Parker 75 better than Parker Sonnet?

[TMann]

I have a Parker Sonnet fountain that I really like. I like the size and the styling, and has been a pretty reliable pen. However I have heard of other folks on this board having a lot of problems with their Sonnets drying out if left for a while unused. In general, is the Parker 75 a better, more reliable pen than the Sonnet? They're very similar pens in regards to style and size, so I may end up looking at a 75 instead.

 

Any feedback would be helpful.

 

TMann

[Rique]

I´ve got one of each (a sterling 75, a flighter Sonnet). The Sonnet was a terrible starter, and skipped a lot. I found out, by trial and error, that the problem was in the nib - the tip was too rounded around the slit, causing a "baby-bottom" effect. It was ground and polished, and now the pen writes perfectly. I´ve never noticed it getting dry when stored. The 75, on the other hand, has a nib that always wrote perfectly - but it gets dry if the pen is left unused for a day or two, and it requires some coaching to start again. Of course, these are two samples of only one element each, so it is difficult to reach a statistically significant conclusion...

Anyway, I like both pens (know) and they are definitely part of my permanent collection.

 

regards,

Rique

[JimStrutton]

I have three Sonnets and the only one that gave me any starting problems was the one with a Broad Nib.

 

I seem to have cured this problem, not so much by grinding but through working the nib on some brown craft paper as suggested by OldGriz (Tom) in another post.

 

I use a Sonnet flighter as a travelling pen using cartridges and the only time it skips or won't start is when the ink is low.

 

After my "51"s and "61"s, the Sonnet is a great value pen, highly underated IMHO.

 

Can't say about the 75 as I have never owned or used one.

 

Jim

[Blade Runner]

Hi,

 

I have a US made 75 - unquestionably excellent pen, but it has some weak points: the section is prone to leaks and the aerometric filler will probably fail - both happened to mine and I understand that is typical after years of continuous use. I don't have a sonnet.

 

Regards,

Jeen

[antoniosz]

I have three Sonnets and the only one that gave me any starting problems was the one with a Broad Nib.

 

I seem to have cured this problem, not so much by grinding but through working the nib on some brown craft paper as suggested by OldGriz (Tom) in another post.

 

I use a Sonnet flighter as a travelling pen using cartridges and the only time it skips or won't start is when the ink is low.

 

After my "51"s and "61"s, the Sonnet is a great value pen, highly underated IMHO.

 

Can't say about the 75 as I have never owned or used one.

 

Jim

A quick note before hitting the road for the holiday .

Pennant in 2000 had a wonderful article on the comparison of 75 and Sonnet.

If I forget remind me and I will send you the article.

What that article has not touch is that the Sonnet pens (their nibs) have evolved dramatically (the thin band Sonnets had entirely different nibs that the later models. So people like the changes (because they hated the early versions), others (like me) feel exactly the opposite way. I hope to come back here few days later to expand on this.

[grasshopper]

If I forget remind me and I will send you the article...  I hope to come back here  few days later to expand on this.

When will you be back, Prof? I'll try to remind you as I'm interested in both pens.

[Tricia]

I can only comment on the Sonnet - I have one I bought from Levenger's several years ago. It's a very classy (imo) black with gold with a fine nib and doesn't give me any problems. I am considering having the nib smoothed a bit, but that's mostly because I like exceptionally smooth nibs and this one gives me just a touch more feedback than I like. Wouldn't call it scratchy by any means, though.

 

Right now it's filled with Waterman Black and doesn't have any starting problems.

 

Saw a red with gold one recently which had me thinking to ask Pam what her price might be.

[rowdy]

I can;t give any thoughts on the 75 FP. I've only ever had the BP.

 

Now the Sonnet on the other hand is one of my favourite modern Parkers (next to the Frontier in the lower end models).

 

I have 5 of them and they are all great pens. I have 3 of the black matte/chrome trim with medium nibs and 2 Flighters. I find the steel or Gp steel nibs more conducive to good writing for me than the 18kt nibs.

 

I've only had one issue with one of my matte black Sonnets. It's a medium and although writes a thinner line than the other two black matte Sonnets it sometimes gives me trouble. I've flossed the nib and flushed and have been too lazy to send to Parker to get looked at.

 

All mine are the latest version with the cap band that is thinner than the thick band second generation. I believe the first generation was the very narrow band around the bottom of the cap.

 

My thoughts. Can't go wrong with a Sonnet. I do believe the Sonnet was modelled after the 75 (I may be wrong).

 

Regards

 

Rowdy

[Richard]

In terms of construction standards, the 75 is a better pen. If they were houses, I'd say that the 75 seems to be made with dimension lumber (meaning that a 2x4 is really 2" by 4" as it would have been 100 years ago, not the modern standard of 1-3/4" by 3-1/2"), while the Sonnet is more on the order of "cottage" construction -- beams, joists, and studs a little lighter in weight to save a few bucks. And the 75 is a little more carefully finished; in comparison with it, the Sonnet is a trifle "rough around the edges."

 

The original 75, which most people call the Ciselé, is made with a lot of silver: the cap and barrel are solid and very heavy, and the crosshatch pattern is deeply incised:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/75_cisele.jpg

 

The equivalent Sonnet is made of much thinner metal; and you can see here, by the highlight running along the barrel, that the pattern is merely etched into the surface instead of incised:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/shared/sonnet_cisele.jpg

 

The 75's nib is solid and heavy; the Sonnet's nib is thinner, enough so that the imprint is visible on the under surface, and the quality of the tip finishing is quite visibly poorer on the Sonnet nib.

 

The plating on the trim ring next to the Sonnet's nib will corrode from the action of ink; the ring on older US-made 75s is solid metal, and mine looks the same now as it did 40 years ago.

 

The 75 is definitely a thinner pen; some people who like the Sonnet's feel in the hand find old 75s too skinny. The later 75 is "better" in this regard than the earlier, because its revised nib design produced a section whose circular cross section (right) is noticeably thicker than that of the original ergonomic section (left):

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref_info/75_nibs/75_sect_early.jpg http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref_info/75_nibs/75_sect_late.jpg

 

As to the ultimate feel in the hand, that's a personal choice. I really do prefer the 75.

[georgem]

I have both and agree entirely with what Richard said. I vastly prefer the 75.

 

I have a US made 75 - unquestionably excellent pen, but it has some weak points: the section is prone to leaks and the aerometric filler will probably fail - both happened to mine and I understand that is typical after years of continuous use. I don't have a sonnet.

 

My 75 is one of the USA originals. It's also one of the vintage pens in my "collection" that was new when I got it. As purchased. the section leaked and the aeromatic converter was not a good fit into the section.

 

Parker replaced the section and replaced the converter with a piston type.

 

I'm still using the same converter.

 

John Mottishaw replaced the nib after the pen suffered a damaging fall from the desk to the floor several years ago.

[Maja]

I sent my black lacque Sonnet to be stubbed because it was a hard starter. Could be that "baby bottom" nib phenomenon....

The "75" I have is an excellent pen and doesn't have problems starting. It has a really nice weight to it and just "feels" better in the hand. I am just annoyed that I paid so much for it (I was a newbie at the time) because the sales lady kept going on and on about it being an 18K nib and how inexpensive it was for a pen with an 18K nib, etc. etc. <_< Maybe if I had done less listening to her and had tried the pen before buying it, I wouldn't be kicking myself

[Michael Wright]

Further to, and agreeing with, Richard: I have the Sonnet Fougere, and it is an awfully pretty pen, but its construction is really a silver overlay on a plastic body, whereas the silver 75 is an honest to whatsit silver pen. There's nothing at all wrong with the Sonnet, but one of my 75s has taken a beating (from a previous owner) and is still functional and quite attractive, and I'm not sure a Sonnet would take the same punishment so well.

 

Best

 

Michael

[amin]

I agree with all the nice things said above about the 75. The only thing that bothers me about my two silver 75s is the grinding effect I feel when capping and uncapping.

 

EDIT: I don't know why that grinding thing was stuck in my head. I went back, pulled out my medium-nib silver grid 75, filled it with Aurora blue, and I have a new old favorite daily writer. The grinding really isn't so much a grinding after all. Thanks for this thread!

Edited November 25, 2005 by amin

[grasshopper]

I have three Sonnets and the only one that gave me any starting problems was the one with a Broad Nib.

 

I seem to have cured this problem, not so much by grinding but through working the nib on some brown craft paper as suggested by OldGriz (Tom) in another post.

 

I use a Sonnet flighter as a travelling pen using cartridges and the only time it skips or won't start is when the ink is low.

 

After my "51"s and "61"s, the Sonnet is a great value pen, highly underated IMHO.

 

Can't say about the 75 as I have never owned or used one.

 

Jim

A quick note before hitting the road for the holiday .

Pennant in 2000 had a wonderful article on the comparison of 75 and Sonnet.

If I forget remind me and I will send you the article.

What that article has not touch is that the Sonnet pens (their nibs) have evolved dramatically (the thin band Sonnets had entirely different nibs that the later models. So people like the changes (because they hated the early versions), others (like me) feel exactly the opposite way. I hope to come back here few days later to expand on this.

I just remembered to do this, so here is the reminder.

[antoniosz]

Email me backchannel I lost your e-mail (and FPN mail does not do attachments)

[Stylo]

The Parker 75 was a flagship model for a long time. It exudes higher quality any way you look at it. I used a French black lacquer 75 almost exclusively for around 10 years. I recently got a Sonnet Cisele, and the Cisele pattern seems different from the 75's. It almost looks tacky in comparison (I said alsmost ), but is still overall a very nice looking pen. I haven't had a chance to use my Sonnet much yet, but it seems like a decent writer, although with the new Aurora ink I put in it, it seems like it becomes drier after just a few words. I will try to tweak it a little bit and see how it works. Will do some more aggressive flushing with ammonia and I will floss between the tines to see if things get better.

[grasshopper]

Email me backchannel I lost your e-mail (and FPN mail does not do attachments)

Done.