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Nib Marking On Uk Duofold


pen lady

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Hi All, I'm familiar with normal nib markings on UK Duofolds, but this one's got me beaten. It's marked:

Parker

14 K

England

30 4

. .

 

Barrel Markings:

Parker Duofold

Reg. TM 3

Made in England

 

It`s 140 mm long capped which makes it a senior, and probably from 1954 but why 30 and not 35

 

Opinions welcome.

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What do you mean by a UK Duofold? The NS Duofold or the AF Duofold or the Aero Duofold? It is normal to have a #30 nib in the AF Duofolds. Also, sometimes you find the #30 nib on the other (NS and Senior Aero) Duofolds as a replacement nib.

 

 

My AF Duofold (with the 30 4 nib) inked right now:

 

 

 

 

Edited to add:

 

The barrel marking are also the same on my pen. So probably yours is also a AF Duofold.

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

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Regret unable to answer the question, but would agree with p.l. that in theory these open nibbed Newhaven Duofolds (the 17 and the Lady had beaked and hooded nibs) - which were all aerometric fillers incidentally - should carry nib markings that correspond with the model of the host pen.

 

Maxima - No. 50

Senior - No. 35

Duofold - No. 25

Demi-Duofold - No. 15

Junior Duofold - No. 10

Slimfold - No. 5

Lady Duofold - No. 4

 

So assuming the pen is a Senior then the nib should read 35 - but unsure of the dot code, although this possibly for the date quarters.

According to the book this nib coding, which was designed to correspond with the model of pen, only started with the introduction of the Maxima in 1958 when the N for Newhaven was dropped, so now confused as to the suggestion of 1954 :unsure:

When referring to these pens it's really essential to be specific as to which model, and not simply use just 'Duofolds' - they all have model names, and correspondingly different nib sizes.

But nibs are notoriously unreliable for dating or even being in the correct pen. :)

 

P.S. I have two Seniors, both with nibs that carry the imprint.............. ENGLAND 35 - one additionally shows the figure 4 (with three dots) - and the other carries nothing else at all.

Edited by PaulS
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Thanks Mitto. That confirms what I suspected, it could be a replacement nib. But what a nib! Broad and sooooo smooth, it writes like Belgian chocolate tastes, if you know what I mean.

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yes, thanks for the enlightenment mitto - so a No. 30 was standard on the Aluminium filler Duofold and the New Style, and as a replacment by Newhaven on the later aero fillers. ............. perhaps they had a vast surplus of No. 30 nibs.

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The replacement could either have been done by Parker or by a dealer or by a repairperson as the earlier NS and AF Duofolds are also sometime found with the later Senior aero Duofold #35 nibs.

 

 

I wonder why so little is found about the history of UK Duofolds.

Khan M. Ilyas

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by the looks of your knowledge, perhaps you should be writing it :) Always possible there may well be much on the subject in, for example, the WES (Writing Equipment Society) Journal (U.K.), and perhaps those guys not in the habit of contributing here.

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by the looks of your knowledge, perhaps you should be writing it :) Always possible there may well be much on the subject in, for example, the WES (Writing Equipment Society) Journal (U.K.), and perhaps those guys not in the habit of contributing here.

 

 

Thanks for the the derision. Lol.

Khan M. Ilyas

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Just checked my Duofold NS - 132 mm & it has a 35 9 (1949 or 59?) nib.

 

It is quite possible that Parker made a cheaper version of the Duofold with a smaller nib (a sort of modern DQ) for shops to sell in their sales.

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Presumably all NS were button fill, and since Newhaven went over to aero fillers on the 51, apparently, in 1950, then it seems unlikely that the date of your pen would be 1959 ............. but famous last words.

Over the course of this thread I've learned to be very wary of the reliability of nibs, to date the actual pen, or that the two actually left the factory at the same time, and together.

I also have aero filler Victories with more than one nib imprint - so it's confusing.

Edited by PaulS
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Just checked my Duofold NS - 132 mm & it has a 35 9 (1949 or 59?) nib.

 

It is quite possible that Parker made a cheaper version of the Duofold with a smaller nib (a sort of modern DQ) for shops to sell in their sales.

 

 

The NS was produced from 1946 to 1947. So the nib seems to have been replaced at a later stage from an aero Senior Duofold (1954-1958-9) that has the #35 nib. There was also a slightly bigger pen called Senior in the AF Duofold line introduced in 1948 along with the regular AF size. But I am not sure whether it carried #30 or #35 nib.

 

Anyhow the 'Duofold NS' nib could not carry the '9' date code if in case it was original to the pen keeping in view its production timeline of 1946-1947.

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

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I think the 4 signifies manufacture in 1964

 

I have uk duofold senior with 35 4 on it also - 35= senior, 4 = 1964

 

Also have Maxima with 50 9, maxima 1959

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I think the 4 signifies manufacture in 1964

I have uk duofold senior with 35 4 on it also - 35= senior, 4 = 1964

Also have Maxima with 50 9, maxima 1959

The Aero Senior Duofold (#35 nib) was introduced in 1954 and discontinued in 1958-9 when the Maxima was introduced.

 

So the 4 on the nib of a Senior would denote 1954 and not 1964 (if we assume the number actually was used as a datecode).

Khan M. Ilyas

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