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Hello and as usual I am looking for help, in this case to identify the finish on a Parker 88. The pen was made in the UK and has a IIL date code, so second qtr 1993. The pen has a green lacquer finish over a metal barrel and the gold splash is sitting on top of this finish and is not, as has been suggested to me, breaking through from underneath the green. This is not 'brassing' as the gold is three dimensional and under 10X magnification this can clearly be seen. If anyone knows what the finish is called or has seen it it before I would be very pleased to be advised Many thanks in advance for any information you may have.

I found here one review of an Onoto K series pen. It is excellent, worth reading as a companion because I do not plan to repeat most of that information. This is more of a comparison and notes on the pens. However, I will recap the series briefly. In 1955, just three years before they gave the pen game away entirely, Onoto released a series in a new style for them, being fairly plain plastics, piston fillers, mainly with hooded nibs, and barrels in the vogue cigar style. They proved to be good pens but, too little, too late as the British were wont to say. The pens were: K1 - Gold clutch cap, ink window, hooded nibK2 - Same as the K1 except with body coloured capK4 - Same as the K2 except the cap was screw rather than clutchK3 - The odd one. It is slimmer (by about 1 mm), slightly shorter in barrel and cap with flattened ends to both, an open No 3 nib, no ink window, and the piston mechanism is able to be serviced, unlike the other three. In remaining respects it was somewhat like the K2 with body coloured clutch cap.Onoto's marketing of the time profiled the pens like this: The K3 and K4 were the same price despite their obvious differences, with the K4 described as a basic pen and the K3 as a conventional pen. The K1 stepped up the price 7% for its gold cap.The most expensive was the K2, up another 12% in price, distinguished as having "extra iridium". So, the numbering follows no price or feature pattern, and the K3 remains quite an oddball among them when you get to the detail. In the following photo I have placed an Aurora 88 and Lamy 2000 for comparison, being similar hooded piston fillers of the era and shortly after. From left to right, Aurora 88, K1, K3, K4, K4, Lamy 2000. Note also clip differences in the K1, K3 and K4. I have not purchased a K2 because its features all exist elsewhere in the K models. Buying a second K4 was somewhat accidental. The Lamy looks huge next to the others, the Aurora (an original 88 with Nikargenta cap) quite comparable if slightly bigger over all. I speculate that the Aurora 88 may have been Onoto's principal model for their pen. Here are the pens with nibs exposed. From left to right, K1, Lamy 2000, K3, Aurora 88, K4 underside of nib, K4 with shroud removed. Note slimness of the K3's section compared with the others. The K3 has a conventional section which unscrews to reveal the barrel internals and piston. The other three pens have a friction fit section which is concealed under a screw-on plastic shroud. Note that after removing the shroud on the K1 on the left, I have not quite re-aligned it correctly. In this case I can screw the shroud a shade tighter. If you have removed the section (you can grease the piston, needed maybe once if ever, but you can not remove or replace it) then unless you have marked carefully you will be up for some repeated un- and re- screwing of the shroud while you rotate the section fractionally until the tightened shroud lines up with the nib. A touch of silicone grease on the friction fit is useful simply to make that a little easier. The K1 nib and feed I own do not appear to be set correctly, or else the K1 is different in one respect. On removing the shroud I can read the nib down to where it says K1 on it, below "De La Rue // 14 ct // Onoto". This part of the nib is inset further on the K4 pens so I can not read below 14 ct. I have not thought finding out a sufficient reason to pull the nib. The K3 sports a standard Onoto No 3 nib, saying "Onoto // 14ct // 3" as usual. I have inked two of these pens and dipped the other two. Pelikan 4001 Königsblau was used in both of the filled pens, for comparison. I dipped the other two in my Random Mix Bottle as an afterthought. Both of the K4 models display a heavier line but the inked grey K4 needs a little tine adjustment (closure), I think. Note the railroading in the closing bracket of "grey". At first that happened to the "i" in Pelikan as well, but enough ink was laid that it soon filled the gap with bleed in the paper. Used after dipping, the maroon K4 seems better behaved. The K1, dipped only and unadjusted at all so far, also looks a bit dodgy with bleeding. Hands-down winner here for me is the K3, the No 3 nib gliding softly to produce a beautiful line, as these nibs usually do. I do not normally post pens, including these Onotos, although to be fair they look elegantly longer if you do. You might gather the K3 is my favourite although I think I will get good service from the others with a little nib work, which is not unexpected in a 60 year old pen. Comparing the Aurora 88, and Lamy 2000, the lack of an ink window is a deficiency of the K3, and I am not keen on the heavy hooding of the other K models. I prefer to see the nib at least a bit, if only not to have to think about rotation alignment of the pen at the first stroke of writing. Writing, none of these nibs (all 14 ct) could be called soft so far as the metal goes. The Lamy is well known to people, a smooth nail. Closest comparison would be with the K1 and K4 Onotos. The Aurora 88 has its characteristic slight toothiness and little in the way of softness either, really, so my narrow writing winner is the K3 even though that too is not a soft nib. This is purely a personal preference. Subject to a little work on two of them, I think all of these will be found to be excellent. The Onoto K-series pens are good buys in that they are simple, robust, light, discreetly elegant and capable of writing very well. The fact you can not service the piston seal other than on the K3 does not seem to have been a problem anywhere to date. Like the two comparison pens, A88 and L2K, they will serve as workhorse pens that no-one should be afraid to take anywhere. They are also inexpensive. Oh, and my favourite colour is the maroon. They also come in black. eta: a couple of extra notes

Hi, I've been lurking around for a while and this is my first post I recently acquired a NOS Parker 88 (I believe it's a 88 though it was listed as a Rialto) and while there is an "F" stamped on the plastic feeder, it writes like a Broad to me. I have just got into FP so this is the only Parker I have. I'm not sure if my observation is correct but it feels like it has a B nib on an F feeder, is it possible that the nib has been swapped or is it just typical Parker F nib? I'd like your opinion on this. Another thing is it writes very wet, more so than I'd like, is there a way to decrease ink flow? I included some photos of the nib and a writing sample here (J. Herbin Rouge Opera ink). Thanks for your time!

After returning to the fountain pen world a year or so ago, I started trying out lots of pens. I've tried maybe a dozen brands, but my favorites are still Parkers. I'm thinking now that I'd like to add Parkers to my collection, instead of picking up this or that other brand to try. I inherited a couple of Parker 51s that I use sometimes but don't love. The 51 is a little thicker and heavier than I like. They also have M nibs and I've discovered that my small handwriting does better with F or even, occasionally, EF nibs. I really like the Rialto/88 model, as far as thickness and weight. I'd like more of those, but not only those. What Parker models would you recommend that are similar to the Rialto/88 in thickness and weight? Tery

I have an Aurora , it looks like an Ipsilon but has a 14k nib and a sterling cap like the 88. Cartridge / converter The cap is marked " Aurora Fowa " I can't find any reference to Aurora Fowa anywhere! Any suggestions? Thanks M

I posted a request in the "Italy - Europe" forum, where it lies untouched. I know many people have vintage Aurora 88s so I am posting here in this higher-trafficked forum to see whether I can prompt some responses to my request. Here is a link to the thread in question. I would appreciate greatly any information people can provide. Thanks P

Hi Everyone, I'm a collector of parker pens and in particular the Vector, 88 and Rialto Models. These pens are often considered insignificant, but I enjoy them. I love their innocence, simplicity, understated elegance, low cost and unobtrusiveness in social and business situations. If you've been involved with these pens and their history, you may be aware that the the nib unit for the 88 is compatible with the earlier Vector but NOT compatible with the later Rialto. Many sellers on ebay confuse them and advertise a pen or nib as a Rialto when in fact it is really a nib unit for the 88. I'm now looking for a fine nib for the Rialto model. They seem pretty difficult to find even though there are a fair number of Rialtos, 88s and Vectors being sold on eBay. Most seem to come from India nowadays. Apparently, parker has licensed a company to produce them as an inexpensive product. If you've been involved with these pens and/or have some knowledge of them, please post a comment or email me at howard@lifecraftingprogram.com so we can chat. Thanks!

Aurora has announced a new 88, the new 88 Sigaro: Luxury, fashion and design unite to create the new 88 Sigaro. The fountain pen is born from the unmistakable color of tobacco with a refinement of the details. With only 480 pieces available worldwide, the fountain pens' cap and barrel are created in shiny brown lacquer and gold -plated trims. The nib is 18K solid gold. The Limited Edition features a special wooden packaging with beige leatherette interior. For further information please do not hesitate to contact us via info@iguanasell.com

Aurora 88 Sole's release is nearly here! As you may know the new Aurora 88 Sole will be released during this summer, specifically, this piece will be available by the end of July. As we have had the chance to have it in our hands, we would like to share some pictures with you all! The fountain pen will be available in EF, F, M, B, BB. In order to get to know more details about this novelty please click here. Remember you can already pre-order this spectacular pen in our website. Furthremore, if you would like to know more information do not hesitate to contact us through info@iguanasell.com

Hi to all... First off, hi, I'm new! I can see there's a lot for me to browse here on the forums I'm very new to fountain pen collecting too. I've picked up a Parker 88, Matte blue with Maroon and in lovely condition. On the end of the cap, the jewel has a logo which I cannot identify and so was wondering if anyone here might be able to assist, it's a yellow background with what looks like a white aeroplane. I've attached an image for clarification. I look forward to hearing what this might be and also to being an active member of the community... Thanks in advance and a Happy New Year to all.

Does anyone know when the ink windows in the Aurora 88s changed colors? I have an 88 #994559 with an amber looking window, and another, #1149369 with reddish tint. I also note that the cap on the older model is slightly shorter than on the newer one. Does anyone have info on that. Also I just acquired an vintage 88 Nikargenta. Does this cap require any special treatment other than the usual care? Thanks for any light you can shed on these questions as I try to learn more than I've already gleaned from this forum about these great pens. Mr. Tutt

Hello everyone. I recently bought a vintage Aurora 88 from the 40's. I bought on Ebay from italy because they are hard to find. I paid 100 shipped and arrived 5 days ago. The description of the pen said that it was in good condition, and only one picture was posted. When I received the pen, it was in a sorry state. I cleaned it , and made the piston work. There was a small hole on the barrell, like the ones in the caps so they can breath. It was curious to me since I have never seen this holes on barrels. Ink came through the hole so I put some silicone grease and problem solved. The nib is wonderful, it is a medium broad with excellent flex. The ebonite on the tip and blind cap are in great condition. However the cap had some corrosion which I sanded and polished out, but the cap on the left side of thw clip has two normal sized dings that frustrate me. I am very anal with the condition of my vintages, and I just cant ignore this imperfection on the cap. Is there anyone that have a spare cap from a vintage 88 or 88K that can sell it to me. I dont care if it is gold or silver trimmed. The cap needs to be in great condition with no dings and dents. Or if someone know anyone a seller or a site that I vould ask if they are willing to sell me a cap. Thank you everyone!