Parker 75 - which nib ?

[kavanagh]

Dear FPN Colleagues,

 

I’m interested in purchasing a Parker 75 Fountain Pen. It would be great if users could offer advice on the following, which would you recommend: 

1) Nib made in USA or France ?

2) Adjustable nib v Non-adjustable nib ?.

3) Does the adjustable nib really make that much of a difference to the writing experience in comparison to the non-adjustable nib ? ( flow and smoothness ) - does anyone have both versions (which do you prefer ?). If you don’t rotate the pen - is it an advantage ?. 
4) Which is the best built version ? ( in regards to section threads and feed ).

Thanks guys. 

[bunnspecial]

I've had both versions.

To be honest, I haven't noticed much difference in nib performance between the two. If you like weird odd-ball nibs, they seem to be easier to find for the early style(although you can transplant them on feed if you want), although I do have a fine oblique on a late style green Laque one.

 

My grip is sometimes a bit weird and twisted, and the adjustable nibs are a small plus for me but not a deciding factor.

 

Some of my USA-made ones have metal inserts over the threads. In practice that doesn't seem a real wear point or weakness, so I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

[kavanagh]

15 hours ago, bunnspecial said:

I've had both versions.

To be honest, I haven't noticed much difference in nib performance between the two. If you like weird odd-ball nibs, they seem to be easier to find for the early style(although you can transplant them on feed if you want), although I do have a fine oblique on a late style green Laque one.

 

My grip is sometimes a bit weird and twisted, and the adjustable nibs are a small plus for me but not a deciding factor.

 

Some of my USA-made ones have metal inserts over the threads. In practice that doesn't seem a real wear point or weakness, so I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

 

Dear bunnspecial,

Thank you for your response.

Is there a difference in build quality between the US and French versions ?. 
The ‘Thuya’ 75 made in France has caught my eye. 
I know the French 75 nibs offer slightly more flex and flow. 
 

[senzen]

23 hours ago, kavanagh said:

Dear FPN Colleagues,

 

I’m interested in purchasing a Parker 75 Fountain Pen. It would be great if users could offer advice on the following, which would you recommend: 

1) Nib made in USA or France ?

2) Adjustable nib v Non-adjustable nib ?.

3) Does the adjustable nib really make that much of a difference to the writing experience in comparison to the non-adjustable nib ? ( flow and smoothness ) - does anyone have both versions (which do you prefer ?). If you don’t rotate the pen - is it an advantage ?. 
4) Which is the best built version ? ( in regards to section threads and feed ).

Thanks guys. 

 

I have one F US, one F France and one B France; all equally and particularly smooth. I hunted for a nib broader than fine for some time, it was very much worth it.

 

The adjustable nib and triangular section makes them particularly comfortable: set it and forget it; contrary to say my OB Geha 725, which I need to remember to rotate prior to use.

 

Mine all have the skinny feed, they do require a lot of patience to clean since fossilized ink is particularly difficult to get rid of, even with Rapido Eze.

 

Even my French made nibs seem to say 585, which is a bit odd since I understand only 18K is considered gold in France; might simply have been made for export.

 

I almost got an italic medium and was looking for a silver perlé, but finally hit my maximum number of pens. 75s are an easy choice, it's a shame they never thought of an XL sized version.

 

[inkstainedruth]

Sorry, can't be of much help here.  I have a later model 75 (dished tassie), that IIRC is US production, with a B nib.  So I don't have much to compare it with (although I like the pen very much -- I have one of the sterling Ciselé models).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kavanagh]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:30 PM, senzen said:

 

I have one F US, one F France and one B France; all equally and particularly smooth. I hunted for a nib broader than fine for some time, it was very much worth it.

 

The adjustable nib and triangular section makes them particularly comfortable: set it and forget it; contrary to say my OB Geha 725, which I need to remember to rotate prior to use.

 

Mine all have the skinny feed, they do require a lot of patience to clean since fossilized ink is particularly difficult to get rid of, even with Rapido Eze.

 

Even my French made nibs seem to say 585, which is a bit odd since I understand only 18K is considered gold in France; might simply have been made for export.

 

I almost got an italic medium and was looking for a silver perlé, but finally hit my maximum number of pens. 75s are an easy choice, it's a shame they never thought of an XL sized version.

 

 

On 1/26/2023 at 10:33 PM, inkstainedruth said:

Sorry, can't be of much help here.  I have a later model 75 (dished tassie), that IIRC is US production, with a B nib.  So I don't have much to compare it with (although I like the pen very much -- I have one of the sterling Ciselé models).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thank you guys.

1) Can I ask which model of the 75 or year of production had the ‘fatter’ feed ( for more ink flow )? ( as I know the thinner feed was common in the current models ). 
2) In comparison to the Parker 35 with an 18K nib ( which is supposed to be a budget version of the 75), would it be worth getting the 35 with the 18k nib, in comparison to the 75 with the 14k nib ?.

 

Thanks

[Mercian]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:54 PM, kavanagh said:

1) Nib made in USA or France ?

2) Adjustable nib v Non-adjustable nib ?.

3) Does the adjustable nib really make that much of a difference to the writing experience in comparison to the non-adjustable nib ? ( flow and smoothness ) - does anyone have both versions (which do you prefer ?). If you don’t rotate the pen - is it an advantage ?. 
4) Which is the best built version ? ( in regards to section threads and feed ).

Thanks guys. 

Hi,

I have one mid-late 1980s French 75 with a 14k ‘M’ nib, and one early-late 1970s US 75 with a 14k ‘F’ nib.

They are two of my favourite nibs - each of them is a smooth, wet, and reliable writer.
They are not ‘flex’ nibs, but that isn’t important to me.

I have no experience of the 18k French nibs, but I see no reason to suspect that they would differ from the 14k ones in terms of how well their tipping is polished, or how ‘wet’ they are.

 

In answer to your other questions:

2) I once asked another FPN member about whether or not the later nibs (with the finned feeds) were rotatable (like my pens’ nibs, both of which have the ‘needle’ feed). He told me that all of his 75s have rotatable nibs.

 

The finned-feeds were only fitted to the 75s that were made in the 1990s, in France.
Apart from the smaller grip indentations, the other visual indicator is the narrow band of gold that is not immediately-adjacent to the nib - unlike the chromed nib-collars on my 75s.

These thinner gold bands are less likely to suffer ink corrosion than the chromed nib collars, because they are less likely to end up getting dunked in to ink inside bottles when refilling.

 

3) in my experience/opinion, the rotatable nib is an absolutely superb innovation, and it greatly increases the comfort of the pen in use. One just allows one’s hand/wrist to rest at whatever position feels ‘natural’, and then rotates the nib unit in the pen to get the best writing experience.

I have always preferred girthier pens, and have found narrow pens like the Parker Vector & Jotter to be uncomfortable in comparison. I therefore expected to really dislike the first 75 that I bought (for nostalgic reasons) - but its rotatable nib, in combination with the shaped grip-section, makes the 75 the most-comfortable pen that I have ever used!
I liked my first one so much that I bought another one inside a month. Even though they are hardly ‘cheap’.

 

4) my 1970s US 75 and 1980s French 75 are identical in the quality of their nib, feed, and grip-sections.

 

If you want any more information about the 75, I strongly recommend that you have a look around Lih-Tah Wong’s splendid website Parker75.com

 

Slàinte,

M.

 

 

 

[kavanagh]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:51 PM, Mercian said:

Hi,

I have one mid-late 1980s French 75 with a 14k ‘M’ nib, and one early-late 1970s US 75 with a 14k ‘F’ nib.

They are two of my favourite nibs - each of them is a smooth, wet, and reliable writer.
They are not ‘flex’ nibs, but that isn’t important to me.

I have no experience of the 18k French nibs, but I see no reason to suspect that they would differ from the 14k ones in terms of how well their tipping is polished, or how ‘wet’ they are.

 

In answer to your other questions:

2) I once asked another FPN member about whether or not the later nibs (with the finned feeds) were rotatable (like my pens’ nibs, both of which have the ‘needle’ feed). He told me that all of his 75s have rotatable nibs.

 

The finned-feeds were only fitted to the 75s that were made in the 1990s, in France.
Apart from the smaller grip indentations, the other visual indicator is the narrow band of gold that is not immediately-adjacent to the nib - unlike the chromed nib-collars on my 75s.

These thinner gold bands are less likely to suffer ink corrosion than the chromed nib collars, because they are less likely to end up getting dunked in to ink inside bottles when refilling.

 

3) in my experience/opinion, the rotatable nib is an absolutely superb innovation, and it greatly increases the comfort of the pen in use. One just allows one’s hand/wrist to rest at whatever position feels ‘natural’, and then rotates the nib unit in the pen to get the best writing experience.

I have always preferred girthier pens, and have found narrow pens like the Parker Vector & Jotter to be uncomfortable in comparison. I therefore expected to really dislike the first 75 that I bought (for nostalgic reasons) - but its rotatable nib, in combination with the shaped grip-section, makes the 75 the most-comfortable pen that I have ever used!
I liked my first one so much that I bought another one inside a month. Even though they are hardly ‘cheap’.

 

4) my 1970s US 75 and 1980s French 75 are identical in the quality of their nib, feed, and grip-sections.

 

If you want any more information about the 75, I strongly recommend that you have a look around Lih-Tah Wong’s splendid website Parker75.com

 

Slàinte,

M.

 

 

 

Dear Mercian, thank you. 

[TheRedBeard]

All my P75s (both the US and French ones) have a US 14k nib which is one of the best nibs I ever used.

I have been using P75 with F nib as one of my daily pens and it is an excellent writer.

 

Adjustable nib is a great advantage and I like it a lot.

 

Build quality of all my P75s (early US, French and later French) are equally excellent.

 

If 75 were a bit longer and slightly thicker it would be my favourite Parker model, but..