Converter Won't Fit Parker Sonnet!

[kapanak]

Yay, you got it to work Good job!

[Igor]

Hello everyone,

I'm afraid this one is going to be a bit off top but I can't keep from asking you (looked in here cos my Sonnet's barrel also seems to be slightly short for a deluxe converter, just a tiny bit tho. I will have to have a closer look at that spacer thing!)

But my nightmare is this))))

The Sonnet in question sat in my drawer for I don't remember how many years without any use at all. To tell the truth I never inked it in all it's life))

About a week ago I somehow read an article on parker coding and decided to have a look at mine. To my surprise it turned out to have no date coding stamp on the cap! Neither had it a country name on it, just two lines and a logo- parker sonnet. I rummaged through a bunch of material on fake Sonnets and to my relief the pen looks like a real Parker nib and all with no fake signs I saw in the pics in those articles. But still I'm no expert((((

Any thoughts anyone??

It would be great to find out finally what sort of a beast I have in my drawer)))

Many thanks in advance!

Igor

[Mike 59]

Hi, The two lines you mention would be the date code, the 3rd quarter of 1994.

Or if it is I.I it would be 2004.

If you could mention the colour or post a photo, someone would be able to tell you much more than I can.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Mike 59

[pajaro]

If the pen cap has a cap jewel inside the top of the clip that looks like a target, then it was converted from a rollerball. Rollerballs have a spacer in the barrel to hold the rollerball refill into the section when you screw the section down. The spacer won't allow the fountain pen section to be screwed all the way in with a converter. That's one possibility. You would have to remove the spacer in the barrel.

[Igor]

Wow thanks a lot guys!

Now it's clear my Sonnet either lost its can and barrel or got a nib section somewhere on the way to my hands. It's weird though cos I think I got it form the shop))))

But one mystery still dwells)

Mike 59, mate, when I was saying it had just two lines I meant literally lines of words 'РARKER SONNET' one under another and a logo in the beginning of the upper line!

And no country name and coding at all, like those I seen like France IL for instance...

Any ideas about this bit??

Thanks a bunch again

[Mike 59]

Hi Igor, Yes I do see what you meant by 'two lines' !, I read it as looking like the Parker datecode of 'II'. I wasn't sure if you knew the Parker system.

I do have one Sonnet, with the country of manufacture, France and the datecode following around the cap band, as I would expect to see.

Assuming that your Sonnet is more than 15 years old maybe, it's possible that the country was not shown then, on the earlier versions, but I don't have any experience of Sonnets of that era.

The Sonnet was first sold in '94, so the datecode system was certainly in use then, it really should be there.

Other possibles?, Your pen has the wrong cap on it, or it's not a Parker cap, it just happens to fit?

Is it a Sonnet?, could it be an 'Insignia', very similar pen.

Any chance you could upload a photo?

Edited August 20, 2016 by Mike 59

[Igor]

Oh and the colour is brushed stainless steel gold trim, the cap band is thin so it's one of the earliest I gather.

I'll try and attach some pictures later!

Thanks again

[Igor]

Thanks for your comment Mike 59!

It's a Parker deffo! Cos it has that black target jewel and the arrow clip and all and it says Parker Sonnet.

Must have been a frankenpenned rollerball)))

But the stamping still puts me in perplexity ...

I sure will upload coupla pics.

[Igor]

One more thing, how am I taking that spacer out?

There's another small black jewel tningy on the blind end of the barrel. Isn't it a part of a spacer and do you think it will get out too if I pull out a spacer and leave a ugly hole?))))

Is the spacer that roundish black piece of plastic with some sort of a cross on it?

[mitto]

One more thing, how am I taking that spacer out?

There's another small black jewel tningy on the blind end of the barrel. Isn't it a part of a spacer and do you think it will get out too if I pull out a spacer and leave a ugly hole?))))

Is the spacer that roundish black piece of plastic with some sort of a cross on it?

 

Just to let you have an idea. Here is a Sonnet Rollerball that I converted to an FP with the spacer removed from the barrel.

 

 

 

 

The barrel end jewel has nothing to do with the spacer.

Edited August 20, 2016 by mitto

[mitto]

And this is how the spacer is seated at the end of the berrel.

 

 

 

 

 

You may use a longer pin or a steel wire with bent end to pull the spacer out.

[Mike 59]

Hi, Thanks to mitto for the picture of the spacer, I don't have a Sonnet rollerball to be able to show that.

Regarding the datecode, (and assuming the Sonnet is genuine, we read so many times about copies that are so close to the real thing), then the datecode must be on the cap, but it could be very faint, to the point where you would miss it unless looking with a x10 magnifier and in daylight.

I have a few Parkers where I only found the date code after buying a x15 Triplet loupe, it was SO faint.

Another option is to take photos of the cap band, and zoom them up on your PC, it's amazing how much detail you can see like that.

[mitto]

Hi, Thanks to mitto for the picture of the spacer, I don't have a Sonnet rollerball to be able to show that.

Regarding the datecode, (and assuming the Sonnet is genuine, we read so many times about copies that are so close to the real thing), then the datecode must be on the cap, but it could be very faint, to the point where you would miss it unless looking with a x10 magnifier and in daylight.

I have a few Parkers where I only found the date code after buying a x15 Triplet loupe, it was SO faint.

Another option is to take photos of the cap band, and zoom them up on your PC, it's amazing how much detail you can see like that.

 

 

Yes, I agree with what you said about the date codes. The date codes on 1st generation Sonnets and especially the flighter version are prone to wear with passage of time.

Edited August 20, 2016 by mitto

[Joane]

And this is how the spacer is seated at the end of the berrel.

20160820_170056_LLS-2.jpg

You may use a longer pin or a steel wire with bent end to pull the spacer out.

Crochet needles work very well for this sort of job too.

[mitto]

The Sonnets made in India by luxor have , I assume, no country of origin on them. Let up see if some members more knowledgable or those from India chime in and let us know whether or not this information is correct.

Edited August 20, 2016 by mitto

[parkerwasmyfirstlove]

My indian Frontiers don't have a country indicated on the cap. Hope that helps a bit.

[Joane]

Crochet needles work very well for this sort of job too.

That should read "crochet hooks."

[pajaro]

Glad you figured it out. I have bought a few "fountain pens" that were in fact converted rollerballs, and I had to get rid of a spacer. I put a small wood drill in my electric drill and put in the barrel and snared the spacer by running the drill slow and only until the drill sunk into the spacer. Then I pulled the drill out and the spacer came out.

 

I changed the bulls eye cap jewel for a plain fountain pen cap jewel. The cap jewel can be pried off with a small tool you think is safe (tiny Swiss Army knife blade, etc.). Replacement jewel pops right in.

 

I also bought a rollerball that had a refill flopping around in the barrel -- no spacer. I inserted a spacer.

Edited August 20, 2016 by pajaro

[senzen]

Just to let you have an idea. Here is a Sonnet Rollerball that I converted to an FP with the spacer removed from the barrel.

 

20160820_163640_LLS-1.jpg

 

 

The barrel end jewel has nothing to do with the spacer.

 

Woooooow you can do this?? I destroyed a feed inside the section, and have been looking for a section... So I can just buy a roller ball and use the section with a new feed and nib?

[pajaro]

 

Woooooow you can do this?? I destroyed a feed inside the section, and have been looking for a section... So I can just buy a roller ball and use the section with a new feed and nib?

 

The rollerball section is different from the fountain pen section. It takes the roller refill and comes to a point. No way to screw in a nib and feed. You need a fountain pen section. If you destroyed the feed, the section might still be usable.