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US Amazon does sell them a lot cheaper than Amazon UK/EU, but still not nearly as cheap as in Japan. I love the Prera, though- a terrific thing. For the money it is very precisely made, and comfortable despite its size. The Metropolitan/MR has the same lovely nibs, but as you mention the step from body to section, combined with how narrow the section is, make it unpleasant to use. As one of the entry level pens in this hobby I fear it puts people off. As an aside, I have big hands and bigger sections suit me. Sadly in non-Chinese fountain pen land, section size is related to cost- the more you spend, the bigger it gets, which is absurd. Some fairly narrow pens- Prera and Kaweco Sport, are comfortable, though my Custom 823 is ideal.

Perhaps I would like to own a larger Pelikan in the M series one day. Currently, I have a 200 demonstrator. There is no way I would pay for a Pelikan if I could not see the ink through the binde. So this is encouraging news.

There is a useful visual guide to the changes in 45 ‘Flighter’ model styling down the decades available here: https://parker45pens.com/parker-45-flighter/ If the pens are NOS and only available in ‘F’ or ‘M’, I would assume that they are from the final production series, from 2001-2008. But they may of course be earlier ones. Elsewhere on that site there is a guide to the letter-codes for all the different types of nib with which the 45 was made over the years. The site is really informative 🙂

I just ordered a KOP from Amazon. I also got a Pilot Custom 823 for around 240 and it is incredible. Seems that Amazon has found a nice grey market for Japanese made pens that saves a LOT of money. Thanks for all the input fellow pen nerds! 🙂

Thank you so much @gweimer1! Yes, I’m finding it to be a real delight - I’m very fond of all the Reliefs. Wonderful nibs, and pens with a simple yet also somehow extremely pleasing design. Glad to be able to name and place this one in time - much appreciated!

A Lamy 2000 with an EF nib! Super happy with my decision to go EF, because this is a very wet-writing pen! It’s a really fantastic pen IMO. I’m a big fan of Bauhaus design so the aesthetic really scratches the itch for me, and it’s nice to not have to worry much about babying this pen to avoid scratches and whatnot. My only slight gripe is that it’s a little slim in my larger than average hands, but I think I’ll get used to it. It definitely lives up to the hype!

I’d like to order the Safari Field Green, which is a Japan-only release. Does anybody know how to go about doing that?

underground, deep underground

Thanks for the tip.

My new Lamy 2000 EF inked up with some Noodler’s Blue-Black (my favorite ink so far) I’m in pen heaven today! Wrote a birthday letter for my wife and have been doing my usual journaling as well. EDIT: forgot to include my crappy photo lol

A spare section eh... Does anyone have a spare feed? Unfortunately after soaking for ages the feed came loose enough to find out it is in 2 pieces. This pen is done for at the moment it seems. The other half hasn't decided to let go yet

Well, it’s appeared early at one AliExpress vendor, Dayday WritingHouse Store (link below). I saw one image giving the pen name of ‘Expedition.’ As you can see, we have specs for the smaller pen at least, although one photos seems to suggest there’s only one size… Hard rubber feeds and a new imprint for the #8 nib as well, and with the additional photos, we can see both have ink windows. Dayday is offering additional nib sizes for the smaller pen, these are almost certainly Lemon ‘Manual Grinding’ nibs. Otherwise, standards nib sizes. $53 for the smaller pen; $58 for the larger. I’ll wait for the price drop. https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMi9wts

200 also?............that is my 4th of 4 Waterman. Mine is in near mint condition with the little f gold colored glued on little dot. In mine seems fine...is there a trick to keep corrosion away?? Use mild inks??? That Waterman F is as narrow as my Pelikan 200's EF. There were a long time ago...12-15 years, flame wars between change the nib Pelikan and narrower nib Waterman...until the Japanese even narrower nibs came in to the main market, from being a nitch product of Japan......that made Waterman a fat nib.

Thanks for the insights in the different models the 45 is available in medium and fine both 14k NOS it is just a trustworthy online shop so I don’t know the date code

the holy grail

Too bad they're not releasing that as an M400 -- because I'd certainly consider buying one in the smaller size (M800s and 1000s are just too big and heavy for my hand). Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

who is hiding

unless you seek

Ooof! 30 grams? That might be a deal breaker for me -- even though my weight limit threshold has gone up over the years (my heaviest pens are I think the TWSBI 580-AL and 580 ALR -- I forget offhand what they clock in at when capped or posted). Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thanks for the advice. Fascinatingly enough, it seems as if the grip section is slightly off-center when it is screwed back on, which was causing the pen section to be off-center. I tried it; there was a very minor amount of ink in the cap (from the feed), definitely not the large amount of ink in the barrel. It probably sealed.

Ruth, I don’t have an Explorer (or Lightive) yet, but from what I can tell, the IM is much heavier metal construction coming in at 30 g to the Explorer’s 12g, and posted the IM is is a bit shorter 6.06” to the Explorer’s 6.39”. Once I have the Explorer/Lightive (I am trying to decide which blue one I want) I can get more details and compare the two.

Thank you. And that was exactly my sentiment, too. 🤣

YIKES! Yeah, I don't mind the smell of the ebonite ones. But I've NEVER had an issue with the vegetal resin ones (although I've seen lots of posts over the years from people who have). Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I’ll try to get a couple and post them.

Photos please!