Parker Sonnet - Italic Nibs

[AccroPen]

I just bought a Parker Sonnet on an Online... English pens site, with two nib units: a M medium italic and a B broad italic.

 

The received pen is marked "IIIT" on the cap's band, what would date the FP from 1995 according to the codification given by parkerpens.net - Do you think it’usual & normal to receive a new pen, manufactured more than 20 years ago? (the seller did not say anything about this). And when you know through your forum, the problems of some of the old Sonnet, do you advise me to react?

 

By the way and this is the most important, do you know the italic nibs M and B of Parker, No. 44 and 54? I do not find anything of an italic nib ... no variation of line with those two nibs. Must I wait for break in the nibs ? must I force on the nibs for a slight flex in downstroke? Thank you for sharing your experience with me

 

[thx1138]

Might be a 2015 pen.

If the pen is new it doesn't matter if it is 2 or 20 years old. I have a few 40 to 50 year old NOS Parker pens.

I would not be applying force to the nib. Spring the nib and it won't write at all.

[AccroPen]

thank you for your advice.

I do not like to force on the nibs, and because of that, I have abandoned the flex nibs, even when they are vintage.

Now I write with stub or italics, and it's very nice. And for copperplate writing, I take a pen holder !

 

It seems that my questions about Parker italic nibs remain unanswered. I will return the pen, nibs and cancel the sale

[pajaro]

I bought a broad italic nib unit from a seller in France, and it gives some line variation, but perhaps not as much as the nibs on a Lamy Safari broad italic or the nibs in a Caligraphy set. My nib is an 18K gold broad italic. The nib has "S" on the underside of the feed, and the nib is a bit stubby.

 

A fine 18K italic also says "S" on the feed, but I get a little line variation on this as well. The seller termed this nib a fine italic and not a fine stub. It is hard to say whether these nibs are really italics or stubs, but I think I have seen stubs classed under the heading of italic nibs in general. If you were trying to say whether the broad italic is stub or cursive italic, likening this to the distinction between male and female (M or F), I would classify it as a MORF.

[mitto]

The datecodes on Tony's site for the current decade are wrong. 2015 Q1 would be IIIT and not T.III as suggested by that site.

[AccroPen]

Thank's both of you for your messages.

 

@Pajaro: this site teaches me a lot, about pens and writing of course, but also about your beautiful language! Is "MORF" the contraction of M or F? arising from this theory of gender ...

[pajaro]

Thank's both of you for your messages.

 

@Pajaro: this site teaches me a lot, about pens and writing of course, but also about your beautiful language! Is "MORF" the contraction of M or F? arising from this theory of gender ...

 

I remembered a comment a friend made in Biology class 65 years ago about a test paper: YOUR GENDER: MORF.