Parker 45 ‘Flighters’.jpeg

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Parker 45 ‘Flighter BP

This pen was made in the late 1960s.

Note the fine grooves that have been incised around the pen during manufacture to create a ‘grip-section’ near its writing tip.

Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the early 1970s

This pen has a 14k gold nib that is supposedly ‘M’.

I have found the nib to be very, very ‘dry’.

Under normal (light) writing pressure its line-width is only that of a Lamy Z50 nib marked ‘EF’.
Under pressure it does ‘flex’ out to give a line that is slightly wider than that of a modern Parker ‘M’, and like the line written by my two Pelikan P480 ‘Pelikanos’ whose nibs are marked ‘F’.

I have not yet found an ink that is ‘gushy’ enough to enable me to write comfortably with this nib ☹️

Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the late 1970s

This pen has a stainless-steel nib that is marked ‘M’.

Its tipping is narrower than that on the 14k-gold nib on my other 45, but it writes with a wider line than that pen!

The nib is a ‘nail’ - it does not ‘flex’ at all. It writes with a finer liner than do my ‘M’-nibbed Parker FPs from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.

But it is usable with light pressure.