Dating Lucky Curve Nibs

[algabatz]

There was a thread a while back where we were discussing the dating of Lucky Curve nibs. Well I tried to collect some different nibs and it would be great if You guys could help me date them. Sorry for some of them being really dirty, there could also be duplicates. Oh the nib sizes aren't the same scale. Click on the image if Your browser scales the picture down.

/Tony

 

http://parkercollector.com/bilder/luckycurvenibs.jpg

Edited June 4, 2010 by algabatz

[algabatz]

Hmmm... not a lot of interest in this topic...

[Glenn-SC]

Tony,

 

Not that I'm not interested, I just haven't got a clue!

 

(I find much of my life is like that recently ....)

 

Glenn

[richardandtracy]

I suspect that's the answer,. Very few of us know as much as you do Tony, so when you ask for help... Silence is the loudest reply.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[rdh]

Kind of like a blind date.....

 

Dave

[John Danza]

Hmmm... not a lot of interest in this topic...

 

Sorry Tony, I just haven't had the time lately. I may be able to spend some time on it on Sunday. I don't want to give incorrect/misleading information.

[John Danza]

OK, here's my stab at rough dating on these nibs based on their imprints. This is my opinion only based on the hundreds of early Parkers I've handled and not definitive Parker company information, so I can certainly be incorrect. I've listed date ranges or eras because that's about as fine as you can get.

 

#1 - 1910 to 1920. Number 3 nibs typically found in eyedropper overlay pens in this era.

 

#2 - Post-1920

 

#3 - Approximately 1898 to 1910 or 1912, based on letter font and the keyhole

 

#4 - Post-1920

 

#5 - Post 1900 to about 1912 based on the letter font and hole

 

#6 - Same as #5, but looks like a narrow Lucky Curve 1 nib. Is this is a model 1, 6, or 18?

 

#7 - Lasy "S" imprint seems to be typically early-to-mid teens.

 

#8 - Hard to tell from this photo, but looks to be post-1905 due to the lettering and the heart hole.

 

#9 - Same as 2 and 4.

 

#10 - Mid-1930s and later, usually in the non-Vacumatic, non-Duofold models of the time.

 

#11 - Very early nib: 1892 to 1898. See photo below for another variation of this imprint.

 

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb83/borderboss/Early%20Parkers%20various/Earlyparkerclose.jpg

 

#12 - Same as 2, 4, and 9

 

#13 - Post-1912 due to the lettering and heart hole.

 

#14 - 1898-1910 due to lettering

 

#15 - Same as 3

 

#16 - Same as 7

 

#17 - Same as 3 and 14.

 

 

Let me know what you think.

[algabatz]

OK, here's my stab at rough dating on these nibs based on their imprints. This is my opinion only based on the hundreds of early Parkers I've handled and not definitive Parker company information, so I can certainly be incorrect. I've listed date ranges or eras because that's about as fine as you can get.

...

Let me know what you think.

 

 

I think not many has Your knowledge and that You probably are right on the nose.

This is a great help for me dating my present and future Lucky Curves!

Thanks a million!

 

I suppose there are hundreds of other variants out there, I'd love to make some sort of a timeline and post it on my site.

So please continue this thread!

 

/Tony

 

 

[Strang]

I have one which has the "Parker" straight across and the "Lucky Curve" below in the arc - and nothing else on the nib. It is on what I believe to be a Canadian Jade Lucky Curve which was produced for the Canadian market as a trial one year before they brought out the Jade Duofold in the U.S. Apparently they weren't sure people would buy a pen in the jade colour. [This info came from the description on Richard Binder's website, where I purchased the pen, but I'm writing this from memory and I'm old and not terribly bright, so it may be wrong.]

[algabatz]

Cleaning out the duplicates, I got this:

 

http://parkercollector.com/bilder/sorted-nibs.jpg

 

Does it look alright?

[John Danza]

I suppose there are hundreds of other variants out there, I'd love to make some sort of a timeline and post it on my site.

So please continue this thread!

 

 

While there are a lot of variants as have been documented here, I think most of the variants are accounted for in these photos, at least amongst the pre-1920 nibs. There are a few other variants of early nibs that I've seen that we need to get photos of. One is on my Black Giant, where the "Made in USA" is in very small letters and is perpendicular to the rest of the imprint, off to the side. Then there was a nib in one of Tsachi's Ivorines that had a Lucky Curve imprint I've never seen before. I can't remember the details of it as it was a few years ago, but I remember being pretty shocked by the imprint. I'll see if I can get him to photograph it.

[John Danza]

Cleaning out the duplicates, I got this:

 

Does it look alright?

 

I think so Tony. Can you make the photos larger, the same size as in your first post?

[algabatz]

Cleaning out the duplicates, I got this:

 

Does it look alright?

 

I think so Tony. Can you make the photos larger, the same size as in your first post?

 

I've scanned them to get a better resolution. I also added some LC feeds.

 

http://parkercollector.com/bilder/morenibsopt.jpg

Edited June 16, 2010 by algabatz

[fibreglass_works]

Much have been said. I was told in the past Or in Here FPN that the dating of the nib are by mean of the shape of the hole on the Nib itself. I do not know if that still stand??????

They are the

 

1. Heart shape

2. Key hole

3. Tear drop (last)

4. Round hole

 

I am a "screwed Up" I don't remember them now

[algabatz]

... and some later Parker nibs...

[gregkoos]

This is very helpful stuff. Can the nib shapes be identified from these images. I recently picked up a Lucky Curve that has rounded tines like #5 in the first set of images and the top right in the scanned set of images. Do you know what the shape is called? The iridium layer is scant, and I assumed it was a custom regrind, but from these images it looks like a factory issue. Could this be the half stub or stub that they offered?

Edited October 8, 2010 by gregkoos

[John Danza]

  This is very helpful stuff. Can the nib shapes be identified from these images. I recently picked up a Lucky Curve that has rounded tines like #5 in the first set of images and the top right in the scanned set of images. Do you know what the shape is called? The iridium layer is scant, and I assumed it was a custom regrind, but from these images it looks like a factory issue. Could this be the half stub or stub that they offered?  

 

It sounds like it's a pretty worn nib. I've never seen anything on a "half stub", so I'm not familiar with that nib.

[gregkoos]

I thought that it may be a custom nib, but I don't think it is wear - the chasing on the barrel of the pen is quite crisp.

 

 

 

 

I'll post an image of it here a bit later.

 

Greg

 

 

 

  This is very helpful stuff. Can the nib shapes be identified from these images. I recently picked up a Lucky Curve that has rounded tines like #5 in the first set of images and the top right in the scanned set of images. Do you know what the shape is called? The iridium layer is scant, and I assumed it was a custom regrind, but from these images it looks like a factory issue. Could this be the half stub or stub that they offered?  

 

It sounds like it's a pretty worn nib. I've never seen anything on a "half stub", so I'm not familiar with that nib.

[gregkoos]

Hi all,

 

Here are three images of the #2 nib which is on a 1915 to 1920 Parker Lucky Curve pen. The nib is similar to a those posted earlier - The core question is - Whatta ya call it? (What do you call it?) I think it is a factory ground stub.

 

Greg

 

 

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_IOGpQKK59IE/TLHtGrFBYII/AAAAAAAACXE/dv5f0VhjNg4/s800/Lucky%20Curve%20%232%20nib%20top.jpg">

 

 

 

 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_IOGpQKK59IE/TLHtHKRAWBI/AAAAAAAACXQ/yCipfNr4sGw/s800/IMG_0142-1.JPG">

 

 

 

 

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_IOGpQKK59IE/TLHtGFPjGKI/AAAAAAAACXA/B0VWEVMgHaE/s800/IMG_0139.JPG">

[John Danza]

Hi Greg,

 

I believe it's a nib that had a broken tine, so someone ground it down to its present shape. These show up fairly frequently. Very unlikely to be a factory job.