I got this pen today

[PithyProlix]

Parker 61 and early Platinum 3776 (notably with a flat cap end & ebonite feed) with coarse (極太) nib.

 

Can you figure out what the Parker 61's anomaly is? (Without peeking at the other posting with this pen!)

 

I already had a twin of the Platinum but with a fine (細) nib (and which I might pick if I was forced to have only one pen). The writing in the photo is with those two pens, definitely Platinum Blue-Black in the fine and, since a cartridge came in the pen, presumably the same ink in the coarse. (Rhodia No. 14 pad, 7mm line spacing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by PithyProlix
added info about paper used

[OldTravelingShoe]

53 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

Parker 61 and early Platinum 3776 (notably with a flat cap end & ebonite feed) with coarse (極太) nib.

 

Can you figure out what the Parker 61's anomaly is? (Without peeking at the other posting with this pen!)

 

I already had a twin of the Platinum but with a fine (細) nib (and which I might pick if I was forced to have only one pen). The writing in the photo is with those two pens, definitely Platinum Blue-Black in the fine and, since a cartridge came in the pen, presumably the same ink in the coarse.

 

 

 

 

 

Ooh, very nice nib(s) and pen(s), @PithyProlix! A writing sample with that coarse nib would be great - I like very much the coarse nib on the modern C3776, and I remember @A Smug Dill was also curious about this. 

[PithyProlix]

14 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Ooh, very nice nib(s) and pen(s), @PithyProlix! A writing sample with that coarse nib would be great - I like very much the coarse nib on the modern C3776, and I remember @A Smug Dill was also curious about this. 

 

The 3rd photo in my post shows sample writing with the nibs from the two 3776s. EDIT: Paper in the photo has 7mm line spacing.

[OldTravelingShoe]

23 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

The 3rd photo in my post shows sample writing with the nibs from the two 3776s. EDIT: Paper in the photo has 7mm line spacing

Aah, I see what you mean, @PithyProlix. I'll have to do some mental algebra - C is for me BB+, so 3-4 (max. 5) strokes in the 5 mm interval, 4-5 (max. 6) in the 7 mm interval. This seems consistent with my earlier measurements of the modern C nib on the C3776 Platinum.

 

I see a narrower stroke here, perhaps more like a B, so I am curious: does this nib perhaps flex to a broader stroke? 

[PithyProlix]

11 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

The 3rd photo in my post shows sample writing with the nibs from the two 3776s.

 

3 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Aah, I see what you mean, @PithyProlix. I'll have to do some mental algebra - C is for me BB+, so 3-4 (max. 5) strokes in the 5 mm interval, 4-5 (max. 6) in the 7 mm interval. This seems consistent with my earlier measurements of the modern C nib on the C3776 Platinum.

 

I see a narrower stroke here, perhaps more like a B, so I am curious: does this nib perhaps flex to a broader stroke? 

 

Actually, yes, it does flex to a much broader line. I'll post a picture tomorrow (it's late here).

[OldTravelingShoe]

10 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

 

Actually, yes, it does flex to a much broader line. I'll post a picture tomorrow (it's late here).

Hehe, many thanks, @PithyProlix! 

[mizgeorge]

A little moment of weakness earlier in the week resulted in this arriving today:

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

3 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

A little moment of weakness earlier in the week resulted in this arriving today:

 

Thanks for sharing, @mizgeorge. Is this the parker 180? How does it feel and write?

 

I have the (likely much cheaper) 1970s Platinum short-pen homage - or was that produced and reached the market first? and when was it actually designed? - and it has a distinct feeling from the other nibs I've tried on long-shorts. Not for the better, I'm afraid, but then I did not tune the nib and like wetter nibs when sketching. 

[mizgeorge]

1 hour ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Thanks for sharing, @mizgeorge. Is this the parker 180? How does it feel and write?

 

I have the (likely much cheaper) 1970s Platinum short-pen homage - or was that produced and reached the market first? and when was it actually designed? - and it has a distinct feeling from the other nibs I've tried on long-shorts. Not for the better, I'm afraid, but then I did not tune the nib and like wetter nibs when sketching. 

I don't know yet! I plan to ink it up over the weekend, as soon as it's chosen its ink. I will report back - I had one before, and liked it rather a lot as a sketching pen, but have no idea what I did with it, so it seemed like time to get another one.

[OldTravelingShoe]

3 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

I don't know yet! I plan to ink it up over the weekend, as soon as it's chosen its ink. I will report back - I had one before, and liked it rather a lot as a sketching pen, but have no idea what I did with it, so it seemed like time to get another one.

Haha, got it, I also mostly ink and do try-outs over the weekend... Which is about to start! 😄

 

Look forward to your update, but already your pics were great! 

[PithyProlix]

8 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

A little moment of weakness earlier in the week resulted in this arriving today:

 

 

4 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Is this the parker 180?

 

Yes, it is a Parker 180. I have one in the same finish. I also have the Platinum pocket pen @OldTravelingShoe referred to. I think the '180' concept - i. e. designed to write on both sides of the nib in different widths - is not such a good one since it is pretty much impossible to get both sides in tune without making alterations to the nib: unless it is manufactured perfectly, once you tune one side the other side will be out of tune. Best to treat it as a one-sided nib, I think. 

 

I like the very similar, one-sided Parker Classic. And I agree - that double-sided Platinum does not write as nicely as my other Platinums, even when the side you are writing with is tuned well. 

 

It's still a very cool pen, though, and I'm sorry for being a negative Nellie! 

[OldTravelingShoe]

5 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

 

Yes, it is a Parker 180. I have one in the same finish. I also have the Platinum pocket pen @OldTravelingShoe referred to. I think the '180' concept - i. e. designed to write on both sides of the nib in different widths - is not such a good one since it is pretty much impossible to get both sides in tune without making alterations to the nib: unless it is manufactured perfectly, once you tune one side the other side will be out of tune. Best to treat it as a one-sided nib, I think. 

 

I like the very similar, one-sided Parker Classic. And I agree - that double-sided Platinum does not write as nicely as my other Platinums, even when the side you are writing with is tuned well. 

 

It's still a very cool pen, though, and I'm sorry for being a negative Nellie! 

Thanks for the update, @PithyProlix, I'm glad to see it's not only me. It's still a great-looking pen. Plus, after seeing what @Andrew_L and @fpupulin do with no matter which pen, it's become clear to me the artist is at least as important as the art-instrument. 

[PithyProlix]

16 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Actually, yes, it does flex to a much broader line. I'll post a picture tomorrow (it's late here).

 

Here ya go, @OldTravelingShoe. If I had a better eye and steadier hand, I could have probably gotten 4 or so more lines in the 'light pressure' stack of lines, so maybe 12 lines in a 7mm space ~= .6 mm line width. 7 lines in the 'heavy pressure' stack = 1.0 mm line width.

EDIT: Meant to add: take a look at Nakaya's nib guide. For Extra Broad(C) / 極太  they specify 0.66-0.86 mm line width. Note that Broad(B) / 太 is specified at 0.44-0.54 mm. So my C nib seems to be wider than their B specification, at least, and getting in the neighborhood of their C specification. 0.66 mm line width would be 10.6 lines in a 7 mm space and 0.86 mm would be 8.1 lines.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

45 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

Here ya go, @OldTravelingShoe. If I had a better eye and steadier hand, I could have probably gotten 4 or so more lines in the 'light pressure' stack of lines, so maybe 12 lines in a 7mm space ~= .6 mm line width. 7 lines in the 'heavy pressure' stack = 1.0 mm line width.

EDIT: Meant to add: take a look at Nakaya's nib guide. For Extra Broad(C) / 極太  they specify 0.66-0.86 mm line width. Note that Broad(B) / 太 is specified at 0.44-0.54 mm. So my C nib seems to be wider than their B specification, at least, and getting in the neighborhood of their C specification. 0.66 mm line width would be 10.6 lines in a 7 mm space and 0.86 mm would be 8.1 lines.

 

Excellent update, thank you, @PithyProlix! The link to Nakaya is also very useful, because it gives a clear scale to interpret the writing.

 

On my side, I've used coarse (C) nibs on the modern Platinum and the 1970s (?) Pilot, and I believe they've been a bit broader, around 1 mm vertically and 0.8 mm horizontally without pressure, see Figures 1 and 2. The difference could also be the ink and paper mix, especially because I've been testing with inks of particularly good flow, e.g., Diamine Pumpkin and Sailor HaHa. 

 

Figure 1. Measurements of strokes with the Platinum coarse nib, 2020s. Inked with Diamine Pumpkin. On printer paper, 80g. The boxes with continuous line indicate my best approximation of stroke-sizes, on up-down vertical and left-right horizontal strokes, without pressure. The dashed boxes represent writing with the reverse of the nib. 

 

Figure 2. Writing sample with the Platinum coarse nib, 2020s. Inked with Diamine Pumpkin. On Rhodia paper, 80g. (Hidden somewhat in this writing puzzle, top-right you can see strokes made with Kaweco Sport Classic's steel B nib, and also with their steel BB nibs, but with a different ink - R&K SketchINK Frieda grey-blue.) 

[Misfit]

I got this pen today, and filled it with GvFC burned orange ink. It is a Monteverde Mountains of the World Vesuvio with 1.1mm stub nib. 

[mizgeorge]

On 5/6/2022 at 11:16 PM, OldTravelingShoe said:

Look forward to your update, but already your pics were great! 

Well I think I got lucky - after a bit of general maintenance, the 180 writes really well. I haven't touched the nib(s) - too risky to start messing around with since it (they) work(s) pretty nicely.  I think my previous one was a m/b rather than m/x, and this works better for me as the aerometric filler doesn't really hold enough ink for a broad nib in daily use.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

24 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Well I think I got lucky - after a bit of general maintenance, the 180 writes really well. I haven't touched the nib(s) - too risky to start messing around with since it (they) work(s) pretty nicely.  I think my previous one was a m/b rather than m/x, and this works better for me as the aerometric filler doesn't really hold enough ink for a broad nib in daily use.

 

Many thanks for the update, @mizgeorge! Great zoom on the nib. Very nice ink as well. I've not tried a Parker 180, but after your update I will consider it.

 

(The to-do list is getting longer, the other day I was trying to postpone buying an Opus 88 pen, visual ad by @A Smug Dill.) 

[PithyProlix]

18 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Well I think I got lucky - after a bit of general maintenance, the 180 writes really well. I haven't touched the nib(s) - too risky to start messing around with since it (they) work(s) pretty nicely.  I think my previous one was a m/b rather than m/x, and this works better for me as the aerometric filler doesn't really hold enough ink for a broad nib in daily use.

 

 

Excellent! I think it's a matter of the tipping being applied just right on both sides in manufacturing, which makes it a bit hit or miss. I have mine tuned for the 'X' side and don't use the 'M', which is not a width I like anyway.

 

What ink is that? 

 

Enjoy!

[PithyProlix]

8 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

I've not tried a Parker 180, but after your update I will consider it.

 

Also consider the Parker Classic, the 180's replacement model. Very similar pen, including the same unusual nib shape, but designed to write on one side and with a gold-plated steel nib rather than the 180's 14k.

[OldTravelingShoe]

48 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

Also consider the Parker Classic, the 180's replacement model. Very similar pen, including the same unusual nib shape, but designed to write on one side and with a gold-plated steel nib rather than the 180's 14k.

Thanks, @PithyProlix, noted! TO-DO +1 😄