Parker Rialto/place Vendome Nib Replacement

[teryg93]

Hi all,

 

After going through a number of different pens, I've come to accept that the Parker Rialto / Place Vendome is probably my grail pen. It's not fancy, but it's the one that feels best in my hand. A Place Vendome was the first decent fountain pen I had, and that pen would still be my favorite if it hadn't "walked off" somewhere during a move.

I've picked up a couple of Rialtos in the hope of finding something I like as much as I like that first pen. These are Ms, though. I thought I could get used to an M, but it didn't happen. I have small handwriting and prefer an F, or sometimes an EF.

In an attempt to like these pens more, I bought an F and an EF section I found on eBay. They're marked "Parker Rialto" and "Made in UK" and I purchased them from a seller who has an excellent reputation, but something about the pen design must have changed about the Rialtos over the years. The thread sections on these sections I bought are plastic, not metal, and are just a little too large to screw into the pens.

I would like F nibs on both of these pens. Is anyone able to fix these? Or do you know where I can get older sections at an affordable price? I found some in the UK but they're pretty expensive even before you add in shipping.

 

One needs a maroon section to fit the style of the pen. Black would work fine on the other one. Apparently, the sections would have to be from before Parker switched from metal to plastic threads.

Thoughts or ideas or help? I know I have the option of selling these and just waiting until the pen I want comes along, but I'm feeling a tad impatient to know that I could enjoy writing with my fountain pens even more than I already do.

Tery

[Dutchpen]

Hi,

 

I think you were looking for the older Parker 88 pens. They have a metal section instead of plastic.

 

Some Parker 88 pens have a colored section too, which makes it harder to find the correct nib unit.

 

I will check my parts to see if I have a maroon nib unit available with F or EF nib. It's a long shot though.l.

[teryg93]

Yes, I am looking for the older pens. They just seem better made.

I also have a shiny green rialto that has an M nib in a black section. I'm pretty sure that section is also metal because the threads are metal. I'd also be interested in an F or EF for that pen. I think black sections are more common than the maroon ones.

[Dutchpen]

Hi,

 

If the section threads are metal, it is a Parker 88. This model was revised later and renamed to a Parker Rialto. The Rialto has plastic thread and plastic cap/blind cap tassies.

The nib itself is engraved on a Parker Rialto. The 88 nib is plain.

 

I checked my parts but I only have maroon ballpoint sections left. I do not have any 88 fountain pen sections anymore.

Ido have a new Rialto section in black with EF nib. This section will not fit the older 88 pend, only the newer Rialto pens.

[teryg93]

The section threads on all the pens are metal, so I guess they are all 88s. Thanks for trying, though.

[PaulS]

​​a couple of pix showing the metal threaded P88 design as opposed to the Rialto - not sure what is supposed to be engraved on the Rialto nib (don't yet have that model) - on the 88 g.p. nibs it simply says PARKER.

Pens in these pix both carry MADE IN U.K. - one is matte maroon with dark green section and button - the other is presumably matte black, and both are aerometric fillers - the maroon filler is marker PARKER U.S.A. and the matte black filler just says PARKER, and date wise I suspect possibly 1989 and early 1990s respectively - unfortunately, neither appears to have a date code.

Despite the 88 having been apparently in production for around 15 years, it seems not to be very common in the wild. These two may well have 22 k. plated nibs - don't know how you can tell, since there's a lack of any carat or fineness indication - believe later examples had 23 carat plating.

 

It's worth reading the alleged reasons for the change of name, in 2003, from 88 to Rialto - whether this was just an apocryphal sort of sensation generated story or whether there was some truth behind it I don't know.

 

Doesn't seem to be seen as a very posh pen - quoting other sources, it is viewed as an updated Vector from which it has borrowed much, also some features from the 95, and the laque versions probably look the most attractive.

Edited July 14, 2017 by PaulS