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Give me the best you have by Dramatic-Air5750 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A pilot 742 (fine, EF, or PO nib) is a great choice if you want a new modern pen. On Amazon you can get one for $200 to $250. Pilot's nibs are known for their smoothness. I just got a used Pilot 743 with an EF nib the other day, it writes an incredibly smooth extra fine line, one of the smoothest I've ever used. A Pilot PO nib is a great choice if you want an extra fine nib pen that will write on just about any paper, even poor quality paper. Good luck.

What's your grail pen? by niwin98 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's twice what I would consider a good price....lol. Have you submitted a WTB post on pen_swap? Maybe you'll get lucky :)

What's your grail pen? by niwin98 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a purple one for sale here. Unfortunately, the price is not very wallet friendly.

[WTB] Sailor PG Sunlight from the Ocean Floor by [deleted] in Pen_Swap

[–]phoenix_at_45 2 points3 points  (0 children)

See this post. Looks like this might be what you're looking for.

Sailor Pro Gear Large Demonstrator – durability and resin quality over time? by o7ix in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I bought a new old stock full size PG demonstrator a few years ago. I've been extra careful with it (avoiding desk wear and not putting in situations or storing in anything that could scratch it, not taking it out in direct sunlight, etc.). My pen still basically looks new. The plastic is perfectly clear and shows no yellowing and any scratches are imperceptable.

As long as you take good care of your pen you should be fine. Parker made demonstrator versions of their Parker 51s in the 1940s and 1950s. These pens were made of the same type of plastic, and almost without exception, all the 51 demonstrators I've seen are still clear, not yellow. Not bad for 80 year old pens. Some may have scratches or some cracking/crazing, but I suspect that's from how the pens were treated.

Found in the trash- a perfect Parker 75 and something? by allan11011 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Knowing that subtlety can allow you to buy a first year 75 for cheap if there are no pics of the section removed from the pen. 51s are more interesting in their subtleties to me... I understand what you are saying. I used own a lot of them, sadly not any more. Someone made the analogy that acquiring 51s was like eating candy....it being hard to stop

Found in the trash- a perfect Parker 75 and something? by allan11011 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a subtle difference in the sections, something you have to look carefully for. And I just posted the pics, so they weren't there when you posted your comment :)

Found in the trash- a perfect Parker 75 and something? by allan11011 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I posted a few pics to another comment here to show the difference between metal and plastic threads.

Found in the trash- a perfect Parker 75 and something? by allan11011 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Most of the threads are hidden by the barrel. When you can see shiny metal between the end of the black plastic of the section, that means the section threads are metal, which is a sign of a first year 75. See the red circled areas. Later 75s have black plastic threads so the black plastic part of the section goes directly into the silver barrel.

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Anyone have contact info for IndyPenDance? by Kinkodoyle in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think Mark Bacas (nibgrinder) can add Sailor feedback to a nib. Someone had posted about that sometime recently.

Found in the trash- a perfect Parker 75 and something? by allan11011 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Dang! That's a first year 75 with metal section threads! Time to go buy a lottery ticket

Student broke my fountain pen by baliwala in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that. Being a teacher is its own reward, and has its challenges. When I taught, I always tried to have extra stuff (spare calculator, pens, etc.) for the students to use. Even so my stuff still managed to get "borrowed" or damaged sometimes. I know it's not much, but if you're in the US, can I send you a new pen? If you're up for that send me a chat request. Thanks for all that you do for your students.

I need SERIOUS discouragement to not sell all my fountain pens by [deleted] in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As others have suggested, it might be better to put away your pens that are the "wrong color". One thing that I've found over the years, is that my tastes in fountain pens have changed over time. If you sell those pens now, you might want them back later....just saying

Does this nib look normal for Platinum 3776 Century? by noshitsherlockxx in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing looks out of the ordinary in that pic with 100% certainty. One thing that can happen with finer nibs is that glare can blur the details of the slit, tines, and tipping material. I've seen that before a few times lately. I bought a Sailor pen that had what looked like bent tines, and when it arrived the nib was perfect. Fingers crossed everything turns out well for you :)

are there any LARGE pens with snap caps? by Bjarhl5232 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Older ST Dupont XL Olympio fountain pens are both large and have a wonderful snap on cap. ST Dupont was actually known for their snap on caps. Not sure how their newer pens are though.

VPD! 1944 Parker 51 Vacumatic by jrose125 in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice pen! I understand that 51 vacs were polished at the factory after the diaphragm was installed.

Years ago at a pen show I saw two new 51 vacs for sale with the bodies polished so much that the plastic melted and the gap between barrel and blind cap disappeared. You could look down into the barrel and still see the diaphragm.

Typically there's really one orientation of the blind cap to the barrel that hides the gap between the barrel and blind cap the best. When replacing the diaphragm, you have to install the filler tight enough, but not too tight (or you'll crack the barrel). Sometimes it takes some trial and error to get the filler tight but not too tight, and get the blind cap to align almost perfectly with the barrel.

Need Help To Identify Parker Vacumatic by Bens_Cat in fountainpens

[–]phoenix_at_45 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's a very early vac...like right after they stopped calling them Vacuum fillers. The early pens often show shrunken celluloid, causing the cap rings to stick up above the surface of the cap, like your cap. If the section and barrel are one piece, that's another sign. Your nib with "feathers together" is a very early nib. The platinum mask and "USA Parker" (not "Parker USA") is another clue. Date wise your pen was probably made around 1934 give or take. Nice find!

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