Parker 45 nibs

[Dan Carmell]

Here is what’s left of my 45 nibs after I sold off most of my 45s some years ago. The second photo shows the reverse side with a nib designation on the plastic nib collar in some cases. From left to right: gold* EF, faint X on collar; Steel stub w/ S on collar; gold right oblique, unmarked; gold stub with faint S; gold right oblique marked R; gold-plated EF nib marked X; gold nib marked N for Needlepoint (it does not give a finer line than the EFs here so that was disappointing); and finally a medium gold nib marked M. 

This is a small and random sample, but I hope it gives an idea of how wide a variety of 45 nibs existed. Not as many as the 75, but quite impressive for a budget or midrange fountain pen at that time. I think of the Parker 45 as the last widely used fountain pen in America—anyone have a different candidate?
 

I used the term gold* above because some are 14K, while others are 10K or 12K and I did not disassemble the nib to check which was which. (In general, the 10K and 10K nibs are paler.)

 

That Medium is 14K, however, and I don’t use mediums so if anyone is interested in it… (please excuse if that offer is against guidelines, I’ll delete if so!)

[Carguy]

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