Parker 61 Nib Sizes?

[entropydave]

Hello All

 

I have a few Parker 61s, all capillary fillers, all for writing. I love the visual design of the pen, the way it handles, and I admire the engineering design of it. I now have enough nibs (8+) that I am curious about the nib sizes. Specifically, on this page:

 

http://parkercollector.com/parker61.html

 

 

it is written that:

 

Parker offered seven different "Electro-Polished" point styles in nibs:

 

Accountant

Extra Fine

Fine

Medium

Broad

Stub

Medium Oblique

 

Does anyone have any further information about these nib sizes or comparative photos of the nibs or the lines produced by these?

 

What size is an Accountant, is it more fine than Extra Fine?

 

How stub-like is the Stub? Is it wider than the Broad or is it a stubbed Broad for example?

 

I believe I have noticed a variation in the nibs varying according to whether they are marked as made in the USA or in the UK. Generally, the latter seem to have a more pronounced tip. Does this correlate with others' observations?

 

Thank you for any information or help you can provide.

 

David.

 

P.S. I'm not collecting them, I just buy them when they're cheap so that I will have a supply of cases, caps, and capillary units. I'd now like to understand which nibs I have.

[richardandtracy]

The accountant nib is finer than an Extra Fine.

 

The UK nibs do definitely have more tipping and run about half a size wider than the US equivalent.

 

I have not found a stub, but the UK broad is very broad and would make a great stub.

 

I have no photos, but in real units the UK medium seems to make a line around 0.5-0.6mm wide and the UK broad I have is 0.8-0.9mm. I have no nibs finer than 'M' because I like to use my pens & can't stand nibs narrower than a UK M.

 

As for building up a selection of P61's, I don't think you could have chosen a finer pen. The nibs are great, but the material choice by Parker was less than ideal.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[ac12]

My mother had an "accountants" tip on her Eversharp, and for a LONG time, I wondered why I could not write with that pen. I could write with her Parker 51 (with a F tip) just fine. My mother never told me about the tip. An accountants tip was NOT meant for writing cursive text, it was meant for entering numbers in a ledger. And ledger paper was HARD and SMOOTH, so that XXF accountants tip worked. I still have the pen, and am restoring it, but it will just sit in its holder, again because the tip is just too dang sharp for me to write with, especially on anything other than something like Clariefontaine.

 

I have taken to measuring the tip sizes of my pens with a caliper. This is because I have found a significant variation in tip size vs. what is marked on tips. I have an M tip that is narrow than my wider F tips. And some nibs are not marked for size. But as Richard mentioned the final test is the actual ink line. Because I have seen tips with different profiles, so even though the width of the tip is the same 0.028 inch, the profile (cylinder vs. sphere), creates a different width ink line.

 

As for width, based on my measurements (I actually measured in 0.001inch then converted to mm, since mm is easier to show the sizes)

XF = 0.4 - 0.5mm

F = 0.5 - 0.6mm

M = 0.7 - 0.8mm

B = 0.9 - 1.1mm

 

But as I mentioned tip width is not the end, you still have to figure in tip profile to get the ink line.

I have a marked F nib that the tip measures 0.026in (0.7mm) wide (so it should be a M tip) and it writes a fine line like a XF tip....go figure.

 

Oblique would be based on your visual of the shape of the tip of the nib being at an angle. Easiest seen with a loupe. See Vincenzo's pix below.

Edited September 11, 2013 by ac12

[Penne Stilografiche]

Sorry to the OP for semi-hijacking this thread, but can anyone tell me what size this nib looks like? It is an oblique but it is very broad, so I don't think it could be a medium oblique. Did Parker ever make 61's with broad oblique's?

 

Thanks,

Vincenzo

[ac12]

Without measuring it, I could not say.

In looking at your pix, the middle of the shaft of the arrow is about the same width as the tip.

My Lamy OB (Oblique Broad) nib approximately matches that width.

So, I would say, then your Parker nib is an OB nib.

 

I do not have a OM (Oblique Medium) nib to compare to.

Edited September 11, 2013 by ac12

[entropydave]

Thank you for the answers. I might have some more questions if you don't mind sharing your expertise.

 

They are indeed great pens, very smooth in flow and on the page and so light. I got one with what must have been a broad nib (it was like a paint brush) that John Sorowka stubbed for me. Now it is brilliant.

 

David.

[Beechwood]

Just found a treasure of a new and unused broad stub capillary 61, the pen is nothing short of amazing to use.

 

Looks good with the rose pink and gold cap too, not the Heritage cap - the other one which I think is a bit more rare.

[Beechwood]

- Heirloom

[pfactorial]

Hey! I just got a Parker 61 Heirloom as well, from a flea market for 5 big ones. How do you tell if it's a stub? The nib seems like a diamond shape from the side, and there's a nice sweet-spot at that flattish place...but it's not really that thick of a line, so I'm not sure about the "stub" part of it...

[Beechwood]

Not sure what price you paid but well done anyway.

 

From above if the nib looks flat then therevis a possibility that its a stub but much more likely to be a Medium, many more were sold than Stubs.

[richardandtracy]

It appears there is also a 1.5mm wide italic, which I was unaware of until September. An amazing nib.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Anabasis]

I recently acquired a 61 stub and it is one of my favorite writers. I own a number of stubbed nibs and this is the narrowest... 0.9 would be my guess?