Parker nibs are nice (and resilient)

[penwash]

I got this pen for cheap because the nib is in need of attention. The tines are bent like the beak of a falcon and one of them are more bent than the other. Of course, as it came, the pen didn't write.

So I spent some time to straighten the tines, it's quite a challenge due to both tines are bent in different spots. But that Parker nib is so resilient. I literally could feel it when the tine started to get straightened. On lesser or thinner nibs, it would probably take a lot more work than this.

Now the nib writes very well, a bit of springiness and a bit of line variation. Very, very nice.



I just have to smooth the nib some more, and replace the diaphragm and this beautiful pen will be ready to rock again.

[Wade]

Excellent! I have a couple vintage beauts in likewise nib condition, but with busted up tipping as well as bent tines.

[Chrissy]

Great! That looks like an excellent pen.

[PaulS]

I hate to be the killjoy in all of this, since the op is obviously very proud and happy with their pen - and so they should be too - it's a great pen and in the U.K. not very common, and I love these transverse banded pens. But........ I think the subject heading is a tad too generalized........ These Vacs. often had flex or semi flex (springy) nibs, but I have lots of modern Parker pens that are real nails and wouldn't produce a line like the writing shown here.

[penwash]

I hate to be the killjoy in all of this, since the op is obviously very proud and happy with their pen - and so they should be too - it's a great pen and in the U.K. not very common, and I love these transverse banded pens. But........ I think the subject heading is a tad too generalized........ These Vacs. often had flex or semi flex (springy) nibs, but I have lots of modern Parker pens that are real nails and wouldn't produce a line like the writing shown here.

Paul,

I'm Will the OP.

You are not being a killjoy at all. And you are absolutely right, I *am* proud of all the pens I restored, which a lot of them found new homes with happy new owners.

I disagree (not vehemently, just a tad) that the title is too generalized, because I meant what I said in the title, all the Parker nibs that I've worked on are resilient and nice. I didn't mean to imply that all of them can produce line variations -- the fact that this particular one can, is just an extra nice bonus. As you said, some of them are real nails, and I've worked on some of those too, but still, they are nice and resilient.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is that I've never seen a nib that came originally with a Parker Vac that is thin, brittle, and an extra pain in the neck to work with.

[penwash]

Excellent! I have a couple vintage beauts in likewise nib condition, but with busted up tipping as well as bent tines.

I hear you, some of these vacs came with beautiful large nibs whose tipping is gone. I can't do re-tipping myself and the cost to have one done is too expensive for me to justify.

[PaulS]

hello Will - thanks for your reply - and yes, it's true that I sometimes forget to look at the end of a post for the person's name. I have this 'thing' about modern pens - with non-resilient nibs - that often cost a lot of money but don't produce an attractive line, in the way that some of the older pens do.

I've also bought some pens - perhaps hurriedly in the dark of an early morning - only to find that the tipping is too worn and the nib writes with a scratch.

[penwash]

I have this 'thing' about modern pens - with non-resilient nibs - that often cost a lot of money but don't produce an attractive line, in the way that some of the older pens do.

You won't get an argument from me regarding this

[pajaro]

By "resilient" it seems you mean flexible.

[penwash]

By "resilient" it seems you mean flexible.

If I want to say "flexible", I would not use the word "resilient" because it's easier to just say "flexible"

By "resilient" I meant "not brittle", "of substantive build", "not easily broken".

[pajaro]

I have this 'thing' about modern pens - with non-resilient nibs - that often cost a lot of money but don't produce an attractive line, in the way that some of the older pens do.

You won't get an argument from me regarding this

The business of the "attractive line" led me astray here. I am uncertain how resilient gives an attractive line.

Modern nibs like Sonnet are easily bent, and certainly not particularly resilient.

[penwash]

I have this 'thing' about modern pens - with non-resilient nibs - that often cost a lot of money but don't produce an attractive line, in the way that some of the older pens do.

You won't get an argument from me regarding this

The business of the "attractive line" led me astray here. I am uncertain how resilient gives an attractive line.

Modern nibs like Sonnet are easily bent, and certainly not particularly resilient.

Maybe Paul did take the word resilient and thought I meant "flexible". Only he can clarify.

Most vintage 14K nibs are a lot more resilient than Gold-Plated ones. Therefore most of the times I can get them to write again.

On modern nibs, I'm not the guy to talk about them.

[PaulS]

earlier quote from PaulS .............. "These Vacs. often had flex or semi flex (springy) nibs, but I have lots of modern Parker pens that are real nails and wouldn't produce a line like the writing shown here."

yes, Paul is guilty of some misunderstanding of Will's use of the word 'resilient', and I'd hazard a guess that a lot of folk might do so similarly, and you can see from my words above that I was very much equating the word resilient with the idea that there was some implied suggestion of flex, in the nib in question. However, seems I was wrong, in thinking this was Will's implied meaning, and have to admit to not being remotely expert on the properties of nibs............. other than the fact that many older nibs did indeed (have tines) that flex, and many modern nibs (the nails) which don't. This inability for modern nibs to flex (where tines move apart with pressure, and return undamaged when the pressure is released) - is what makes for a difference in the end result of writing.

The subject of metallurgy - in regard to making nibs - is complex, you only have to read the modern books on Parker history etc., and some metals have better properties than others at being springy.................. a word that probably has a place both in the realms of conventional 'flex' and Will's 'resilient'. Even a modern nail needs some ability to be flexible/resilient whilst it writes.
So I think there is a bona fide etymological case to be made to support the fact that to some extent the words flexible and resilient maybe used - if not totally interchangeably - then to a degree that allows both words to mean ........... some degree of movement when pressure is applied, allowing a return to the original position/shape when pressure is released.
There maybe an argument for semantics insofar as .......... a nib with tines that part company with pressure are described as flexible ........ tines that don't move apart are simply resilient/springy (since the nib must have some mechanical ability to move).

Coming back to Will's writing sample in the first post - I don't know whether the tines on his pen now part a little when pressure is applied, or not. If there is some parting then my suggestion would be that implies there is a small degree of flex - otherwise how would an expressive (variable) line be created. If they don't part a little, yet the line is capable of broadening, then is that simply a case of pressing harder to incise the point into the paper.

My personal opinion is that... if pressure will move the tines apart, even slightly, and the written line has variable thickness, then the nib in question has flex - perhaps albeit only slightly.

Now - I bet you wish you hadn't asked ..................

[penwash]

Now - I bet you wish you hadn't asked ..................

[titrisol]

And that is why the 45s were used as school pens.... I treated mine like any other 10yr old boy and it still works

[kevmid]

Impressive explanation! Dare I say I took Will's post literally?

The first part was about the resilience of the nib when being worked on as in "(of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed" - dictionary definition.

In a separate sentence and paragraph he says it has some line variation, so a separate property. It's amazing how much mileage one can get out of a few sentences!

[PaulS]

yes, I apologise for the verbal what's it's .... the bard said.. "brevity is the soul of wit" - perhaps I should take a lesson there.

[jarc]

yes, I apologise for the verbal what's it's .... the bard said.. "brevity is the soul of wit" - perhaps I should take a lesson there.

No, don`t you dare, keep the verbal ??????????, coming. It is always enjoyable and very often it is also educational.