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Parker 45 Xf Nib


restlesscourage

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It was an exciting mail day at my house: the pen I bought for my partner arrived, as did the Parker 45 I won for myself on ebay over the weekend.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8365456947_bf440b10a8.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

It reads:

 

Testing out the new Parker 45 XF with Noodler's Walnut.

 

This is a *nice* pen. Despite being an XF, this may be the smoothest-writing nib I own. It's simply lovely to write with! I am pleased.

 

The ebay seller listed this as NOS...but there are a few nicks out of the barrel, and so I'm not sure if that is an entirely accurate description. But if flushed out clear and it writes very nicely, so I'll let it be.

 

The grey may not be the most exciting colour, but it looks nice enough. The gold accents are a nice touch.

 

I just can't get over how smooth the nib is! My standards have been raised.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8188/8366528084_5c187d4f49.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

It's a nice looking pen. Like I said, not the most exciting, but it's still a nice colour.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8365457395_ac394bc8ba.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8366528302_3b53501b6a.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

The nib is an EF (I wrote XF when I was doing my handwritten write-up, probably because the pen is marked with an "X" and so that's what I had in my head), and holy wow is it smooth. Downright buttery. It's the finest nib I own, on multiple levels!

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8221/8365457599_fb39230d76.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

The converter is in good condition. It took up a significant amount of the ink in the sample bottle I was drawing from, so between that and the EF nib, I'm sure I'll be writing many words before I need to fill it up again.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8498/8366528518_2dc390f48c.jpg

Untitled by restlesscourage, on Flickr

 

Overall, I am very pleased with this pen. I don't know that I'm in love with the colour, but I'm in love with everything else about it, so I'm okay with that. The nib is a solid 10/10. Even taking off a couple of points for lack of glamour, I'd say this one's a winner. If it's as sturdy as everyone else claims it to be (and I have no reason to believe it will prove otherwise), this is likely going to be a workhorse pen for a long time.

 

(I had intended to keep this pen inked just with the Walnut (I've got three pens, and three bottles of ink...so far ;) ), but I might be experimenting with other colour options in this pen, too. Although I do love the Walnut. Who knows?)

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

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That nib must be a fluke, my P45 fine nib isn`t That smooth. Especially if your pen is vintage(the last series had a different nib, smoother but with a narrower sweet spot). In any case, congratulations !

Edited by rochester21
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Congrats on your new pen!

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Whining: (Verb) Presenting a problem without a well thought out solution

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That nib must be a fluke, my P45 fine nib isn`t That smooth. Especially if your pen is vintage(the last series had a different nib, smoother but with a narrower sweet spot). In any case, congratulations !

 

It might be one of the later series; the seller didn't offer a year for the pen and I don't see any sort of markings to help me deduce that information. Or it might just be that I got lucky. But I suppose we should be taking my gushings about how smooth it is with a large grain of salt, since what I have to compare it to is a vintage Parker 21 Super (M) a new Parker IM (M), so it's not like I have the finest selection of pens to pull from. :thumbup:

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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That's a beautiful pen!

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

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Lovely color pen. Mine is black, found in the wild (so ya takes what ya gets....)

Is that a function of the quality of the lighting, or is that squeeze bar covering really gold colored? I didn't know they ever came that way.

And is your nib 14K? That might account some for the smoothness even at that width -- over the summer I picked up what folks on here have told me is a 45 GT Deluxe, with a 14K M nib; it just makes me weak in the knees to write with! :cloud9: I had someone at a pen club meeting the other night attempt to wow me with his Montblanc 146, absolutely insisting that once I tried writing with a MB I'd be spoiled by it forever. :rolleyes: Naaah, not so much (sorry, Troy -- but why would I want a MB -- ANY MB -- when I've got a Parker 45 with a 14K M nib on it?) :roflmho:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Lovely color pen. Mine is black, found in the wild (so ya takes what ya gets....)

Is that a function of the quality of the lighting, or is that squeeze bar covering really gold colored? I didn't know they ever came that way.

And is your nib 14K? That might account some for the smoothness even at that width -- over the summer I picked up what folks on here have told me is a 45 GT Deluxe, with a 14K M nib; it just makes me weak in the knees to write with! :cloud9: I had someone at a pen club meeting the other night attempt to wow me with his Montblanc 146, absolutely insisting that once I tried writing with a MB I'd be spoiled by it forever. :rolleyes: Naaah, not so much (sorry, Troy -- but why would I want a MB -- ANY MB -- when I've got a Parker 45 with a 14K M nib on it?) :roflmho:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

That's the odd thing. It's a steel nib. I had kind of been hoping to find one with a 14K nib, and was almost disappointed when I won the auction because of that. But I'm not disappointed anymore! :cloud9:

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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I have a gold XF nib in my 45 flighter that was salvaged from my late fathers personal effects. I straight away switched it. It is unbelievably smooth.

 

Now the nib was probably 40 years old though unused. It is really nice.

Mohammad Salahuddin Ayubi

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I also have a Parker 45 with an X-Fine nib. It is quite smooth, although it is not all that fine, in my opinion. The 45 is the only pen newer than the 50's that I use...other than a Platinum President.

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very happy for you, restlesscourage, as i too love all my P45's. hmmm, i don't think i have an XF nib :hmm1: .

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Ooooo.... thanks for reminding me, I haven't used my 45 in some time and I bet it could use some love. 45s are simply the best.

"What? What's that? WHAT?!!! SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" - Ludwig van Beethoven.

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+1 on the 45 XF nib being very, very smooth. I picked one up more or less by accident a while ago, and it's a delight to write with.

ron

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  • 4 weeks later...

I think your grey 45 is quite beautiful!

I've been tossing up getting a fine or maybe now, extra fine nib for my 45. It has a14kt nib that is just too wet for me, and I can only use it on a select range of paper.

There seems to be a range of smoothness found in the extra fine nibs?

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That is a beautiful P45. I am currently looking at a P45 Flighter as my next pen. I had a P45 ballpoint that I absolutely loved (Made in UK) :rolleyes: - then I lost it. :crybaby: Would love to have a set - whether it is one I acquire that way or not.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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  • 7 months later...

I have got one P45 in brass from friend of mine. As I have started with Ahab I like to play with nibs. It came with M nib 14K, but it was to wet for me. I use the spare nib F and spend all day adjusting it to my demands. What a fun, what a joy!

 

Thank you for the nice review.

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XF nibs are more sensitive to stray dirt. Fortunately, the Parker 45 nib is easily disassembled and cleaned, as needed.

Black, blue, and brushed stainless are most popular in Parker 45 fountain pens. Some colors are "rarer". I think red is

rare because everybody wants one. The pen-lover in me finds the gray less pretty. The pen collector in me finds the

rarer (probably due to its homeliness) color very desirable.

 

Do take care of your treasure.

 

Write with joy.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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