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I saw an interview shortly after the change where the interviewer said something like "well, people always hate change" and the Pelikan rep's reply was along the lines of "yes, but when it is this many people we might have to listen to them"

If you mean the UK Duofolds from the 1950s & 1960s, those have the same built-in ‘aerometric’ filling system that was used in the Parker “51”; they aren’t removable converters. (I have a 1960s ‘Junior’ Duofold. Its aerometric fill-system, ‘bouncy’ nib, and ebonite feed make it a great pen to use with Registrars’ Ink 😊) But their operating principle is indeed the same as both types of squeeze-bar converters that you & I have.

I missed these questions earlier on, sorry My Luxor-made Frontier is actually made to slightly better quality than the UK-made model of that pen was. The UK pens had a rubber coating on their grip-section, and that used to fall off in patches. I had to scrape it off my own UK Frontier. The Frontier was made in the UK at a time when the company was losing lots of money, so its quality suffered as production costs were cut drastically. The company got bought out, and the UK factory got closed down, at the end of the era during which Frontiers were made here. My two Luxor Frontiers are well-made and they have good nibs, but their caps don’t ‘post’ very well on to the back of the pen when writing with them. I think that this is a design problem, rather than a manufacturing problem. My all-steel Luxor Vector is really well made. In this all-steel version it is a tough pen, and it would be a great pen for school or university if one finds its size comfortable. My 25 is from the 1970s, and it is made to a higher standard than my early-2000s Jotter (again, this is the era when Parker was cutting costs). All my 45s are from the 1970s, and they are all well-made, but their caps don’t ‘post’ as well as that of the 25 or the Vector; both of which are shaped so that the cap slots firmly on to the slightly-narrower end of the pen’s body. The Urban is a heavier pen, made out of brass. Its cap ‘posts’ well, but its weight then makes the pen feel unbalanced. The Jotter, Vector, and Urban all use the same nibs. They are very stiff, but they write reliably. The Frontier nibs are very slightly ‘bouncy’. The 45 steel nibs are very stiff, but reliable. My UK-made 14k gold 45 nib is slightly ‘bouncy’ too. The 25 is probably the pen that I find to be most-comfortable in my hand when writing. The Urban is the prettiest, and when I use it I do enjoy using it. The Vector is a great tough pen to take out on-site, or to use in e.g. school, but it is a tiny bit too-narrow for me to use it comfortably for a long writing session. The Jotter is also a little bit small for my hand. The narrow, tapered shape of the 45 means that I take a little while to get used to it (I normally use wider pens), but the nibs on mine write with quite narrow lines, so they make great pens for writing postcards in permanent black ink. As for your price question, €28 for a gold-nibbed all-steel 45 would be a decent price here in the UK. Is it a 14k gold nib? Or is it a gold-plated steel nib? What era does the pen date-to? And what size/grind is the nib? 45s were made with everything from XF to B, and with Italics, and obliques, and reverse-obliques. There should be a letter stamped in the underside of the nib collar. One of the more-‘exotic’ nibs might not suit your handwriting, so it is a good idea to check what size/grind of nib is on the pen.

I'm a little disappoint that P139 is not like P136, it should be copying MB 149, not other models... 😆

Jaki Svaren was a student of Lloyd Reynolds, a professional calligrapher, a very serious student of letter forms and the history of writing. She was both talented and a self-critical student. Also, by the way, from what I hear, a demanding teacher. I certainly concur that her own personal italic hand is awe inspiring. But, I would encourage you to view her writing as informing and inspiring. I have been using italic handwriting for 60 years off and on. I clearly don't have Jaki's gift or her commitment to absolute perfection. Reviewing her gorgeous hand and reading her wise advice is still helpful. I will never play the guitar like Segovia or write like Jake Svaren. I accept that and strive to do the best I can. David

Yes you are correct the converter third from the right is the one that I have in my pens from the 70s. The squeeze 'u' bar is similar in usage to the converters in my Parker UK Duofolds except for the thickened mid section.

@Mercian, looks like you are right. Double bingo. Thanks mate. @Penguincollector, you were so close. Cheers Parker Premier Fountain Pen Grain D'orge Gold Barley 18Kt @MercianNot sure whether this is the code that you are referring to?

Just announced on IG... pulled the pic from Chatterley's announcement. Bringing the Renaissance brown to the M1000!

helping stay afloat

With my ‘Joyless Pedant’ hat firmly on, I feel compelled to say that your Parker isn’t a 75 - it is a more-expensive model called the ‘Premier’, which was based on the 75. The cap band and the finials are different. E.g. Here are two photo that show my own two Parker 75 ‘Place Vendôme’ pens in the gold-plated ‘Grain d’Orge’ finish. Note the ‘stacked coin’ finials on the caps & barrels of the 75s, and the detail of the gold pens’ broad, single cap-bands. Also, see the following link, from Lih-Tah Wong’s excellent site devoted to the Parker 75, for details about the more-expensive model called ‘Premier’: https://parker75.com//Reference/Parker75_Ref.htm You may need to click on ‘Parker 75’ in the column on the left, then on ‘75 family tree branches’, and then select ‘Premier’. Slàinte, M. Edit to add: The wide gold band on the grip-section of your Premier suggests that it was made in the late 1980s. There ought to be a one- or two-letter date code on the back of its cap band. If you tell us what those two letters are, we can tell you which year, and in which quarter of that year, your pen was made. E.g. my gold 75s bear the code ‘IE’. Unusually, this code was actually used twice during the 1980s, because Parker changed its code system half-way through that decade. My BP is from 1988 Q3, but I’m pretty certain that my FP is from 1984 Q3.

Please help to ID the below discontinued MB pens (roller ball and ball point). Thinking of selling the pens to get 1 x grail FP. Which pen will you keep?

Too many unknowns to give a firm answer. I don't think that epoxy will hold long term. If you are willing to accept the risk of possible damage to the plastic, you could use Marine Goop. It's impressive stuff. I've used it for many repairs, and once it dries and hardens, it can be impossible to remove. I've repaired tail lights with it that held for years until I got rid of the car, and patched air mattresses with just the Marine Goop over the hole. The only negative reaction to it was a cheap grill cover.

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I agree that one of the main selling points to me for Pelikan's fine writing series is their choice to continue with cellulose acetate. The look and feel of that material is quite good, and Pelikan does a really good job of it.

I also have a converter like the one that you describe; I think that it was made from the 1970s into the 1980s. I got mine with a 75 that was made in the 1970s. The converter in the photo that I already posted is a genuine Parker converter; if you open that photo and enlarge it you can see the Parker name, halo logo, and the end of ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ all stamped around the band in its middle. It dates from either the late 1960s or early 1970s. It is one of the second generation of Parker converters. The c/c system was acquired by Parker when it bought the pens division of Eversharp. The Parker 45 was apparently based on a pen called the Eversharp 10,000. Here is a post that contains a photo of several old Parker converters, including the Eversharp one on which the first two Parker converters were based: And here is a photo that I took for use in another thread. It shows some of my other Parker converters, including the type that I think you mean: I really ought to take a photo that just shows all of my Parker converters. I have two more Parker converters that aren’t shown in the photo above.

The Violet Blackberry swatched onto Cosmo Air Snow is a really goth looking black purple satin. I’m swatching the Dark Lilac later today and will edit this post and add pictures.

I've just acquired a nice Waterman (English W2), but it has a sac nipple that's cracked in a couple of places. I realize the ideal fix may be to put a sleeve around the sac nipple to support and reinforce it, but I don't have the equipment to pull that off. The feed slides nicely into the section & sac nipple without putting stress on to the sac nipple. The rest of the section and sac nipple look good. I was therefore thinking of just sealing the cracks with epoxy, but I seem to recall some contrary opinions on that. What do the experts think? Here's a picture. (It's lit from the inside to show one of the cracks clearly.)

This is the usual 「萬年筆グラフ」"Fountain Pen Graph" blog post. The same principle of the slat-type inhalation mechanism is used to explain the CON-70(N). I think you can understand it just by the schematic diagram. You can also read the article in Japanese if you like. When the piston is pushed down. https://ameblo.jp/kamisama-samasama/image-12263739771-13910301940.html When the piston is released. https://ameblo.jp/kamisama-samasama/image-12263739771-13910298906.html https://ameblo.jp/kamisama-samasama/entry-12263739771.html P.S. In addition to this(?) CON-70(N) seems to have a mechanism to stabilize operation by increasing negative pressure through quick repetition of pressing down. I am not sure about that part...

Same, teal is my second favorite color after cobalt. Purple inks I just started getting really into. I used to use Rötring purple cartridges for school sometimes, but recently was given a ton of purple samples by @Lithium466 and really liked them. The Lamy inks I tried at the March pen club meeting in some very flexible nibs and they really impressed me. I remember the “Jazz” cups, the luncheonette by my high school had them by the soda fountain.

Handed down by my mum. Deeply appreciate the help.

Oh good, glad to be of use.

Without any boat

Just googled to cross check. Parker 75 grain d'orge barley corn pattern. Bingo. Have a great day. Thanks

Sheaffer Targa black matte 1003 later version Parker 75, not sure what the pattern is called, maybe grain d’orge?

I have some 45s and a 75 from that era that have a much sleeker metal converter with a squeeze bar in side that fits into any of my later model Parker pens. Is the converter in the photo an original Parker?