Parker 180 Fountain Pen

Name: Unsharpen
Item: Parker 180 Fountain Pen
Rating: 3.5
Author: Unsharpen.com Staff

The Parker 180 is a lesser known vintage Parker pen first sold in 1977. The Parker 180 is known for it’s triangular nib which looks a lot like a scalpel or X-acto knife.

The Parker 180 went on sale in 1977 and was sold through the mid-1980s. It was designed to address the fragility of many fountain pens, particularly some in the Parker lineup. The 180’s nib was small, stiff, and sturdy.

The pen was a simple cartridge converter that was sold with an aerometric converter with a rubber ink sac. In 1977 the pen had a retail price of about $40 for a 22K gold-coated “Imperial” model, which was also sold as the Milleraies (1000 Lines). By 1983 the pens had a variety of prices, with some going up to $75.

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The Parker 180 uses a standard Parker cartridge and converter. Despite its age, the pen will accept modern Parker refills and cartridges.

Parker 180 Nib

The Parker 180 was sold with a small nib that “writes both ways,” which was Parker’s way of saying that it was designed to work rightside up or upside down. The nibs on the fountain pens were sold as X/M or F/B meaning Extra-Fine and Medium or Fine and Broad. Later models (in the early 1980s) dropped the reversible nib for a standard Fine or Medium offering.

Most of the Parker 180 pens were sold with 14k gold nibs, but later some were sold with steel nibs.

Parker 180 Review

Despite being a consistent writer and an overall cool pen, the Parker 180 hasn’t become a major hit with collectors. The pen doesn’t lack quality or appeal, but unfortunately its small size is a problem with many of today’s buyers. The Parker 180 was sold as a normal pen, not a “demi” but the pen is quite small and unfortunately thin, which turns over many people with larger, or even average-sized, hands.

The main selling point for the Parker 180 is the dual-sided nib. This nib looks interesting but also writes well on both sides. It’s not quite as smooth as other 14K gold nibs, but it’s sturdy and consistent. Not everyone has as good an experience with their Parker 180, but given the fact that the pen is around 40 years old at this point, there are a lot of factors that can go into any degradation people are seeing.

Parker 180 Alternatives

If you want a cheaper version of this pen then you can consider the Hero 360. It’s a modern pen inspired by the Parker 180, complete with an interesting nib of its own.