Jim Pingle

Father, geek, serial hobbyist.

On right is a Parker Vector fine italic nib I've used since the '80s. 35+ years of wear, mostly during school years. Left is new.

The tip on the older one is much more sharp edged and slightly wider, the new one is more like a stub with round edges. You can see the difference in how it writes.

The section "collar" under the nib is what the cap snaps over and holds onto. It is is worn significantly, contributing to a poor seal & loose cap.

Photo of two fountain pen nibs side-by-side, oriented vertically. Both have "Parker" on the nib and they are of similar design. They are approximately the same length. The nib on the left has a visibly narrower tip with a flat stub end that has rounded edges. The nib on the right has a slightly wider tip with sharp edges.
Photo of two fountain pens and a writing sample on paper. The pens are laying horizontally on the page above their respective writing samples. Their caps are just beneath them. The top pen is older, and a much darker blue. The bottom pen is newer and a brighter, but still dark, shade of blue. The top writing sample is purple and reads "Parker Vector - 80's FI", "PI Yama-budo". The bottom writing sample is blue and reads "Parker Vector - Modern FI", "PI Asa-gao". The lines in the writing are visible narrower than the top sample.

I thought maybe the design changed, but I rarely used the medium italic nib from the old set, and the new MI is the same width and both have slightly rounded stub-like edges. The older one is also longer.

Even with the wear, the old FI is still narrower than the MI, and I actually prefer the sharper edges.

The down side is that even a new Vector doesn't seal all that well, so the older one is even worse.

The poor sealing is what primarily motivated me to try new/different pens.

Photo of two fountain pen nibs side-by-side, oriented vertically. Both have "Parker" on the nib and they are of similar design and shape. Both nibs have approximately the same width at the end of their flat stub-like tips. The nib on the right is slightly longer.

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