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Top to bottom: Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ BP This branded pen (along with a matching notepad) was given to my father by a sales-rep from British Steel some time in the 1980s. Its date-code is ‘TC’, so it was made in Q2 of 1985. Parker Vector RB in black plastic This pen has the date code ‘TI’, meaning Q3 of 1985. Note that on this pen there is no PARKER logo on its cap underneath its clip. That space has been left blank, in a similar way that the equivalent space was treated on a 1970s Parker 75. The broad PARKER logo & broad haloed-arrow logo are on the back of the cap, above the legend ‘MADE IN U.K.’ (including full stops), which is above the date code. Parker Vector FP in black plastic This pen has the date code ‘IIII’, corresponding to Q1 of 1994. Its cap has the narrow haloed-arrow logo and PARKER stamp underneath its clip. On the back of the cap are stamped ‘MADE IN UK’ (without full stops), and the date code. It is the first FP that I ever bought, so its steel nib is of course an ‘M’. Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ FP I bought this pen in 2019. I bought it because it is all-steel (apart from its feed) and therefore ‘robust’, and because it is inexpensive. It is therefore very well suited for use ‘on-site’, and/or in back-street pubs. It was made under license by Luxor in India. Its date code is I-IIN. The ‘I’ is for India, and the ‘IIN’ is for Q2 of 2019. It has a ‘F’ nib. The grip-sections are interchangeable between the different bodies, so I now effectively have four Vector FPs.

Top to bottom: Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ BP This branded pen (along with a matching notepad) was given to my father by a sales-rep from British Steel some time in the 1980s. Its date-code is ‘TC’, so it was made in Q2 of 1985. Parker Vector RB in black plastic This pen has the date code ‘TI’, meaning Q3 of 1985. I bought this pen in my home town’s branch of Woolworths. I bought it to replace my ‘RB-1’ in maroon/burgundy (which I had bought in the same store just over one year previously). I had loved that pen, but when I was replacing its refill I over-tightened its plastic barrel on the threads of its all-steel grip-section, and the plastic cracked and broke, rendering my pen ‘unserviceable’ 😢 I remember being surprised by the fact that its name had been changed to ‘Vector’, and by the changed length of the cap and the grip-section. And disappointed that Woolworths didn’t have any maroon/burgundy ones in stock, and so I had to settle for boring black. I didn’t want to break this pen, so I ‘babied it’ for many years, including managing to do so all the way through my undergraduate university course 😮 In about 2016 I was replacing its refill and made the same Schoolboy Error that I made with the RB-1 I have glued this pen’s body back together. Note that on this pen there is no PARKER logo on its cap underneath its clip. That space has been left blank, like on a 1970s Parker 75. The broad PARKER logo & broad haloed-arrow logo are on the back of the cap, above the legend ‘MADE IN U.K.’ (including full stops), which is above the date code. Parker Vector FP in black plastic This pen has the date code ‘IIII’, corresponding to Q1 of 1994. Its cap has the narrow haloed-arrow logo and PARKER stamp underneath its clip. On the back of the cap are stamped ‘MADE IN UK’ (without full stops), and the date code. It is the first fountain pen that I ever bought. I decided that I wanted to buy a fountain pen (i.e. a pen for ‘grown-ups’), and went in to the city centre to have a look around the large branch of WH Smiths there. As a well-trained swallower of Marketing, I was only ever going to buy a Parker, and so only had to choose which model I wanted to buy. I toyed with the idea of buying a 45 Flighter, but I disliked its yellow-gold-plated clip, so I eventually settled on this cheap black plastic Vector, not least because it matched my black plastic Vector RB. Its steel nib is of course an ‘M’. Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ FP I bought this pen in 2019. I bought it because it is (apart from its feed) all-steel, and therefore ‘robust’; and because it is inexpensive. It is therefore very well suited for use ‘on-site’, and/or in back-street pubs. It was made under license by Luxor in India. Its date code is I-IIN. The ‘I’ is for India, and the ‘IIN’ is for Q2 of 2019. It has a ‘F’ nib. The grip-sections are interchangeable between the different bodies, so I now effectively have four Vector FPs. I note that it is designed to look like a ‘negative image’ of the black plastic Vector. The black Vector has steel-coloured barrel-end, whereas this steel Vector has a black plastic cap-top and barrel-end.

This picture is to show the differences between the tops of my Vectors’ caps. L-R Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ FP Made by Luxor in India in 2019. The oval depression in its cap is filled with black plastic, to match the black plastic trim on the cap, and that at the distal end of the ’Flighter’ barrel. Parker Vector FP in black plastic This pen was made in Newhaven in 1994. The oval depression in this pen’s cap’s top is decorated with what looks like a piece of white cardboard/paper. This enables one to rapidly distinguish the fact that this is the Vector FP from the next two Vectors (RB & BP) without having to remove the pens from one’s pocket. Parker Vector RB in black plastic This is another Newhaven pen, but dates from 1985. Note that the insert visible inside the oval on this pen’s cap’s top is made of shiny ‘white metal’ (steel?). Parker Vector ‘Flighter’ BP This pen was also made in Newhaven in 1985. Its cap-decoration appears to be made of brass. Or, at least, it is ‘brass-coloured’.