silicone grease helps you to avoid leaks. 

Pilot Parallel Design

The Pilot Parallel is an original pen for sure. So, it’s the type of pen that turns some heads. The body design, with this long body-type, reminds me of the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen, the Lamy Joy or the Rotring Art Pen. Then, the cap with the different colors for each nib size, and the practical nib inscription on the top confirm these are, above all, practical pens.

You might love or hate the design of this pen, but the value here is not on how this pen looks, it’s on how it writes. 

The Pilot Parallel uses a screw-on cap that perfectly seals and avoids evaporation. Even without using these pens for weeks, I never got any dry nib. 

The grip is transparent so you can easily see the ink moving into the feed. That’s another nice touch on the practicability.

Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Ink

The brand recommends that you only use Pilot Parallel calligraphy ink cartridges in these pens. Unfortunately, this ink is not available in bottle format, so it can get expensive in terms of cost per ml.

The Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Cartridges are a well-made ink, particularly wet and that can be mixed to form your own colors. I love these original Pilot cartridges, but you can use any Pilot cartridge in these pens, or simply refill these cartridges with an ink syringe.

Refilling these cartridges allow you to use any bottled ink of your choice. I’ve used countless different inks on my Pilot Parallels over the years without any problems. Wet inks tend to perform better, but, from my experience, only a few inks disappointed when I used them in these pens.

Pilot Parallel pens can easily use a lot of ink. These are fun pens with large nibs, so you can spend an entire cartridge without noticing it. That’s why the Pilot Parallel pens are a perfect eyedropper conversion candidate. 

Just by sealing the barrel threads with silicone grease you can easily fill your barrel with ink and enjoy this massive ink capacity.

For long writing sessions or when I plan to keep my Parallel pens inked for days, I tend to use the eyedropper solution. When I just want to practice calligraphy for a couple of hours or I simply need a stub nib to complement other pens, I simply refill a cartridge.

If you have multiple Pilot Parallel pens, you’re able to blend inks by touching the tips os 2 pens together and create gradients. It’s a cool and unique feature but for me, it was more a novelty. Mixing inks or creating gradients is not something I tend to do often. So, if you would like to try it, you’ll need at least 2 Pilot Parallel pens inked with different colors.

Pilot Parallel As Daily Writer?

I personally love these pens, and use them often, but are they capable of being used as a regular pen every single day?

The Pilot Parallels are great affordable pens, they provide unique design, features and writing experience. These pens provide a great starting point for those who want to try stub or calligraphy nibs or those looking to learn calligraphy. 

These are also great pens to test new inks and to help you catalog your inks. But outside calligraphy and ink testing, Parallel pens can’t be considered daily writers. 

The nibs range from the 1.5mm width up to 6mm width, which are too big for most on daily writing. I do use 1.5mm up to 1.9mm stubs regularly, but anything about that is not practical for everyday writing. Even 1.5mm and 1.9mm stubs require you to write larger letters, and good papers to handle all that ink.

The Pilot Parallel is a really great pen for what it is designed for. Outside of its element, it’s not really a versatile pen.

Pilot Parallel Paper Requirements

It might come as a surprise for some, but these pens write decently even on cheap copy paper. If the paper is too thin, there will definitely be some bleeding and probably some feathering since a regular copy paper is not ready to handle as much ink as these large nibs can put on the paper. While the experience may not be perfect, when you’re looking to practice calligraphy in cheap regular paper, that’s possible with these pens.

On smooth, fountain pen ink friendly paper, you get the most out of your Pilot Parallel pens. On this type of paper, the lines become cleaner and crisper and the writing experience becomes much better. 

Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen Review: The Pros

• This is a completely original pen, there’s not even one similar pen to this one on the market.
• Pilot Parallels screw-on cap seals well. So, even if you don’t use the pens for days or weeks, they’ll be ready to write when you need them.
• These pens work exactly as they’re supposed to right out of the box. 
• The exclusive feature that allows you to mix ink by touching the tip of the nib on 2 Parallel Pens is another detail that makes this pen unique.
• Robust plastic assures the durability you need on a calligraphy pen.
• Easy eyedropper conversion allows you to write for a long time and take advantage of the long barrel for ink storage.

Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen Review: The Cons

• These pens are designed and advertised for specific cartridges only.
• The pen is made from durable plastic, but in the end, it’s just a plastic cap and a plastic barrel. So, it looks like a cheap pen.
• The design is completely original, but it’s not really a good looking pen. This one might be subjective, but to me, this pen value is on the performance, not on the looks. 

Should You Get A Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen Or Calligraphy Set?

I personally love these pens. So, if you’re looking for a fun and affordable calligraphy pen, the Parallel pens should be in your radar.

I am really happy with these pens, and knowing what I know about them today, I would buy them again. These pens offer something really unique, a revolutionary nib, and lots of fun at an affordable price. The larger nibs, especially the 6mm nib can only be used for calligraphy. It’s not a practical nib, but it’s incredibly fun.

These are easy to use pens, beginner friendly, and allow anyone to start playing with letters, alphabets, and calligraphy. These pens are easy to clean and you can easily disassemble them to get the perfect cleaning. 

A more refined version of these pens with this type of nib but smaller (a 1.1mm nib, for example) would be a great addition to the line. That would give these pens an extra positive point since the looks and the larger nibs are probably what keep some people from testing these pens. But for me, these pens already offer a great value for their price. The nibs offer great thick lines on downstrokes and fine lines on side strokes. Ultimately, you can practice many types of letters with these.

For calligraphy and art, the Pilot Parallels are a great choice. Hope you find this Complete Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen review useful, and that it helps you decide if these are the right pens for you.

Fountain Pen Ink Used in this Review 

The ink that I used in this Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen review was InexPens Ochre.

It’s a well-behaved ink even on copy paper, and one of my favorite colors of late.