Do you use a fountain pen?

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

I went looking for my other pens today.

My aforementioned Parker 45 is one I bought this century to replace a much older one which was bought for me with matching ballpoint for school in the late 80's. I have the ballpoint right here but have mislaid the fountain pen. I have seen it semi-recently so it is just in the house some place.

Both my Parker 45 fountain pens are the brushed stainless steel body and cap. The interesting difference is the older one has a different design to the end of the cap.

On the left we have the aforementioned ballpoint and the matching fountain pen is the same, whilst on the right is the newer one with a plastic bobble on the end. The older one definitely never had this - it's not a case of it having fallen off.



Another pic of the newer one:



Finally, another Parker which I had at school in the mid 1970's because back in those day you were expected to use a fountain pen. I never liked this one as it was scratchy, and haven't written with it in decades.

Nice pens, I like the Parker, good workhouse of a pen, you can also unscrew the nib to wash it out or replace it with a different size. they made the 45 over many years, yours with the rounded end was towards the end of the production run 2001 to 2007.

The other Parker is a 25, again a sought after pen. see if you can borrow a loupe or some very strong reading glasses and look at the end of the nib. If the tines are in line, and I have just enlarged the pic and I dont think they are, just ease them back into place, side by side with your thumb nail, that should have cured the scratchiness but if not try smoothing by writing 8888s on a very shiny piece of soft aluminium or copper, ideally a piece of shiny flint. I think you will have a very smooth writing nib.

[Soov535]

Oh yes. Always.

Had to use one at school. Still do.


1. Parker 51 Gold and Green - bought in Zambia by Dad in 1959. Used for important documents only (too precious to lose).
2. MontBlonc Meisterstuck Gold and Black, thick nib. Beater.

[turbobloke]

In response to the OP yes I use a fountain pen, two in fact. The most-used is a Mulberry which I was sent by Rachel Butler who was Chief Sub-Ed at Car magazine in 1998 it was their give-away for the letter of the month. Still going strong and a pleasure to use.

[Robbo 27]

The great things about fountain pens is that they often have a story attached to them, often an important gift or passed from parent to child. You dont get that with ball point pens.

My grandmother was given a Platignum pen at school in 1935, it was to mark the silver jubilee of George V, inscribed as a gift from the West Riding County Council. My father dropped and broke his 1946 Parker Vacumatic on the way to the Festival of Britain in 1951, Parker fixed his pen on the stand whilst he waited. He saw the new Parker 51 whilst he stood there and bought one. I am very pleased that I have all three pens today.

[markoc]

@Bob

I found a carbon bodied pen while looking on website robbo suggested. Schaeffer Intensity.

http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/fountain-pens/sheaffer...



No idea on the provenance of Schaeffer but it looked good. I was worried it might be a bit light and not wide enough for me.

Think I'll go for a Cross ATX as it matches a rollerball I was given as a gift about 15 years ago and I like the weight.

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

Nice pens, I like the Parker, good workhouse of a pen, you can also unscrew the nib to wash it out or replace it with a different size. they made the 45 over many years, yours with the rounded end was towards the end of the production run 2001 to 2007.

Thanks for that - very interesting. Yes, that would make sense as I would have bought it around that time.

Robbo 27 said:

The other Parker is a 25, again a sought after pen. see if you can borrow a loupe or some very strong reading glasses and look at the end of the nib. If the tines are in line, and I have just enlarged the pic and I dont think they are, just ease them back into place, side by side with your thumb nail, that should have cured the scratchiness but if not try smoothing by writing 8888s on a very shiny piece of soft aluminium or copper, ideally a piece of shiny flint. I think you will have a very smooth writing nib.

As it happens, I do have a loupe and by holding it in front of the camera lens I was able to take the following pictures. As you can see, the nib is not in great shape, which is hardly surprising given that it had a hard life in the hands of a school child. I probably started using it when I was 5 or 6. which makes it 40 years old now.








I can't say that I have a lot of love for this pen, not least due to the association with school, but maybe it would be nice to get it writing again.

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Thursday 19th January 16:48

[Robbo 27]

The nib on your Parker 25 looks in poor condition, it might be too far gone. Usual advice of soaking and flushing but in your case i would have a go with an old toothbrush and see if you can clear up some of the old debris and material around the nib.

If you want to go the easy route then a replacement nib is available for £11.50, It is a straightforward swap on the 25.

http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/spares.htm

[Soov535]

Incidentally, a related tale.

Once got called into a meeting with HR about my internet use.

I'd been trying to find some information about the Parker 51 and repairs, and Googled as you.


I was directed to a company called Pen Island who have a good reputation. Website was www.penisland

Edited by Soov535 on Thursday 19th January 17:12

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

The nib on your Parker 25 looks in poor condition, it might be too far gone. Usual advice of soaking and flushing but in your case i would have a go with an old toothbrush and see if you can clear up some of the old debris and material around the nib.

Since I made that post, I've done just that - flushed it under the tap and gently brushed it with a disposable mascara brush (a clean, new one, I should add. Not a used one). It flushed through very easily, and I can blow through it, so it isn't blocked. I was amazed how much ink came out of it, considering it has been dry for decades.

Looking at it under the loupe again now it's clean, and there is a massive gap between the two sides of the nib. They are in parallel with each other, but just very wide apart.



Thanks for the tip-off on spares.

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Thursday 19th January 17:17

[SPR2]

Robbo 27 said:

That looks inetresting, a Parker Duofold missing its jewel and clip, a Mabie Todd, and a Sheaffer No Nonesense.

It would be nice to have these repaired. It appears the Parker and Schaeffer need the inside filler and the Mabel Todd I can't undo.
I have not found anyone local who can repair them because of their age. Any recommendations please.?

You have certainly got a very interesting thread going.thank you.

Edited by SPR2 on Thursday 19th January 17:20

[Bob_Defly]

Robbo 27 said:

Stuff

Awesome, thanks for the great reply!

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

Since I made that post, I've done just that - flushed it under the tap and gently brushed it with a disposable mascara brush (a clean, new one, I should add. Not a used one). It flushed through very easily, and I can blow through it, so it isn't blocked. I was amazed how much ink came out of it, considering it has been dry for decades.

Looking at it under the loupe again now it's clean, and there is a massive gap between the two sides of the nib. They are in parallel with each other, but just very wide apart.



Thanks for the tip-off on spares.

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Thursday 19th January 17:17

It looks so much better, nice job. The 25 nib is quite stiff, made that way to resist damage from schoolboys, but I would try to squeeze the tines a little closer so that they are almost touching, try with finger and thumb with the nib wrapped in a tissue, you dont have a lot to lose and I think that the nib is still salvageable.

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

If you want to go the easy route then a replacement nib is available for £11.50, It is a straightforward swap on the 25.

http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/spares.htm

I might just do that, even though I don't have a lot of love for the pen. Thanks.

Whilst I'm at it, I might get a fine nib for my Parker 45, since I have two of them (once I find the other) and both are medium.

Would you recommend the stainless steel or the 14ct gold nib? Is there a huge difference (apart from in price)?

SPR2 said:

You have certainly got a very interesting thread going.thank you.

Yes, indeed. Excellent thread.

[Robbo 27]

SPR2 said:

It would be nice to have these repaired. It appears the Parker and Schaeffer need the inside filler and the Mabel Todd I can't undo.
I have not found anyone local who can repair them because of their age. Any recommendations please.?

You have certainly got a very interesting thread going.thank you.

Edited by SPR2 on Thursday 19th January 17:20

Financially the Sheaffer is not worth repairing, it can be replaced for under £15, if it is missing the converter then you can buy one for under £4 from:

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?br...

Unless it is a much older Parker Duofold than I think it should have a squeeze bar filler like the one in the pic




Very unusual for these to go wrong, if it is an older model, before 1950, then it will have had a rubber sac and metal bar inside and another small cap at the end of the barrel, again easy enough to fix. Harder will be to find a replacement screw for the end and a clip if they are missing, especially if you want it to be original as opposed to something functional. i know repairers who will do the work but again the cost will be comparable to the final value of the pen, perhaps more.

The Mabie Todd is a little better, probably just needs a new rubber sac and a clean, cost of repair will be about £20 and you will have a pen worth £40 and be sort after by collectors. Mabie Todds have excellent nibs that flex a bit giving some line variation.

There are a number of repairers who will do this work but I can recommend this man:

http://www.classicpenengineering.co.uk/

Edited by Robbo 27 on Thursday 19th January 17:56

[Robbo 27]

Clockwork Cupcake

'Whilst I'm at it, I might get a fine nib for my Parker 45, since I have two of them (once I find the other) and both are medium.

Would you recommend the stainless steel or the 14ct gold nib? Is there a huge difference (apart from in price)?'

The gold nib will give better results, fractionally smoother but at double the price I would go with the steel, just smooth it a little when it arrives.

[BryanC]

I'd like to stand up and thank Robbo for starting a really interesting thread.

I've taken his good advice, flushed my Parker given to me by my mum 48 years ago and brought it back into use, so using it for what it was made for after a long rest. Thanks chum. Once again trying to put some pride back into my note writing. Parker for handwriting, Lamy for sketching.

[williredale]

ClockworkCupcake said:

Robbo 27 said:

If you want to go the easy route then a replacement nib is available for £11.50, It is a straightforward swap on the 25.

http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/spares.htm

I might just do that, even though I don't have a lot of love for the pen. Thanks.

Whilst I'm at it, I might get a fine nib for my Parker 45, since I have two of them (once I find the other) and both are medium.

Would you recommend the stainless steel or the 14ct gold nib? Is there a huge difference (apart from in price)?

SPR2 said:

You have certainly got a very interesting thread going.thank you.

Yes, indeed. Excellent thread.

If you want to swap a fine nib for your medium I'll have a look at what I've got. I much prefer mediums and have a couple of fine nibbed 45s. I don't know if they're steel or gold but will have a look if you're interested?

[Robbo 27]

BryanC said:

I'd like to stand up and thank Robbo for starting a really interesting thread.

I've taken his good advice, flushed my Parker given to me by my mum 48 years ago and brought it back into use, so using it for what it was made for after a long rest. Thanks chum. Once again trying to put some pride back into my note writing. Parker for handwriting, Lamy for sketching.

Thats very kind of you Bryan, my pleasure.

[SystemParanoia]

Inked up my Jinhao x750.

Feels much better in my hand, and the weight is really satisfying.

[Jlock]

Another lefty here, I'm glad Robbo started the thread and that I found it! My handwriting has always been terrible, to the point I changed to writing solely in capitals during high school for it to even be legible. I'm 27 now and my writing is still as poor as ever, to the point I've recently been getting quite annoyed about it.

I'm an engineer so the main writing I do throughout the day is taking meeting notes and a rough daily log. I was recently given a black Mont Blanc starwalker ball point as a best man gift from my father, it's extremely expensive (IMO for a pen) but my notes are so poor it hardly seems worth it! That and I'm scared of losing it.

Anyway, I think having a crack with a fountain pen could be a good way to force myself into changing that. After browsing I'm undecided between a lamy safari with a left handed nib, or the larger jinhao 159. Would the left handed nib give much of a benefit or should I just save a few quid and stick with the jinhao?