Nibs

While most Parker nibs were made from gold, there were a few made of other metals, which are listed in increasing scarcity:

Parker 75 nibs were offered in a multitude of widths from the narrow accountant super-fine to double broad. Also various nib styles were offered along with the range of widths. This style specified how the ball of the tip was cut. This would affect the variation of the line widths depending on the stroke of the writing. The available styles were:

Style	Description
Normal	For general use, this style had a rounded tip.
Oblique	The ball of the tip is cut at an angle (about 30 degrees to the left, resulting in a chisel-like appearance. Sometimes also called right oblique.
Reverse Oblique	Also chisel-like in appearance, the ball on the tip is cut an at angle to the right.
Italic	Like a stub nib, this one has a straight horizontal cut. The difference, however, the cut had a sharper edge allowing for good variations in widths, from extra fine to broad.
Stub	Straight cut horizontally but with some rounding at the tip.

Except for the first month or two of its production which did not have any marking, Parker engraved the size and style on the black plastic feed attached to the nib for the entire model. The size and style was first engraved as digits and later replaced with letters representing the nib’s width alone. A list of such markings are given in the tables below.

Please note that there were significant design changes between the 14K and 18K nibs. The latter could only fit into the last sections without the triangular grip and having the thin gold band. Upon removing the nibs from their sections, the design changes become readily obvious.

In the picture above, the 18K section and nib are placed on the left and the 14K components are on the right. Notice the combed collector on the 18K and how much larger it is. Therefore the inner diameter of the 18K section is substantially larger than the same for the 14K section.

Also note the nib size is usually stamped on the underside of the black plastic feed, either as a number or letter. This is not always the case though as I have several samples where nothing was stamped.

14K US

The following information was obtained from a Parker 75 nib guide brochure printed in April, 1967. To see a side-by-side comparison, click here.

Mark	Description
61	Needle. An extremely fine point for precise figure work.
62	Accountant. Very thin lines with a delicate touch generally considered for bookkeeping work.
63	Extra fine. Very fine line with a light touch.
64	Steno. Fine point adapted for shorthand use.
65	Fine. Fine line for general use with a moderate pressure.
66	Medium. Optimal for average writing pressure producing an average line width.
67	Broad. Excellent for general writing to produce a thicker width.
68	Extra broad. A large round tip producing very wide lines.
69	Fine stub. A flat nib, omitting the normal round tip, intended for delicate shaded writing. It produces a wide line on the vertical stroke and thin line on the horizontal stroke. This nib was intended for people who write with the slightest slant in their pen.
70	Medium stub. A wider flat nib for shaded writing. It produces a noticeable variation in line widths between the vertical and horizontal strokes. It was intended for people who write with a slight slant of the pen.
71	Broad stub. A wide flat nib that produces a large variation in line widths between vertical and horizontal strokes, adding a significant flair to the written words.
72	Extra broad stub. The widest flat nib available from Parker. Very wide vertical strokes and thin horizontal strokes that adds a lot of flair, somewhat reminiscent to the writing found in the US Declaration of Independence.
73	Stub thin music. A flat nib thinner than the fine stub nib that was intended for sheet music writers. It permits the user to write small musical notes.
75	Medium right oblique. It has the largest surface on the right side of the point.
77	Broad right oblique
79	Medium left oblique. For those who slant the pen when they write. It has the largest surface on the left side of the point. Intended for left-hand writers.
82 83	Fine Arabic Medium Arabic Intended for shaded print-writing. Good for those who hold the pen nearly vertical to the writing surface.
88	Extra broad executive with a HUGE ball tip.
97 98	Fine italic Heavy extra broad italic. With a flat and broad edged point, this nib was especially designed for italic writing with contact to the paper typically at an angle of 45 degrees.

14K (585) France

Mark	Description
11	Needlepoint
32	Fine oblique
33	Fine reverse oblique
34	Fine italic
35	Fine oblique italic 15°
38	Fine oblique italic 30°
42	Medium oblique
43	Medium reverse oblique
44	Medium italic
45	Medium oblique italic 15°
48	Medium oblique italic 30°
52	Broad oblique
53	Broad reverse oblique
54	Broad italic
55	Broad oblique italic 15°
58	Broad oblique italic 30°
61	Extra broad
62	Extra broad oblique
63	Extra broad reverse oblique
71	Extra, extra broad
72	Extra, extra broad oblique
73	Extra, extra broad reverse oblique

18K France

These nibs are used with the earlier triangular grip section for the Premiers or the later section with the thin gold band for the 75s. To see a side-by-side comparison, click here.

	Mark	Description
Normal
	80	Needlepoint
	81 or X	Extra fine
	82 or F	Fine
	83 or M	Medium
	84 or B	Broad
	85	Extra broad
	86	Extra, extra broad

Oblique		For the right hand
	87 or FO	Fine right oblique
	88	Medium right oblique
	89	Broad right oblique
	91	Extra broad right oblique
	92	Extra, extra broad right oblique

Reverse oblique		For the left hand
	93	Medium reverse oblique
	96	Fine reverse oblique
	97	Broad reverse oblique

Oblique Italic		Nibs cut at 15° angle for the right hand
	74	Fine oblique italic
	75	Medium oblique italic
	76	Broad oblique italic
		Nibs cut at 30° angle for the right hand
	77	Fine oblique italic
	78	Medium oblique italic
	79	Broad oblique italic

Italic	94 or MI	Medium italic
	95 or BI	Broad italic
	98 or FI	Fine italic

Update of March 27, 2005

Update of December 18, 2005

The nib is place at the top where the channel is widest and then slid down until it stops. Where it stops indicates the size of the nib.

Update of July 15, 2006

Update of June 30, 2012

Here is a nib die for taking the imprinted and tipped flat nib to one with the characteristic curvature of the 75 nib see in step 3 above.

Update of December 31, 2011

As a supplement to the 14K US, 14K French, and 18K French nib comparisons, here are side-by-side comparisons of the range in ultra-fine to fine nibs available, disregarding gold carat content and country of manufacture.

At least from this sample set of nibs, it appears as though the finest is the #61 14K US, followed by the 18K French #80 with the 14K French #11 having the largest point size.

61	62	63 (US 14K) or XF	11	80	F or 64 (US 14K)
14K	14K	14K or 18K	14K	18K	14K or 18K
US	US	US or France	France	France	US or France
Needle	Accountant	Extra-fine	Needlepoint	Needlepoint	Fine
Thin feed	Thin feed	Thin or thick	Thick feed	Thin or thick	Thin or thick