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Are Parker 45 Steel Nibs Prone To Corrosion?


casualmerlinconstant

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I bought a new (supposedly nos) Parker 45 nib assembly in gold trim recently. It writes nicely but when I disassembled it, lo and behold underneath the nib are little craters of varying size. What could've caused this? Is it corrosion? Should I be careful what inks to use? It writes nicely so I want to save it haha.

post-107628-0-96630200-1404839955_thumb.jpg

Edited by superglueshoe
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I've not had that problem with any of my SS nibs.

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I have not had it either.

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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I wonder if it's an older or newer example, I suspect newer, because the latter examples of 45 have not impressed me greatly. That is corrosion, and I've seen it on a lot of plated and unplated steel points from the 1930s onwards. I've even managed to get a little of that effect on a Parker 95 I'm rather fond of. The trick behind it is to not quite flush a pen properly; the ink concentrates, its corrosive properties increase, and presto! Lacy point!

 

I don't think it matters too much which ink one uses. The 95's mild dose came about from a poor job of flushing Herbin Poussiere de Lune, and we're told that Herbin inks are generally pretty darned mild. I did a serious number on an Osmiroid point back in the 1980s using nothing but Quick blue-black (but I also had a very fuzzy notion of how to look after a pen back then).

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Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

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Do you think the nib will last long? Or will it just disintegrate quickly?

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If the corrosion has not gone right through the nib you should be OK for some time, just keep an eye on it. 45 nibs are still available from a number of pen dealers so I would have a look on various websites and obtain a really new nib maybe a 14k nib which will not corrode (but that will cost).

Peter

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I had a quick search on eBay and couldn't find many. Which dealers do you recommend? I have a 14k one, its a bit scratchy though which was why I bought this one. Although at the time I didn't know it was rusting.

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Penbox and The Pen Museum in the UK usually have a stock. Give them a try. (I beleve Penbox only have M)

Peter

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Further to my last post, I have a spare M gold plated S/S nib. If you have no luck online let me know.

Peter

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Thanks for the info and the offer :). I'm looking for a F. So hopefully the pen museum will have some.

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Have only one steel '45' nib here, seems it has the same problem, if not so much as the OP.

The pen it came out of was from 1988, it was bought second hand so I have no idea which inks were used with it.

 

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  • 1 year later...

I know that this thread is old. I was thinking maybe the former owner used Parker Superchrome ink in the pen. It's a very corrosive ink.

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I know that this thread is old. I was thinking maybe the former owner used Parker Superchrome ink in the pen. It's a very corrosive ink.

Give that Supechrome ink was discontinued in the 50s, it's possible but unlikely.

 

I've seen this type of corrosion on two pens with gold plated steel nibs - a Parker 45 and a Pilot 57. Both had clearly been left for many years (20+ in the case of the Pilot) with ink inside them. The P45 was the worse of the two, with a noticeable chunk missing from the edge in addition to pitting on the underside. It didn't seem to affect ink flow or writing in any way though.

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Mario Mirabile
Melbourne, Australia

www.miralightimaging.com

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I don't think it matters too much which ink one uses. The 95's mild dose came about from a poor job of flushing Herbin Poussiere de Lune, and we're told that Herbin inks are generally pretty darned mild. I did a serious number on an Osmiroid point back in the 1980s using nothing but Quick blue-black (but I also had a very fuzzy notion of how to look after a pen back then).

Yes. Superchrome had no monopoly on the ability to corrode metal. And, as Mario reminds us, Superchrome wasn't being manufactured during the run of the 45. All we have here is a corroded nib.

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I don't think it matters too much which ink one uses. The 95's mild dose came about from a poor job of flushing Herbin Poussiere de Lune, and we're told that Herbin inks are generally pretty darned mild. I did a serious number on an Osmiroid point back in the 1980s using nothing but Quick blue-black (but I also had a very fuzzy notion of how to look after a pen back then).

 

What is Quick blue-black? Is this a company out of business?

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Just wanted to share this snap of a particularly world-weary Parker 51 stainless clutch ring. The external surfaces are flawless. If it was original to the pen (a vac 51) it predated superchrome. Who can say why it's so pitted? Someone disassembled the pen, did't seal the hood, then inked up with superchrome for a few decades? Beats me.

 

post-29904-0-55657200-1454755535_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

 

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What is Quick blue-black? Is this a company out of business?

 

He probably means Quink blue-black (manufactured by Parker).

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