Parker 45 gold or steel nib

[Waltz For Zizi]

 I don't know much about vintage pens, most of my pens are modern, but I am begining to feel attracted to some old cheaper Parker pens like the 45, 25, etc and I found a flighter 45 set for sale, with gold trim.

My question is: Is there a way to tell if a P45 has a gold nib or a steel one without disassembling it? Are all the gold nibbed p45 gold, or are there some gold plated steel ones.

[bsenn]

Yes, there are gold-plated nibs on the later pens. The color is different than the gold nibs, I would describe as more yellow-ish.

 

I personally don't notice a writing experience difference between gold, steel, and gold-plated 45 nibs (not more than differences from individual nib to individual nib within any of those categories).

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

I’ve never noticed a difference between gold and steel nibs either wrt to writing. That said i can understand wanting to make sure it’s not plated because of expected price difference. In fact i didn’t even know they came in GP, i only knew about gold and steel. 
 

i really like my 45s. Especially my flighters 

good luck. 

[Waltz For Zizi]

The exact model looks like this. Is this not an early model? Didn't they afterwards replaced the plastic end with a metalic part?

[Number99]

I know that the end pieces on the Parker 45 are difficult to replace.

The nibs and barrel, however, are easily replaceable.

Gold-plated nibs are easily recognizable because the iridium tips are also plated.

The iridium tip on an unplated nib glows silver.

What I am describing as an iridium tip may actually be another alloy that is not iridium.

 

This model is the one with the gold-plated nibs.

*I have quoted product images of the pens I purchased from the Internet.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Number99
Added "barrel".

[Waltz For Zizi]

5 minutes ago, Number99 said:

I know that the end pieces on the Parker 45 are difficult to replace.

The nibs, however, are easily replaceable.

Gold-plated nibs are easily recognizable because the iridium tips are also plated.

The iridium tip on an unplated nib glows silver.

What I am describing as an iridium tip may actually be another alloy that is not iridium.

 

This model is the one with the gold-plated nibs.d nibs.

That's interesting. Thanks!

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the info Number 99.  I also did not know that some 45 nibs were gold plated (all of mine are either 14K or steel, I think, although I should check on the most recent acquisition when I go flush it out).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Starting point for dating a flighter 45

 

https://parker45pens.com/parker-45-flighter/

[dwbach]

I have recently received a Parker 45. I found out, that, if you remove the nib by pulling it out, you see a 585 stamped into the nib.

If the nib is stuck, soak it into water for at least a day.

[OCArt]

6 hours ago, dwbach said:

I have recently received a Parker 45. I found out, that, if you remove the nib by pulling it out, you see a 585 stamped into the nib.

  For those who read this in months or years to come "pulling it out" means unscrewing it in a counter-clockwise motion. Great advice to let it soak if the nib does not easily unscrew.

  One last P45 tip, the front plastic section can become deformed in long term storage by the "fingers" inside the cap. For this reason I always store my 45's with the cap slightly off.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

2 hours ago, OCArt said:

  For those who read this in months or years to come "pulling it out" means unscrewing it in a counter-clockwise motion. Great advice to let it soak if the nib does not easily unscrew.

  One last P45 tip, the front plastic section can become deformed in long term storage by the "fingers" inside the cap. For this reason I always store my 45's with the cap slightly off.

I store mine the same way. For the same reason. 

[dwbach]

Well. It's complicated and the nib is bent.
When it comes to my 45, the ink feed can be pulled out without unscrewing the middle part. 

 

[terim]

You can also find Parker 45s with 10k nibs ..... if the nib looks lighter in color than a 14k nib, it could be a 10k nib.

[bsenn]

18 hours ago, terim said:

You can also find Parker 45s with 10k nibs ..... if the nib looks lighter in color than a 14k nib, it could be a 10k nib.

 

Interesting. Do you recall what country the 10k nibs are from?

 

[John Danza]

I don't find any differences in the feel of writing with a gold or steel nib with the 45. They're all pretty much hard as nails. 

 

Rick at Five Star Pens usually has a good selection of Parker 45 parts if you need to replace a nib, a section, or a barrel.

[Number99]

18 hours ago, bsenn said:

 

Interesting. Do you recall what country the 10k nibs are from?

 

I have some 10k nibs made in the USA.

They arrived on American and Australian made 45 CT  flighters（with chrome end-piece） and Non-end piece flighters (GT).

I thought they were color matched because the nibs look like white gold. (This may be due to the regional nature of the market. It does not mean that 10k nibs are always installed.）

I have no information on 10k nibs other than American made nibs as there are very few British made 45s in my area.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Number99
Add images. Add text.

[Number99]

Then the OP's question asks if there is a gold plated nib variation on the Parker 45 and how to tell without removing it from the feed.

[terim]

On 12/23/2022 at 8:34 AM, bsenn said:

 

Interesting. Do you recall what country the 10k nibs are from?

 

 

We have had them on both UK and USA made pens. The nibs were marked USA on this listing:

 

https://www.peytonstreetpens.com/parker-45-flighter-deluxe-fountain-pen-brushed-steel-gt-fine-10k-nib-new.html

[Inkysloth]

One way to get an idea of whether a nib is gold plated or gold is to look at the tipping. If it’s silver in colour, and the rest of the nib is gold, it’s likely to be a a gold nib. If the whole thing is gold, it’s gold plated.

 

Over time the plating may wear off of the underside of the tipping, but it tends to remain on the top surface. 

[welch]

On 10/15/2022 at 10:25 AM, Waltz For Zizi said:

 I don't know much about vintage pens, most of my pens are modern, but I am begining to feel attracted to some old cheaper Parker pens like the 45, 25, etc and I found a flighter 45 set for sale, with gold trim.

My question is: Is there a way to tell if a P45 has a gold nib or a steel one without disassembling it? Are all the gold nibbed p45 gold, or are there some gold plated steel ones.

 

Questions about gold, gold-plated, and steel nibs are well-answered above. (I follow Inkysloth's method). Otherwise, just find a Parker 45 and buy it. They are better pens than nearly any "modern" pen selling new for less than $100. They take any sort of Parker converter, and they were Parker's first converter pen, and the industry's first successful cartridge/converter pen. The nib-units will unscrew, just like an Esterbrook or a recent Pelikan. All other parts can be swapped. The first pen to have "all-user" serviceable parts.