9 replies to this topic

[FPNRLCC]

Hi all,

 

Going through parkerpens.net, I noticed a peculiar nib. It's claimed to be a nib with the arrow soldered on it. Thus far, only parkerpens.net has an image of it and a pretty rough one at that. The guy running the site really works hard and you have to appreciate the effort. I noticed he's updated lots of shots of his pens but unfortunately the soldered nib image still seems to be the old one. You can see it here http://www.parkerpen.../vacumatic.html Does anyone have a pen with this nib and shots of it? Thanks! 

[John Danza]

Tony Fischier is a long time collector and is a constant contributor to this board, so he'll likely answer your questions himself. As he notes, it's a very rare nib. The only other photo of it is in the Vacumatic Book, and that photo doesn't provide any additional angle, viewpoints, etc.

 

It's a pretty plain nib when it comes down to it. Due to the overlaid arrow, there's nothing imprinted on the nib. The solder point must be at the arrow portion behind the vent hole, otherwise it would impede ink flow to the tip. With 1930s technology and the inability to solder via machine, it must have been judged a very expensive nib to create and ruled out immediately, no matter how cool it looks.

[penmanila]

i've come across this nib (in a picture, aside from tony's) exactly once, all these years i've been trawling ebay. wish i'd taken a screen shot of it, or at least remembered what the pen it was on finally went for.

[david i]

Common term for it is the applied arrow nib.  Few floating around. Bert Heiserman had one.

I've shot a couple. Did this image long ago. Wonder if I could still find the original photos.

 

 

 

 

regards

 

david

[John Danza]

Common term for it is the applied arrow nib.  Few floating around. Bert Heiserman had one.

I've shot a couple. Did this image long ago. Wonder if I could still find the original photos.

 

 

 

 

regards

 

david

 

That's really interesting David that the first photo is the arrow on a Lucky Curve nib. Definitely prototype-looking, as there's no way the factory would plan that for normal production. Pretty cool.

[parkercollector.com]

I know only one owner of this nib, or rather, I've been in contact with a friend of this owner, pleading to get some better images. I have stolen David's images before (for my own records ;-)  but he owns the copyright, which is why I still havent updated the (poor) image on the site.. 

/Tony

[Teej47]

It sure looks like an overfeed, doesn't it?  Are we certain it's actually soldered?

 

Tim

[Mike Hosea]

It sure looks like an overfeed, doesn't it?  Are we certain it's actually soldered?

 

Well, it does, but is it close enough to the slit to act like one or just at the very end?

 

Sailor's overfeeds are not soldered anywhere, BTW.  They are bent from a ribbon of gold with a tapered tab that friction-fits into the section over the nib.  It's a delicate thing (too delicate, perhaps) and a bear to set in the field.  Maybe Sailor has some Fountainbellish tool that makes it easier.  Having said that, the Sailor overfeed is very thin.  I'd probably prefer a thick arrow to be soldered rather than held in by friction between the nib and grip.

Edited by mhosea, 06 January 2014 - 10:01 PM.

[David Nishimura]

Mass-production machine soldering would have been no problem back in the 1930s, but for all sorts of reasons it would make much more sense to wedge the arrow in place instead (don't know about modern Sailors; that was certainly the case with Swan metal overfeeds).

[FPNRLCC]

Thanks for all of the input folks! A little shame that Parker didn't retain the design at least for some of its high-end pens. History takes this one.