u/ManleyBulgin

It's a Parker 45 and a Parker Jotter pencil. The case does not match. Contemporary Parker refill cartridges that will fit can be found at office supply stores or online. You can also get a cartridge converter that will allow you to use bottled ink.

The Parkers are Parker Classics, which are descendants of the Parker 75. They are not Jotters, although people who know nothing about pens frequently confuse them as such.

The ink cartridge is Platinum Black, and that pen is made by Platinum.

Pro: They are very sturdy pens. Reliable, consistent writers. They hold a lot of ink and resist drying. They exemplify a certain style and period of modern design from one of the great design houses of their era.

Con: Consistency comes at the expense of expressiveness. Being a paragon of 1940s industrial design isn't a virtue if you hate 40s modernism. Hooded nib is a con if you think the point of a fountain pen is parading a big slab of metal.

/r/fountainpens is easily distracted by novelty colors. Quink is exceedingly good at being ink, but it comes up short at burning retinas and signaling objects in low Earth orbit.

Is it a craze? I've had my Amphibia for years. The world isn't overflowing with reliable automatic dive watches for less than $100.

Did you mean to post a photo of a Wing Sung 659?

Yes.

The blue Preppy is Platinum Blue Black. It goes on very blue for a blue-black, but it fades to black, because it is an iron gall ink.

You sound like a good candidate for Nock Co.

I got mine on ebay. My Coronet, too. Part of the trick for ebay is patience. Don't try to grab the first candidate that comes by. The 45 is a common enough pen that they will come up for auction frequently. Study the market for the item you're pursuing. Learn how to distinguish trustworthy sellers. Determine the value of risk for yourself and discount accordingly. Know your reserve price and stick to it. ALWAYS bid snipe. A sealed bid, second price auction is a fair auction. Ebay's style of auction is a trick to raise prices, and therefore fees for ebay. Some people complain about bid snipers, and they are simply wrong. It's like complaining that the sun rises in the East.

Happy hunting!

I inked up my Parker 75 Flighter Deluxe with Tsuki-Yo. I always forget how much I enjoy writing with the 75. It's an under-rated pen.

Not every ink mixes well, but most do and many people do it. Some inks have specific bad reactions, like R&K Sepia. Think of "don't mix inks" like "don't put the q-tip in your ear." You got fair warning, now do what you're gonna do. But if you're in doubt about some particular combination, you can always ask here.

Any brown ink can be the darkest brown ink if you add some black to it.

My experience has been that the low-end Pilot nib/feed/section design between the Metro/78G/Prera etc is not only interchangeable, but effortlessly interchangeable. I did succeed in fitting a Metropolitan nib into a 659 section, but only with a great deal more force than a Pilot section would require. Removing it afterwards was even more difficult. I suspect that the 659 section would eventually crack under such usage. So, it can be done, but I think caution is advised.

Lol, I'm sure we'd all be happy to see a proper review.

It looks good, I would say, for a c/c demonstrator. The extra fine nib is definitely extra fine.

Well, you won't get that very fine nib in a Pelikan, or perhaps any European pen. Would you consider a Japanese pen? Something like the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 would likely meet your needs.

The best use of a starter pen is to learn what you need in a pen. You sound like a perfect candidate for a piston, vacuum, or eyedropper filler. Go for it.

If you're feeling DIY and are willing to take the risk, polycarbonate is weldable. You'll want to remove the hood first.

Even if there were no functional difference between them (which is not true), gold nibs are typically made with greater care, and the pens they are attached to are made with greater care and better materials.

Not quite sure what you mean by how it works. You just twist it into place to match your preferred grip on the triangular section. Mechanically speaking it's very simple. Ergonomically, it's about what feels most comfortable to you.

Yes!

Such a fabulous pen. My 88P is one of my very favorites. Congrats!