Parker 45 Question

[Jankers]

Hey guys,

 

Fairly new to this whole fountain pen thing and decided that I'd join this forum (which I happen to stumble upon yesterday) to learn more about it and have a place to ask some questions.

 

So a few days ago I find this pen lying around in one of my drawers. Now I've always wanted to use a fountain pen so I decided to make it my work pen. From what I can tell it's a Parker 45 (or the cap is just lying to me).

 

 

I noticed when I write it's quite thick and after looking at the pen I saw a 'B' on the black nib cover part (the feed? cover?) which I learned stands for Broad. Since I write fairly small I want to get an Extra Fine or something in that range to replace my Broad nib. Now I have no idea where to buy said nibs and was wondering if anyone has any sweet places to get them. I live in Ontario so if anyone has some Ontario places or places in Canada to buy nibs I'd appreciate the information.

 

PS Also if anyone wants to share any information on the pen itself (history, model, anything) I'd love to learn more about the pen.

 

PPS Thanks in advance.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Jankers

[oneopentrail]

The nib section just unscrews and you can replace it with whatever sized nib you like.

 

They can be quite expensive $15.00

[Notgatherox]

I'll paste you a link here: parkerpens.net/parker45.html

 

Enjoy!

 

 

~Epic

[Captivelight]

Best place for information on Parker 45's is here: https://parker45pens.wordpress.com/

[inkstainedruth]

Yes, it's a 45. They're nice because they can be disassembled easily. And you've got the original squeeze converter, it appears (NICE!), but cartridges and modern converters will also fit. You *may* be able to find just a nib (not the entire nib assembly) -- the nibs are interchangeable and only fit one way because there's a little notch. But you need to be careful and do it over a flat surface because the nibs are really really small....

You can find a really good video on how to do it on Tyler Dahl's website: http://tylerdahlpens.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-disassemble-parker-45.html

(someone directed me there when I got my first 45 -- I didn't even know what model pen it was, other than it being a Parker, and the *only* pen in a shoebox full of pens that didn't look like a junker).

I just got a replacement nib for an F last weekend at DCSS (I got a pen on Ebay last spring and it turned out the tipping was gone from one tine). I did have some problems finding someone who actually had another nib, though -- to the point that some people suggested I harvest a nib from a parts pen (you can often find a pen for the same price as just a 14K nib...).

Good luck with your search. And if you really have trouble finding another nib, PM me if you want to trade that nib for F on mine (basically I have one 45 with an M that I really like, and decided to get another one with a different nib width, and the F nibbed pen came up on Ebay at a decent price first.... Only the photos weren't good enough, it turned out. And I found out last weekend that a replacement nib is still a LOT cheaper than having the nib retipped or reground....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting

Edited August 21, 2015 by inkstainedruth

[Mike 59]

Hi, Your 45 is a 'CT' model, meaning 'chrome trim', there are also 'GT' versions, some have 14ct nibs but many are steel, and the most popular widths from new were 'F' and 'M'.

Most of the information on Parker pens tends to be around the lower edge of the cap, so you might find the country of origin, and maybe a letter code giving the year also.

The nib units are quite unusual in that the nib does not come out of the finger grip section; 'downwards' but the lower 10mm is unscrewed first, then the nib/feed/hood parts can be taken apart.

It's really worth watching the video 'Parker 45 disassembly' first, before risking any damage to your pen.

Note that if your pen has not been apart for some time, years maybe, it won't fall apart like the one in the video did !

Best to put the whole nib section in a glass of water overnight, then next day, dry it off and carefully test the lower part of the finger grip section to see if it will unscrew.

It's really best to get all the ink out, and start again with new. You can use the converter, or a modern Parker converter or Parker Quink cartridges, no other type will fit. (Especially not the common international type of cartridges.)

You might find the 'Fine' nib to be more your style, and won't be too difficult to find. Photo; USA steel fine nib.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Mike 59

[pajaro]

I wouldn't spend too much money on a Parker 45, but you should be able to find a fine or extra fine (F or X) reasonably. You might even find a pen with the right nib fairly cheaply on ebay.

[Captivelight]

Sometimes it's cheaper to buy the whole pen - especially the tatty ones and just take the nib out.

[Jankers]

Thanks everyone for the information and help. I'll continue to look for a new nib or just a pen and replace use the nib from there. I was wondering what the average price for one of these pens would be so i don't end up spending way too much for a replacement nib. I assume there will be a variance depending on the quality of the nib, just wondering a general range i should be trying to pick one up for.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Jankers

[DrCodfish]

I am no expert but I have a few of these pens. I would say somewhere between $15.00 and $45.00 should get you a nice pen, you can pay more or less. Just go on Ebay and look for Parker 45 fountain pen, you'll be ........ dazed.

[JotterAddict62]

Jankers

 

I have two P45 nibs just lying around; Octanium nib assembly marked A [ NOS ] and a 14k F [ used ]

PM me and we can talk. [ I can be had ]

 

Ken

[SockAddict]

Just a note -- if you find an X nib for a decent price, jump on it! F's are fairly common, but X nibs are a bit scarce. Not *really* hard to find, but if you pass it up and you like the really fine nibs, you'll be kicking yourself later.

 

Also, if you are like me and disassemble your pens over/near the kitchen sink, do NOT take your 45 apart over the drain!! That tiny little nib is awfully hard to find in a garbage disposal … Ask me how I know!

[welch]

The Parker 45 is near and dear to my heart. Parents gave me one early in 1961, a gold-nib medium, dark blue, gold-trim. I used it for the next six years.

 

The 45 was the first modern fountain pen. That is: the first all-component pen, in which every piece will unscrew. Consider it the first fountain pen with "user serviceable parts". Find a fine-point, unscrew the medium nib-unit, and screw in the fine. Bingo. You could refill every morning, as I did, from a bottle of whatever ink you chose...as long as it was Sheaffer or Parker, black, blue-black, or blue, permanent or washable. Those were the choices...priced at a walloping 25 centers for two ounces, and eventually, I think, as expensive as maybe 49 cents. I forget what a pack of Parker cartridges cost. Notice, as Ruth mentioned: a current Parker cartridge or Parker converter should fit. If you're feeling wild, try Aurora blue or black cartridges.

 

The Big Thing about the 45: aborfe about 1960, fountain pens were sold at the pen counters of fancy department stores. Drug stores carried low-end pens in blister-packs, such as the Wearever and the Sheaffer school pen, but you found serious fountain pens at a pen-shop or pen counter. You refilled the pen from a bottle, but never tried to open a pen. Never tried to replace a nib or fix the filling system on a Parker 51 or a Sheaffer Snorkel. Pen companies expected you to return the pen to a service center, to repair experts, who had specialized tools and spare parts.

 

Compare to the ballpoint. You "repaired" a Papermate when you bought a new refill. Simple.

 

By the early '60s, pen counters were disappearing and so were service centers. Any owner could fiddle with a Parker 45. Parker continued to make the Parker 51 and 61 for the old-style delivery / repair system, but that was becoming less and less supportable.

 

About 1963, Parker released an upscale pen, the Parker 75, made with components...like the 45. (About 1970, Parker released a cartridge / converter model of the Parker 61, although you could not "just" unscrew the nib and replace it.) Since the P-75, nearly all pens have been designed in components, like the 45, and most use the cartridge/converter.

 

The first modern fountain pen. It only cost $4.98 in 1961, compared to the $12 - $15 of a Parker 51 or the Monblanc, but it changed everything.

[cleosmama]

I have bought nibs for about $10 USD from Pendemonium. I don't know if they have EFs but they do have M nibs.

 

http://www.pendemonium.com/parker.htm

 

I love the Parker 45 and use a desk version as well as the standard version.

Edited August 26, 2015 by cleosmama

[pajaro]

The Parker 45 is near and dear to my heart. Parents gave me one early in 1961, a gold-nib medium, dark blue, gold-trim. I used it for the next six years.

 

The 45 was the first modern fountain pen. That is: the first all-component pen, in which every piece will unscrew. Consider it the first fountain pen with "user serviceable parts". Find a fine-point, unscrew the medium nib-unit, and screw in the fine. Bingo. You could refill every morning, as I did, from a bottle of whatever ink you chose...as long as it was Sheaffer or Parker, black, blue-black, or blue, permanent or washable. Those were the choices...priced at a walloping 25 centers for two ounces, and eventually, I think, as expensive as maybe 49 cents. I forget what a pack of Parker cartridges cost. Notice, as Ruth mentioned: a current Parker cartridge or Parker converter should fit. If you're feeling wild, try Aurora blue or black cartridges.

 

The Big Thing about the 45: aborfe about 1960, fountain pens were sold at the pen counters of fancy department stores. Drug stores carried low-end pens in blister-packs, such as the Wearever and the Sheaffer school pen, but you found serious fountain pens at a pen-shop or pen counter. You refilled the pen from a bottle, but never tried to open a pen. Never tried to replace a nib or fix the filling system on a Parker 51 or a Sheaffer Snorkel. Pen companies expected you to return the pen to a service center, to repair experts, who had specialized tools and spare parts.

 

Compare to the ballpoint. You "repaired" a Papermate when you bought a new refill. Simple.

 

By the early '60s, pen counters were disappearing and so were service centers. Any owner could fiddle with a Parker 45. Parker continued to make the Parker 51 and 61 for the old-style delivery / repair system, but that was becoming less and less supportable.

 

About 1963, Parker released an upscale pen, the Parker 75, made with components...like the 45. (About 1970, Parker released a cartridge / converter model of the Parker 61, although you could not "just" unscrew the nib and replace it.) Since the P-75, nearly all pens have been designed in components, like the 45, and most use the cartridge/converter.

 

The first modern fountain pen. It only cost $4.98 in 1961, compared to the $12 - $15 of a Parker 51 or the Monblanc, but it changed everything.

Ever hear the word "Esterbrook?"

[welch]

Ever hear the word "Esterbrook?"

 

Well, sure did. Esterbrook expected the user to replace the point. Nothing suggests Esterbrook intended users to pull the section, replace the sac, even replace the lever / press-bar. Repair guys did that. Consider the simple equipment: extra sacs, sac spreaders, shellac, dental picks to remove dead sac.

 

After the 45, pen companies stopped developing new filling systems. German companies stuck with the piston, Sheaffer switched between Touchdown and cartridge/converter...except for the amazing Intrigue. Parker's new Duofold is a cartridge converter. Specialized pen shops might have a repair specialist, but good department stores carried fewer and fewer fountain pens.

[Captivelight]

 

 

Also, if you are like me and disassemble your pens over/near the kitchen sink, do NOT take your 45 apart over the drain!! That tiny little nib is awfully hard to find in a garbage disposal … Ask me how I know!

 

LOL - yes ... I poured away a gold S (stub) nib and spent the next half an hour under the sink removing the trap so I could get my nib back! Glad I'm not the only one who has done this!

[pen lady]

I once lost a P61 hood ornament arrow under my dishwasher and didn't find it until we had to replace the appliance! I have learned to put a strainer or seive underneath before I do any work over the sink. The wooden cutting board is splattered with ink stains, but hey, my kitchen, my rules!