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Hello everyone, first time poster here! Recently I fell in love with the Parker 45 and its huge range of models and nibs. I am particularly fond of the oblique nibs and I acquired a few of them. I hope some of the Parker 45 experts can help me The nib sizes seem to vary a bit. I have two 14k "O" nibs. These are supposed to be extra broad oblique nibs. The first one I got is made in England and in a Parker 45 Insignia (no tassie, mid 1970s) It is akin to a oblique italic. I would also not call it a double broad yet it is quite broad. The second one is an American-made, in a Flighter CT (black tassie, 1964-1969). This one is very broad and has a lot more tipping. It is way broader than the first nib and the imprint on the collar is closer to a "0" insted of the "O" on the first one. I attached pictures. The English one is on the right, the American on the left. Additionally, I also have a 14k "Z" nib (made in England) that is supposed to be a broad oblique. It is smaller than the American O nib, so that checks out. My freshly acquired "R" nib (14k, made in USA), supposedly an medium oblique, appears broader than the Z. Do the American Parker 45 nibs run wider? Or did the way Parker ground their nibs change during the decades-long run of the 45? Or is it simply variation that has to expected of these nibs? I know that nibs can be changed easily and so it is possible to have mismatched nibs and collars. However, I find it unlikely to have so much mismatching going on. Do any of you have similar experiences or know anything about it? Thanks in advance

Hi there, I've been a silent member of the FPN for 11 years now, it's high time to come out from the closet! I was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland, where I got my first fountain pen as a kid from my daddy. My father is a notary emeritus and he gave me a deep purple Waterman (no idea what model it was, but it was new back then in the 90s and had a steel nib). My Dad always wrote with his Waterman Le Man 100, he owned several of these. He used the havana Waterman ink. In consequentce I was, too, writing only Waterman pens, oblivious to the whole universe of other pen-makers. I looked down to my friend (and penfriend) Ania's Parker which I considered vulgar (hihi). And up to my uncle's Montblanc, but Daddy said, that Montbalncs were delicate, prone to problems and - the bottom line - had the screw system. So I stayed happily with my Waterman, till one day in London I lost it. I was about 16 years old back then and it was a true tragedy... My beloved pen, with which alone I wrote so many letters and pages... Daddy took me to the Waterman boutique in one of Warsaw's shopping malls and he bought me a new Harmonie (black, CT). I really liked this robust and heavy but slim and elegant pen. After maybe two years there was some issue with it, I sent it to Waterman for reparation and got a brand new one instead. In the meantime I was using one old Waterman with a gold nib ground by my Dad to a custom oblique. It scratched a bit but I loved the line variation. And then I went to Italy to continue my philophical studies. In a little exquisite pen shop next to St. Anthony's Basilica in Padua I got my first Lamy Safaris. I was delighted by the calligraphy nibs one could swap at ease! I got several of these pens and used them with different nibs and inks. But my nostalgy for Waterman was growing (in the meantime I lost my old Waterman with the custom ground nib on a train from Warsaw to Vienna, I took it out to write down some insider's pizza recommendations in Venice to some stranger in the compartment and forgot it there). I started searching for Watermans with oblique and stub nibs and realised that one could buy some new old stock Préfaces. I got myself one in black resin and one silver plated with an F nib and a stub nib separately. These were my new favourites, I loved them. After several years in Padua I moved back to Warsaw and then to Cologne, where I live now. Upon my arrival in Cologne a disaster occurred: my whole backpack still packed with valuable fountain pens (the silver-plated Préface and all my Lamys, thanks God the black Préface with the stub nib was not there) got stolen. (Alongside with my laptop and kindle...) Now I own several beautiful Waterman Gentleman pens with different nibs and I like them even more than the Préface. And I use them at home, taking my pink Lamy Safari to the University It writes great and if I loose it, I can rebuy it. So as you see from my lengthy fountain-pen autobiorgaphy, I love fountain pens as writing instruments but I don't really collect them (well, if you exclude 5 different rare finishes of the Gentleman that I have accumulated lately). I love the section inky thoughts and might be tempted to tell you more about the exclusive Diamine Kölsches Rheinwasser Ink that came out recently made for the local pen store Ortloffs. Still, what intetests me most, are archival / waterproof inks. I would love to try out an old Waterman or Pelikan with a flex nib. Best wishes to you all, fellow fountain-pen freaks!

For long time I thought that left foot oblique nibs were mainly for left hand writers, which somehow makes sense but doesn't explain the great number of such points in Germany. Is it more to do with handwriting styles then?

Last April taking advantage of a visit to Hannover Messe, I am an electrical engineer, I decided to finally get the Make a Wish Nib. Unfortunately it was sold out but coming from Mexico and having participated in the Pelikan Hubs in Mexico City they open a new slot. A two page form is sent in advance where you fill your writing style as well as your preferences. After a week, you receive the first pictures on how it performs and have an interchange of comments with Mr. Detlev Köhn from Engineering of Fine Writing Instruments. Finally you get to the factory and write with Mr. Köhn. Mine was absolutely perfect from the start but, as an anecdote, they have left handed customer that took 90 minutes. If you are in Hannover or Berlin please help yourself and book your slot. You will be surprise on how much you can enjoy the experience. http://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.CMS.displayCMS.197758./make-a-wish-nib When I sent pictures to home they said that it was like a kid in Disneyland. Indeed I was. Here you can get the pictures and examples: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wyxjke4alwfgjky/AADIFNZfaIBmmzfco63Dk0nna?dl=0 Enjoy Santiago